The Ransom of Red ChiefAn obscure tale of two greedy men and the boy who would be chief.

So Who Wrote It?

William Sydney Porter wrote it.

Not listed as the author, you say? True.

O. Henry, the man we know as the author, used a Pen Name or nom de plume (Oh, fancy!).

Why? Wouldn’t you like to know.

Who Was O. Henry?

Good question, Watson.

Before he was a writer, O. Henry was: A drug store clerk A ranch hand A bank teller A convicted felon

Oh, did I forget to mention that? Apparently, old Mr. Henry got his hand caught in the bank’s cookie jar and was convicted of embezzlement.

A Life In Bars Continued…

No, O. Henry did not spend his life in prison.

Actually, he made a go of writing while inside.

Shortly, after getting out of prison, he changed his name from William Sydney Porter to O. Henry. His writings earned him the income he needed to support himself and his daughter.

From there, he became the writer we know today.

O. Henry: The Write Style

Everything he wrote was Fiction OR NOT REAL

His stories were short and usually printed in the weekly newspaper (You know, that paper thing you run over in your driveway?)

His stories generally had surprise endings.

Now stories with twists are often said to be written in the “O. Henry style.”

O. Henry preferred to write:

Adventures, Humorous Tales, Slice-of-Life Tales

O. Henry and Irony

O. Henry LOVED irony.

In fact, “The Ransom of Red Chief” is stuffed to the gills with it.

There are actually 3 different types of Irony.

Let’s take a look.

Situational IRONY

◦ Situational: irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.

◦ Example:

Dramatic Irony

Oh, let’s see…JUST ABOUT EVERY HORROR MOVIE EVER MADE!Dramatic: irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play.

In other words:

We (the audience) see

the spider, but Frodo

(the character) has no

idea.

Verbal Irony

◦ Verbal: irony in which a person says or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning (e.g., sarcasm).

Example:

“Gee, I was hoping I’d

get wet today.”

Literary Terms to Know

Prediction: In other words, you take clues from your reading to make an educated guess about upcoming events.

It’s like previews at a movie theater. You watch the preview and then you decide whether you will spend the money to come back and watch the movie.

In other words, you predict how good the movie will be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e2xY0pMz70

Let’s spend a minute and predict what O. Henry’s story might be about based on the title.

Prediction Practice

Go ahead. Predict what happened when the front door opened and I saw this?

Look, the skinny on prediction is this: the more information you gather, the more accurate your guess will be. It’s all about evidence!

Terms Continued

Pun: the humorous use of a word that suggests a different meaning than the literal meaning.

Example: In this instance, check out the word, “toad.”

It’s a play on the word, “towed.”

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing: to indicate

before something happens.

Example: This scene appears in the

movie, Van Helsing BEFORE he

turns into a werewolf.

Allusion

Allusion: an implied or indirect reference especially in literature.

Example: There was an episode of

this TV show titled, “It’s the Great

Pumpkin,

Sam Winchester.”

Hyperbole

Hyperbole: an extreme exaggeration.

Simile

Simile: a phrase that uses the words like or as to describe someone or something by comparing it with someone or something else that is similar.

Her hair glistened in the rain like a

nose hair after a sneeze.

Metaphor

Metaphor: a word or phrase for one thing that is used to refer to another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar. Example: He is a charging bull when it comes to getting things done.

Example: The car became a prison

of gaseous doom once Jill’s father

finished his snack of dried apricots

and prune juice.

Drawing Connections