29 pages • 58 minutes read
The Ransom of Red Chief
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Themes
Cruelty and Violence
By subverting stereotypical roles, O. Henry suggests that violence begets power, and those with power rely on cruelty to maintain their superior position. Sam and Bill are initially depicted as cruel and violent, as they plan and execute the kidnapping of a 10-year-old boy. During the kidnapping, Johnny fights against them, but they force him into the bottom of the buggy. As the story progresses, Bill makes a few violent comments, such as asking Sam for a gun and referring to the Biblical story of King Herod. He also boxes Johnny’s ears when Johnny burns him with a boiled potato. Ironically, the two career criminals who kidnap a child are not the most violent characters in “The Ransom of Red Chief.” Additionally, the con men are characterized as powerless against Ebenezer and Johnny Dorset.
Johnny, self-dubbed “Red Chief,” is the most violent character in the short story. His introduction shows him tormenting a kitten with rocks. After being kidnapped, he turns all his violent energy onto Bill, whom he does not respect. He hits Bill with rocks twice, first hitting him in the eye during the kidnapping and later slinging a large rock and knocking the man unconscious. Sam wakes up to find that Johnny “was industriously and realistically trying to take Bill’s scalp” (73). The violent act keeps Sam from falling back asleep because he is worried that the child might burn him, which “Red Chief” threatened while they were all playing the night before.
Both men struggle to realize the full extent of Johnny’s cruel and violent nature. Bill is first to recognize the magnitude of Johnny’s violence, and he questions whether Johnny’s father would pay “to get a little imp like that back home” (73). Sam, who leaves Johnny in Bill’s charge, does not take Johnny’s actions as seriously as Bill. He thinks that Johnny has become that way because he was spoiled, and he tells Bill, “A rowdy kid like that is just the kind that parents dote on” (73). Sam believes that Johnny has grown violent because he is spoiled.
Although not much about Johnny’s life at home is shown in the story, it can be inferred that his violent tendencies are not a result of spoiling. Johnny does not want to return home because he doesn’t “have any fun at home” (72). It is more likely that Johnny has learned cruelty from his father. Ebenezer Dorset does not display physical violence in “The Ransom of Red Chief.” However, it is made clear to the reader that Dorset is cold, unempathetic, and selfish. If he is willing to risk his son’s life rather than pay a ransom fee, then it is inferred that he does not spoil Johnny. And, while Dorset does not harm Johnny in the story, the man is depicted as someone who takes advantage of vulnerable individuals—a trait which Johnny inherited. By framing the story’s events as comedic rather than dramatic, O. Henry draws focus to the ways in which cruelty manifests as a lack of empathy.
Morality and Greed
The exploration of morality and greed is another prominent theme. The entire plot of the story hinges on greed, which motivates both the protagonists to kidnap a child and the antagonistic Dorset to set his counteroffer. Greed provides the catalyst for the conflict and the climax, drives the behaviors of the characters, and is the basis for the resolution of the story.
Sam and Bill come up with the idea to kidnap Johnny because they wants an easy way to make $2,000. However, the men do not pause to consider the moral consequences of their greed; they are only focused on making fast money to bankroll their future criminal endeavors. Of the two con men, Bill is the most moral. He acts as a playmate to Johnny while Sam is away. Although the child makes him miserable, he puts up with Johnny in the hope that he and Sam will secure the funds they need. Bill’s sense of self-preservation starts to take over his feelings of greed as Johnny continues to abuse him. While writing the ransom note, Bill implores Sam to lessen the ransom fee and offers to pay the difference from his own money: “Bill begged me tearfully to make the ransom fifteen hundred dollars instead of two thousand” (76). When Sam goes to send the letter and leaves Bill with Johnny, Bill hits his limit. He loses sight of his greed, and he tries to take Johnny back home. By the end of the story, Bill is eager to accept Ebenezer Dorset’s offer. He even refers to Dorset as a “spendthrift” for asking such a small fee. Bill—who willingly concocted the kidnapping scheme in the first place—is the one to count out the $250 and hand it over to Dorset.
