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The Ransom of Red Chief

by O. Henry

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What is Sam's full name in O. Henry's "The Ransom of Red Chief"?

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Sam is one of two con-men who kidnap the wealthy banker Ebenezer Dorset's boy, Johnny; he is also the narrator of the story.

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Unfortunately, Sam is the fullest name that readers are given for Sam in this story. Sam is the narrator of the story, and he doesn't provide readers with his full name; however, he does provide readers with his partner's full name. His partner is Bill Driscoll, and Bill only uses Sam's first name throughout the entire story.

Sam and Bill are kidnappers, and they are incapable of controlling little Johnny Dorset. They are basically bumbling fools; however, they are smart enough to not sign their names in any way to the ransom letter that they give to Ebenezer Dorset. Instead, they sign their letter "Two Desperate Men." It's a great signature because it must sound slightly threatening; however, readers know by this point that Sam and Bill are just desperate to be rid of the kid. The only other name for Sam is "Snake Eye, the Spy." This is the...

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name that Johnny Dorset gives Sam for his various games and antics that he puts the two kidnappers through.

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Sam is one of the two kidnappers in the O. Henry short story, "The Ransom of Red Chief." Sam and his partner, Bill, decide to abduct the son of a wealthy Summit, Alabama man, Ebenezer Dorset. But little Johnny Dorset makes life miserable for the two men. To entertain him, they play a running game of cowboys and Indians, of which Johnny goes by the name of "Red Chief." Bill Driscoll, one of the kidnappers, allows himself to be called "Old Hank, the trapper, Red Chief's captive," who is supposed to be scalped at daybreak. Sam, the narrator of the story, whose last name is never revealed, is called "Snake-eye, the Spy" by the young terror, Red Chief.

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Who is Sam in O. Henry's "The Ransom of Red Chief"?

Sam is one of the two con-men who kidnap the wealthy Ebenezeer Dorset's boy; he is also the narrator of the story.

Sam misjudges himself and others in this tale. First of all, he considers himself erudite as he employs such words as diatribedeletrious, and sylvan,but then he uses a malapropism, philoprogenitiveness. Secondly, he feels that he and Bill are sophisticated in the art of extortion and in various schemes of inveigling others to part with their money, but their plans fall through. Thirdly, he and his partner Bill decide that the rustics of a small town in Alabama will be no competition against them in their plan to kidnap the son of the wealthy banker Dorset, but this is not the case, either.

We knew that Summit couldn’t get after us with anything stronger than constables and, maybe, some lackadaisical bloodhounds and a diatribe or two in the Weekly Farmers’ Budget. So, it looked good.

Sam and his partner also figure that Mr. Dorset will pay a ransom of two thousand dollars for his son. However, they have underestimated the banker Dorset, and they have completely misjudged Johnny Dorset, an enfant terrible who reverses Bill's and Sam's roles from captors to victims. So defeated are Sam and Bill by the incessant talking, yelling and injuries inflicted by Johnny, the savage Red Chief, that they pay Mr. Dorset two hundred and fifty dollars to reclaim his son. Then, because Mr. Dorset says that he can only hold his wild son for so long, the two men hurriedly flee the state.

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