Narrator
The narrator shares that he and his partner have come up with the idea to kidnap someone. Why do they decide on the town of Summit? (Must give BOTH reasons)
It is a semi-rural community and they care for their children.
What are the three different types of irony?
Dramatic, verbal, situational
"It looked like a good thing: but wait till I tell you."
Sam (the narrator)
What type of figurative language is this and what does it mean? (You must get both parts correct to receive the points.
“The boy put up a fight like a welterweight cinnamon bear.”
Simile; It is saying that the boy was hard to kidnap because he put up a good fight.
Read the sentence below:
"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."
What does the term constables mean?
Local law enforcement officers
The narrator and his partner needed a total of this much money. (The amount they already had plus what they planned to get for the ransom).
$2,600
This entire story is best summed up as an example of _____________ irony.
Situational
Ha! cursed paleface, do you dare to enter the camp of Red Chief, the terror of the plains?"
Red Chief (the kid)
When Bill understands that he has to play with Red Chief once again, the narrator describes Bil as a, “Look comes in his eye like a rabbit’s when you catch it in a trap.”
What type of figurative language and what does it mean? You must answer both parts correctly to get the points.
Similie; This shows the reader how poor or sad or disheartened Bill feels about having to play with Red Chief once again.
Read the sentence below:
"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."
What does the term lackadaisical mean?
Disinterested, Lazy, uncaring
The narrator shares that the decision to kidnap the son of Ebenezer Dorset might not be the best idea. Based on the text, what can you infer about the kidnappers’ ability to be successful with their plan to kidnap the young boy?
It may be more difficult than they had originally thought to commit this crime in Summit. They believed that it would be easy to kidnap the boy for ransom.
What is ironic about how Ebenezer Dorset responds to the ransom note?
He responds with a counteroffer. “You bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and I agree to take him off your hands.”
This is the exact opposite of what you would think a father would do if his son was kidnapped.
Based on the behavior Red Chief displayed throughout the kidnapping, the father probably has to deal with him daily and knows what the kidnappers are going through. We can also infer that he knows that the kidnappers will want to send Red Chief back as soon as possible. He also asks the kidnappers to bring him home at night because the neighbors are happy he is gone.
"He put a red-hot boiled potato down my back..."
Bill Driscoll
What is the title an example of?
Foreshadowing
Read the sentence below:
"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."
What does the term diatribe mean?
a news article (more specifically an angry news article)
What did the narrator and his partner tell the kid in order to get him to go back home with them?
They told him that his father had bought a silver-mounted rifle and a pair of moccasins for him, and they were all going to go hunt bears the next day.
What is ironic about calling the town Summit?
Summit means “highest point” or “top,” so you would expect a town of that name to be hilly or mountainous. Instead it turns out to be a flat town…”as flat as a flannel-cake.”
"I think you are a little high in your demands, and I hereby make you a counter-proposition, which I am inclined to believe you will accept."
Ebenezer Dorset
Bill asks Sam, "You know who my favorite biblical character is? King Herod."
What type of figurative language is this and what is meant by Bill saying this? You must get both parts correct.
Allusion; Bill says this because according to Biblical history, King Herod was the king that wanted Baby Jesus dead. Bill has a strong dislike for the kid the same way Herod disliked, or abhorred Baby Jesus.
About two miles from Summit was a little mountain, covered with a dense cedar brake. On the rear elevation of this mountain was a cave. There we stored provisions.
What does the term provisions mean?
Supplies or equipment
What was the name of the village that the narrator told Bill that he was going to in order to find out how the kidnapping had been regarded in Summit?
Poplar Grove
Why do Bill and Sam meet Mr. Dorsett’s demands? Why is this ironic?
Bill can’t wait to get rid of the kid because he feels he may go crazy because of Red Chief’s behavior. “What’s two hundred and fifty dollars, after all? We’ve got the money. One more night of this kid will send me to a bed in Bedlam.” In addition, Sam can’t wait to get rid of the kid. Sam has been annoyed by Red Chief’s behavior too, and he feels that they should cut their losses.
The irony is that the kidnappers end up paying the dad a ransom instead of getting a ransom from the dad. “Tell you the truth, Bill,” says I, “this little he-ewe lamb has somewhat got on my nerves too. We’ll take him home, pay the ransom, and make our getaway.”
"Enough. In ten minutes I shall cross the Central, Southern, and Middle Western States and be legging it trippingly for the Canadian border."
Bill Driscoll
"Sam, The boy is gone. I sent him home. Al is off. There was martyrs in old times that suffered death rather than give up the particular graft they enjoyed.” Why did Bill compare himself to a martyr?
He rather suffer death than to give up robbery or looting, but Red Chief has now changed his mind because the kid is so much trouble to deal with.
It contained inhabitants of as undeleterious and self-satisfied a class of peasantry as ever clustered around a Maypole.
What does undeleterious mean?
Harmless, or not scary