Like Bill, Sam is driven by greed to kidnap a child. Sam’s feelings of greed are slower to dissipate because he does not spend as much time with Johnny, nor does Johnny abuse Sam the way that he abuses Bill. When Bill’s faith fades, Sam convinces him to stick to the plan. Sam relinquishes his greed when he reads Dorset’s proposal. He knows that he will never get the money he is seeking from Johnny’s father. He also knows that he and Bill need Dorset’s help to get rid of Johnny. He is less eager than Bill to part with the $250, but he accepts the offer, nonetheless.
Conversely, Dorset’s greed is insatiable. Sam and Bill target Dorset because of his greed. Sam describes him as an “upright collection-plate passer and forecloser” (71). The con men know that Dorset is rich enough to easily afford the ransom. They assume that, since he contributes to the offerings at church, he will be able to set aside his greed and pay a ransom for his son. However, the men misjudge Dorset. Dorset’s greed outweighs his affection for his troublesome son. He not only refuses the ransom, but he also suggests that he will not take his son back unless the men pay him $250. By proposing this offer, Dorset risks the safety of his son. He hazards the chance that the criminals might dump or murder Johnny. The extent of Dorset’s greed characterizes him as a cruel father. Dorset’s greed wins in the end, alluding to the idea that vulnerable people are powerless against the greed of the wealthy.
Desperation for Freedom
Sam and Bill are confident when they first embark on their plan to kidnap Johnny. Ebenezer Dorset is rich, and they assume that “philoprogenitiveness”—the love for one’s children—is strong in the area. Thus, they move forward with their plan without question. Sam’s narration of the early phases of the kidnapping do not carry a desperate tone. The men simply want the ransom money to bankroll their next big scheme. They are depicted as corrupt and nonchalant, but O. Henry challenges these assumptions as the story progresses.
The terms “desperate” and “desperation” appear in the narrative to characterize Sam and Bill and underscore the theme’s significance. When Sam awakes to Johnny attacking Bill, he describes Bill as “a strong, desperate, fat man” (73). The two con men sign the ransom letter as “TWO DESPERATE MEN.” The desperation in this instance is intentionally comical and ambiguous—it is uncertain whether the men are desperate for the money or desperate to get rid of Johnny. Dorset interprets the signature as the latter. He is aware of Johnny’s personality, and he understands that the men will be so desperate to get rid of the child that they will pay him to take the boy back.
While Sam does show moments of desperation, it is Bill who takes on desperation as a key character trait. Bill reveals that he is desperate for the money when he tolerates the violent behavior of Johnny. Johnny tries to scalp Bill, smashes a hot potato onto Bill’s skin, and knocks Bill unconscious with a rock. However, Bill still agrees to stay with Johnny and to play with him to keep him content. When Sam leaves to send the ransom note, Bill’s desperation shifts. The degradation and abuse from Johnny become too much to bear, and he takes the child back home. Johnny fights, bruising Bill’s legs and inflicting deep bite wounds on the man’s hands, but Bill, driven by desperation, clings on to the boy and delivers him to his yard. Bill’s desperation is shown in a comical light at the end of the tale when he outruns Sam as he flees from the Dorset’s house.
Like the two con men, Johnny is also characterized as desperate. During the kidnapping, Johnny fights to get away from the men. He is terrified and desperate for his freedom. However, he soon realizes that the men pose no serious threat, and he finds that he would prefer to stay with them than to return home. Sam threatens to take Johnny home, and Johnny shows that he has no interest in returning to his father or to school. He fights and injures Bill in a desperate attempt to avoid returning home. When he is finally returned to his father, Dorset says that he can only give the men a 10-minute head start. Johnny is desperate to get away from his home and from his father. Again, O. Henry creates a sense of ambiguity in the reader, who is unsure whether to pity Johnny as a child in desperate need of parental compassion and guidance or to detest him as an untamable and violent brat.
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