The con men rent a buggy from a neighboring town and drive by the Dorset’s house at night, where they find Dorset’s son, Johnny, throwing rocks at a kitten. He works as a “mortgage financier,” so the men know he has the money. Dorset is the most prominent man in the town of Summit, Alabama.
Sam agrees, and they select a target-the 10-year-old son of Ebenezer Dorset. Bill suggests that they kidnap a local child and ask a $2,000 ransom for his safe return. Sam and Bill want to add $2,000 to their current stash of $600 so they can “pull off a fraudulent town-lot scheme in Western Illinois” (71). Henry’s Whirligigs, originally published in 1910. This guide refers to the 1999 Project Gutenberg version of “The Ransom of Red Chief” found in O. It is widely considered to be the inspiration for the 1990s hit movie series Home Alone, which also features a pair of hapless criminals and the clever child they target. It has been adapted into television movies and a 1984 opera, and has inspired countless parodies and indirect adaptations. “The Ransom of Red Chief” is still widely read today and a staple of American literature classes. Although only a few pages long, the story is considered a classic of American literature for its humorous, fast-paced action and deft exploration of themes, including what drives people to crime, what justice truly is, and the extremes some people will go to in search of what they consider their American dream. Henry’s stories, the story features an ironic twist ending that remains one its most enduring features.
After they kidnap Dorset’s 10-year-old son, the criminals soon find themselves at the mercy of a particularly spoiled, rambunctious, and clever boy who thwarts their plan. Sam and Bill devise a ransom scheme and target Ebenezer Dorset, the most important man in the small Alabama town of Summit. The story takes place in Alabama in the early 1900s and is narrated from Sam’s first-person point of view. Henry explores themes of Violence and Cruelty, Morality and Greed, and Desperation for Freedom through two career con men, Sam and his partner, Bill Driscoll.
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