The Ransom of Red Chiefby O. Henry

Holt Literature p. 52

O. Henry

William Sydney Porter1862 - 1910

William Sidney Porter• His pen name was O. Henry• He is known as a master of the short

story form and of the surprise ending.• He had very little formal education; he

was homeschooled by his aunt.• He worked in his uncle’s pharmacy and

became a licensed pharmacist.

• He came to Texas at the age of twenty and worked on a sheep ranch.

• He used this knowledge of ranch life in many of his stories.

• He moved to Austin, Texas in 1884.• He fell in love and married.• He became a teller with the First National

Bank of Austin.• He quit his job at the bank and started a

weekly humor magazine called Rolling Stone. • After the failure of his magazine, he went to

work as a reporter for The Houston Post .

William Sidney Porter

(O. Henry) and family

• Indicted in 1896 for embezzlement, he fled to New Orleans and then to Honduras.

• Upon hearing news of his wife’s serious illness, he returned to Texas.

• After her death, he was imprisoned in Ohio.• He was found guilty of the embezzlement

charges and sentenced to five years in an Ohio prison.

• While in prison, he wrote many adventure stories set in Texas and Central America that became very popular.

• He published his stories using the pen name O. Henry.

• His pen name helped to shield his true identity.

• After three years of incarceration, Porter was released from prison and moved to New York City.

• After he moved to New York, he published over three hundred short stories.

• Porter gained worldwide acclaim as America’s favorite short story writer.

• He died in 1910 at the age of forty-seven.• His last years were troubled by

alcoholism, ill health, and financial problems.

There is an O. Henry museum inAustin, Texas near UT.

The museum is in a restored cottagethat Porter lived in from 1893-1895.

The O. Henry Museum offers writingprograms for adults and children.

O. Henry house in Austin, Texas

O. Henry Prize for short stories

• Every year prizes are awarded for the best short stories published that year.

• Officially known as the O. Henry Memorial Award Prize stories, they are usually called O. Henry Prize stories.

• It is the nation’s most prestigious award for short fiction.

Origin of O. Henry’s pen name????

•Ohio Penitentiary ? or•named after his cat ?

Directions:• Put your heading on a piece of notebook

paper.• Title – “Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry• Take notes over the following terms as your

teacher discusses them.

You may want to use a Cornell or two-column note format for these notes so that you can easily use them for review.

Vocabulary Words in Context• apparition- a sudden or unusual sight• undeletorious- harmless• fraudulent – obtained by deception • philoprogentiveness – love for one’s own children• diatribe – bitter, abusive criticism• provisions – necessary supplies; food• welter-weight – boxing term for a contestant weighing

under 147 pounds• collaborated – to work together on a project• impudent – offensive boldness ; disrespectful; insolent• commend – to speak highly of• comply – to go along with a request• ransom – payment for the release of a captive

Academic Vocabulary – Literary TermsVerbal irony• saying the opposite of what one means.• Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony• Ex: Saying “it is a lovely day” when it is raining.

Dramatic irony• The audience or reader knows something that a character doesn’t know.• Ex: We know Freddy is behind the door with a knife ready to slash the

cheerleader.• Ex: We know Anne Frank will never fulfill her dream of living in Paris.

Situational irony• What happens is not what is expected.• Ex: A firestation burns down.• Ex: The Joker defeats Batman.• Ex: The geek gets the girl.• Ex: A man is run over by a bus after collecting the winning lottery ticket.

Academic Vocabulary – Literary Termsmalapropism (ˈma-lə-ˌprä-ˌpi-zəm)Definition:1. an inappropriateness of speech resulting from the use of one word for another, which resembles it.2. the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one of similar sound, especially when creating a ridiculous effect3. the habit of misusing words ridiculously.4. an amusing error that occurs when a person mistakenly uses a word that sounds like another word

but that has a very different meaningExamples:

He used a fire distinguisher.

"Well I try to look at the bright side. I guess you could say I'm an internal optometrist."(Steve Carell as Barry in Dinner for Schmucks, 2010)

Etymology of the term:From the character of Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan's play The Rivals (1775). One of her noteworthy similes is "as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile.“"Why, murder's the matter! slaughter's the matter! killing's the matter! But he can tell you the perpendiculars."(Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan's The Rivals)

satireIn satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement.

Satire is usually meant to be funny, but its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon.

Is there an aspect of satire in this story by O. Henry?

Who is being held up to ridicule? What type of person does this character represent?

tone – satirical

Allusions in “Ransom of Red Chief”

What is an allusion?What do you know about _______?

David and Goliath ?

King Herod ?

Pirates of Penzance ?

Buffalo Bill Cody?

Allusions in “The Ransom of Red Chief”

David and Goliath Biblical allusion to the Old Testament story of the young shepherd David, who killed the giant Goliath with only his slingshot and his faith.

King HerodBiblical allusion to the Jewish king whoordered all male Hebrew children under the age of two slaughtered after hearing a prophecy fromthree wise men of a new king born in Bethlehem. (Jesus of Nazareth).

Pirates of Penzance Allusion to a very popular 1880s comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan involving pirates, beautiful women, mistaken identities, and numerous complications.

Allusions in “The Ransom of Red Chief”

William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody (February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917) was an American soldier, bison hunter and showman. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US Army as a scout. One of the most colorful figures of the American Old West, Buffalo Bill became famous for the shows he organized with cowboy themes, which he toured in Great Britain and Europe as well as the United States.

Homework:

:

Students will independently read “The Ransom of Red Chief.”• Due Thursday at beginning of class.• Be prepared to work with the story in class on

Thursday and Friday.

Comprehension/Craft annotation of story • You must have two annotations per side on

each page.• Due Thursday at beginning of class