In “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O.Henry, an ironic story is told about two foolish kidnappers kidnapping a wealthy man’s son. However, ironically, the son, a ten-year-old child, annoys and abuses them to the point where they have to pay money to return the son instead of holding him for ransom. Typically, a story about kidnapping and abuse would be a serious, dark story, but O.Henry makes the story into an entertaining and comical story. The two factors of irony and literary devices have a huge effect on the story’s overall demeanor, allowing readers to smile and sympathize with characters.
Irony is used several times throughout the story. The simplest and least complex use of irony is the name of the town where Johnny is kidnapped. The town’s name is “summit,” however, it is also described to be “as flat as a flannel cake.” These two descriptive terms are obviously polar opposites, creating a funny feel and environment to the story. Another example is throughout the story, where the kidnappers become victims to Johnny in a fashionable manner instead of the other way around.
Furthermore, the use of literary devices, such as metaphors and allegories, have a great impact on the story. One metaphor is when Sam finds Johnny threatening to smash Bill’s head with a giant rock. Instead of simply saying a giant rock, the author uses a metaphor to compare the size of the rock to be “half as big as a coconut.” Here, coconuts seem out of the blue and random, giving the readers a chance to laugh at the absurdity of the metaphor. The author also uses an allegory to the Bible when Johnny throws Bill into the fire. Bill brings up a Biblical reference to King Herod, who is believed to have initiated a murder of all the infants in Bethlehem in an attempt to get rid of the baby Jesus. This can be compared in the story to Bill wanting to get rid of Johnny, similarly to the way King Herod wanted to get rid of Jesus. To compare a small-scale kidnapping to Jesus is no small feat, once again, allowing readers to sympathize and laugh along with the story.
Through the use of irony and literary devices, the story does not feel as if it had been about an unlawful and unjustified kidnapping, but instead the story of two foolish criminals and a laughingstock of a boy.