Plot Structure
What happens in the Rising action?
- Sam and Bill successfully kidnap Johnny and take him to a cave hideout
- Johnny immediately embraces the adventure, calling himself "Red Chief"
- He torments Bill with war games, demands stories, and refuses to go home
- The kidnappers write a ransom note demanding $1,500
- Johnny's behavior becomes increasingly wild and exhausting
What are Johnny Dorset's traits?
Energetic, imaginative, fearless, mischievous
What Irony and Role reversal was in the book?
- The kidnappers become the victims of their own crime
- The "victim" enjoys his captivity and doesn't want to be rescued
- Parents typically pay to get children back, but here the father must be paid to take his child
What is the setup?
O. Henry masterfully sets up reader expectations:
- We expect kidnappers to collect ransom money
- We assume parents desperately want their children back
- We anticipate the criminals will either succeed or be caught by police
Diatribe
Diatribe: condemnation; bitter, abusive criticism
What happens in the Climax of the Book?
- Bill reaches his breaking point and threatens to leave
- Sam receives a counter-offer letter from Ebenezer Dorset
- Instead of paying ransom, Dorset demands the kidnappers pay HIM $250 to take Johnny back
What are Sam's traits? (narrator)
More level-headed, practical, business-minded
What crime consequences are in the book?
- Criminal schemes can backfire in unexpected ways
- Sometimes the punishment doesn't fit the crime in the way criminals expect
- Bad decisions lead to worse situations
What is the twist?
The shocking reversal occurs when:
- Dorset demands payment to take Johnny back instead of paying ransom
- The kidnappers must pay the victim's father
- The "rescue" becomes an escape for the criminals
Ransom
Ransom: a price or payment demanded in return for the release of property or a person
What happens in the Resolution?
- The men pay Dorset and return Johnny
- They flee town as fast as possible, with Johnny chasing after them
What are Ebenezer Dorset's traits?
Shrewd, practical, understanding of his son's nature
What Childhood vs. Adulthood was in the book?
- Johnny's boundless energy overwhelms the adults
- Children's imagination and play can be more powerful than adult schemes
- Adults underestimate the challenges of dealing with difficult children
Why it works is?
- Believability: Johnny's behavior makes the twist logical
- Foreshadowing: Clues throughout the story hint at Johnny's difficult nature
- Surprise: The twist is unexpected but makes perfect sense in hindsight
- Humor: The reversal creates comedy rather than tragedy
Pervade
Pervade: to spread or to be present throughout
What happens in the Exposition?
- Two con men, Sam and Bill, arrive in the small town of Summit, Alabama
- They need $2,000 to pull off a land scheme in Illinois
- They decide to kidnap the son of a wealthy businessman, Ebenezer Dorset
- The victim is 10-year-old Johnny Dorset, a red-haired boy
What are Bills Traits?
Short-tempered, physically stronger, less patient
What small town life was in the book
- Summit represents a place where everyone knows everyone
- The father's calm response suggests he knows his son's reputation
- Small communities can be tougher than criminals expect
What is literary technique?
O. Henry uses:
- Situational irony: The opposite of what's expected happens
- Dramatic irony: Readers gradually realize what the characters don't
- Verbal irony: The narrator's descriptions contrast with reality
Surreptitiously
Surreptitiously: in a sneaky way; secretly
What happens in the falling action?
- Sam and Bill realize they're trapped by Johnny's behavior
- They desperately agree to Dorset's terms
- They scrape together the $250 payment
What is Johnny's Role?
The supposed victim who becomes the tormentor
Name one of the major themes.
Irony and Role reversal, Consequences of Crime, Childhood VS. Adulthood, Small Town Life
Name of the twist endings.
setup, twist, why is works, literary technique
Palatable
Palatable: acceptable to the taste; able to be eaten