The Ransom of Red Chief Essay example -- Literary Analysis, O. Henry

The life of O. Henry ties in very closely with the taradiddle The Ransom of bolshie Chief.Life had been well until O. Henry had been accused of the embezzlement of bank funds. OHenry denied the indictment but was still put in jail. In prison, he wrote and published hundredsof short stories in order to support his daughter. O. Henry was once asked why he wrote hereplied that every story conveys something close being a person. Having been wrongly accusedmay have led O. Henry to communicate his belief that criminals receive what they deserve inThe Ransom of Red Chief.O. Henry utilizes a first person point of view in his writing to emphasize the significanceof a single character. The center of attention is chiefly heightened on Sam, the narrator (337). Thefirst person point of view is the or so limited for the perspective is only from one individual.However, this is useful when the author wants to focus the thoughts and actions of only onecharacter. The first person point of view i s recognized by the words I or we, as seen on page337. O Henrys conflict plays an important element in the narrative. In The Ransom of RedChief, two conflicts are established, man vs. man and man vs. man. This is most common withthe protagonist versus the antagonist or a good versus evil narrative. The most easily recognizedis the primary conflict, where Bill and Sam kidnap knot and are desperate for money fromEbenezer (337). The sustainary conflict occurs when Bill and Sam have difficulty managingJohnny (339). Interestingly, Johnny enjoys being kidnapped and relates it to a game of Indiansand struggle (340). This creates an unexpected and twisting plot throughout the story. The twoconflicts... ...e denouement. Bill swears that he will cross the Central, Southern,and Middle Western States, and be tripping for the Canadian redact (347). As good a runner asSam was, Bill was a good mile and half out ahead of him (347). This narrative surpass shows O.Henrys opinion that criminals receive what they deserve.O. Henry integrates his own personal beliefs into the narrative The Ransom of Red Chief.O. Henry communicates a lesson to the reader that actions have their consequences. Likewise, inreality, criminals will not be tolerated and receive the deserved punishment. On the other side,people who commit good deeds will receive a foresightful lasting reward. O. Henry communicates tothe reader that evil deeds will lead to unforgiving penalties. But like the criminals people aregiven a second chance to run away and start a new life through Christ.

Economic Injustice in America :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Economic Injustice in America Class is for European democracies or something else--it isnt for the United States of America. We are not going to be divided by association.-George Bush, the forty-first President of the United States (Kalra 1)The United States of America was founded on the basis of a classless society of equals, committed to eliminating the past injustices imposed on them by Great Britain. A hundred years later, Alexis de Tocqueville, a prominent sociologist of France, claimed that the nation was the most democratic in the world, a model for the rest of mankind, distinguished by the equality of condition (Tocqueville in... n. pag.). Today, however, there does exist perceptible classes in this country, and, because of differences in material wealth, Americans have unequal opportunities in politics, education, health care, justice, security, and overall happiness. The distinct class structure of current-day America is the greatest cause of inequality in the United State s today. This inequality in America is not recognized. The subject is either trivialized or brush aside as untrue. Though the economic injustices of other nations can be easily recognized, their own situation, which is comparable or worse, is free of criticism. Michael Parenti, a sociologist from Yale, states, If the subject of class is introduced, it is unremarkably dismissed as an outworn Marxist notion having no relevance to modern America (Parenti 55). America still re establishs to many a place of equality where success is decided by chance and choice, ignoring that if this was the case, income would be distri simplyed more evenly than the current imbalance towards the upper class. Thus, while overtly acknowledging and emphasizing the discriminations based on race and gender, the American public accepts unfair social stratification as very legitimate. The reality is that the economic gap within the classes is great and growing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the gap m ingled with the richest and everyone else in America is the greatest it has been since the end of WWII. Professor Edward N. Wolff of N.Y.U. states that the current era represents the most extreme level of wealth concentration since the late 1920s (Gates 17). Paul Samuelson explains that the present income structure is grossly unfairly distributed. If we made an income pyramid out of a childs blocks, with each layer portraying $1,000 of income, the peak would be far higher than the Eiffel Tower, but almost all of us would be within a yard of the ground (Kalra 10).

Hardships in Boys and Girls by Alice Munro :: Boys and Girls Alice Munro

In her story, Boys and Girls, Alice Munro depicts the hardships and successes of the rite of passage into adulthood through her portrayal of a young teller and her brother. Through the narrator, the subject of the profound manginess of sex-role stereotyping, and the effect this has on the rites of passage into adulthood is presented. The protagonist in Munros story, unidentified by a name, goes through an extreme and radical initiation into adulthood, similar to that of her jr. brother. Munro proposes that gender stereotyping, relationships, and a loss of innocence play an extreme, and often-controversial role in the growing and passing into adulthood for many young children. Initiation, or the rite of passage into adulthood, is, according to the theme of Munros story, both a mandatory and necessary experience. Alice Munros creation of an unnamed and therefore undignified, female protagonist proposes that the narrator is without identity or the prospect of power. Unlike the narrator, the young brother Laird is named a name that means "lord" and implies that he, by virtue of his gender alone, is invested with identity and is to plough a master. This stereotyping in names alone seems to suggest that gender does play an important role in the initiation of young children into adults. Growing up, the narrator loves to suffice her father outside with the foxes, rather than to aid her nonplus with "dreary and peculiarly depressing" work done in the kitchen (425). In this escape from her predestined duties, the narrator looks upon her mothers assigned tasks to be "endless," while she views the work of her father as "ritualistically important" (425). This view garnishs her happy childhood, filled with dreams and fantasy. Her contrast between the work of her father and the chores of her mother, illustrate an arising struggle between what the narrator is expected to do and what she wants to do. Work done by her father is view ed as being real, while that done by her mother was considered boring. Conflicting views of what was fun and what was expected lead the narrator to her initiation into adulthood. Unrealistically, the narrator believes that she would be of use to her father more and more as she got older. However, as she grows older, the remainder between boys and girls becomes more clear and conflicting to her.