Discussion Topic
Red Chief's Annoying Actions in "The Ransom of Red Chief"
Summary:
In O. Henry's "The Ransom of Red Chief," Red Chief, or Johnny Dorset, drives his captors, Bill and Sam, to regret kidnapping him through a series of annoying and painful actions. Johnny throws a brick at Bill, kicks him, and subjects him to incessant chatter and war cries. He nearly scalps Bill, puts a hot potato on his back, and shoots him with a slingshot. Ultimately, Bill and Sam are so tormented they pay Johnny's father to take him back.
What actions does Red Chief take to annoy Bill in "The Ransom of Red Chief"?
Bill Driscoll endures a fair amount of torture at the hands of Johnny Dorset, also known as Red Chief. The abuse begins during the initial capture of Johnny when the boy throws a brick at Bill and hits him in the eye. When Sam is returning the buggy, Bill receives many kicks in the shins from the boy. His non-stop "during-dinner speech" and his ear-splitting war whoops get on Bill's nerves. The boy keeps Bill up for three hours during the night with his play-acting, and in the morning he takes a knife to Bill's hair and almost scalps him. After that, Bill doesn't dare to sleep a wink while Red Chief is in their care. Later, when Sam leaves again, Red Chief terrorizes Bill by putting a hot boiled potato down his back and squashing it against Bill's skin with his foot. When Sam returns, Red Chief is threatening...
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Bill with a huge rock. Although Sam takes the rock away, Red Chief later takes out a sling shot and slings a rock at Bill, hitting him behind the ear. It knocks Bill a little senseless, and he staggers into a pan of hot water and gets scalded. The next day during Sam's absence, Red Chief rides Bill like a "hoss" for miles, and Bill finally abandons the boy, but he reappears. After such abuse, Bill is more than willing to pay the ransom Johnny's father requires.
What actions of Red Chief make Bill and Sam regret kidnapping him in "The Ransom of Red Chief"?
Johnny Dorset, the son of wealthy banker Ebenezer Dorset, immediately attacks them; later, he terrorizes his captors even more.
When Sam and Bill ride up in a buggy and call to the boy, he throws a brick that catches Bill "neatly in the eye." They then have to wrestle Johnny to get him into the buggy:
That boy put up a fight like a welter-weight cinnamon bear; but, at last, we got him down in the bottom of the buggy and drove away.
After they transport the boy to the cave on the small mountain outside of Summit, Alabama, Johnny decides he wants to be called Red Chief. That evening, he talks incessantly and the men cannot get to sleep for hours. Sam then wakes at daybreak to hear Bill screaming as Red Chief attempts to scalp him.
I got the knife away from the kid and made him lie down again. But, from that moment, Bill’s spirit was broken.
Bill never really sleeps after this, as he feels he must keep an eye open all the time. Sam dozes some, but as the sun rises, he suddenly recalls that Red Chief declared that he was to be burned at the stake when the sun was rising.
I wasn’t nervous or afraid; but I sat up and lit my pipe and leaned against a rock.
Soon, Sam goes to look down at the town and see whether a search for Johnny Dorset is occurring; however, there is nothing out of the ordinary happening. The kidnappers decide to write Mr. Dorset a ransom letter, reducing the original price by five hundred dollars. Ironically, the only way they can be rid of Red Chief is by paying Mr. Dorset to take the boy back.