Use Of Situational Irony In The Ransom Of Red Chief

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David Foster Wallace once stated: “The great thing about irony is that it splits things apart, gets up above them so we can see the flaws and hypocrisies and duplicates.” Situational Irony can change the way a person looks at someone or at something. Situational Irony is an unexpected twist or a surprise. The readers will not think that this twist is going to happen, but then it does. Guy De Maupassant makes the readers of his story “The Necklace” feel pity and how in life everyone has to be grateful for what they have. O. Henry also uses irony in his story “The Ransom of Red Chief” to show humor and to make the audience laugh at his story. By reading these two stories, it is obvious that authors use situational irony to affect readers’ emotion. …show more content…
Henry uses situational irony to produce humor in “The Ransom of Red Chief.” For instance, the boy getting kidnapped enjoys being abducted. The kidnapper asks the little boy if he wants to go home and the little boy says,“‘ Aw, what for . . . I don't have any fun at home . . . ”’(13). The boy is showing that he wants to stay where the kidnappers brought him. He is having fun, more fun than he has at home. Another example that O. Henry uses situational irony to show humor is the men who take Johnny want money from Johnny’s father to bring him back, but instead the kidnappers have to end up paying. The kid’s father disagrees with the kidnappers and says, “ I think you are a little high on you demands, and I hereby make you a counterposition . . . you bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty dollars cash and I’ll take him off your hands”(52). This is an example of humor, usually in a kidnapping the kidnappers get the money but in this case, the parents of the kid get the money, that is odd. O. Henrys’ tone changes the reader's’
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