Ransom Of The Red Chief Critique
Ransom of the Red Chief
The Tale of the Reformed Kidnappers
A review by Logan Christie
December 5, 2014 Enjoy stories about bratty kids, Indians or kidnappings? Then look up Ransom of the Red Chief, immediately, because it has it all! This story was written by O. Henry, whose real name is William Sydney Porter, in 1907. Living until from 1862 until1910, Porter wrote many of his stories while he was stationed in prison for embezzlement. Along with Ransom of the Red Chief, The Gift of the Magi is another one of his famous works. In this story Bill Driscoll and Sam, the narrator, are two of the main characters. Working together, they’re two clever men, who mischievously plan and commit crimes. The other two characters are Ebenezer Dorset, a rich businessman and his energetic and intolerable son. They’re later introduced into the story. Ironically this story takes place in a small town called Summit that happens to be as flat as a pancake. As Sam and Bill are planning another crime to pull off an important scheme in Western Illinois, they decide they first must pull off a kidnapping in this small, quiet town. In desperate need of $2,000 to pull off their crime in Western Illinois, Sam and Bill decided kidnapping was the best way to get that money, especially in a town like Summit. Their victim would be a ten year old freckle-faced, cartoon-looking boy, whose name was Johnny, from the Dorset family. Fortunately, the kidnapping worked in their favor, until the kid actually enjoyed being in this situation. While the kid was very energetic and talkative, he was immensely annoying and rather dangerous. Shockingly, the boy terrified the thieves because his imagination got the best of him. Bill took the brunt of it. Terrified, he couldn’t even think of being left alone with this kid. The boy was brutal. He beat, hit, kicked and played much too rough. Putting up with the kid no longer, Sam and Bill made the ransom note for that night. Desperately,
The Tale of the Reformed Kidnappers
A review by Logan Christie
December 5, 2014 Enjoy stories about bratty kids, Indians or kidnappings? Then look up Ransom of the Red Chief, immediately, because it has it all! This story was written by O. Henry, whose real name is William Sydney Porter, in 1907. Living until from 1862 until1910, Porter wrote many of his stories while he was stationed in prison for embezzlement. Along with Ransom of the Red Chief, The Gift of the Magi is another one of his famous works. In this story Bill Driscoll and Sam, the narrator, are two of the main characters. Working together, they’re two clever men, who mischievously plan and commit crimes. The other two characters are Ebenezer Dorset, a rich businessman and his energetic and intolerable son. They’re later introduced into the story. Ironically this story takes place in a small town called Summit that happens to be as flat as a pancake. As Sam and Bill are planning another crime to pull off an important scheme in Western Illinois, they decide they first must pull off a kidnapping in this small, quiet town. In desperate need of $2,000 to pull off their crime in Western Illinois, Sam and Bill decided kidnapping was the best way to get that money, especially in a town like Summit. Their victim would be a ten year old freckle-faced, cartoon-looking boy, whose name was Johnny, from the Dorset family. Fortunately, the kidnapping worked in their favor, until the kid actually enjoyed being in this situation. While the kid was very energetic and talkative, he was immensely annoying and rather dangerous. Shockingly, the boy terrified the thieves because his imagination got the best of him. Bill took the brunt of it. Terrified, he couldn’t even think of being left alone with this kid. The boy was brutal. He beat, hit, kicked and played much too rough. Putting up with the kid no longer, Sam and Bill made the ransom note for that night. Desperately,