1. Literary Terms from “The Ransom of Red Chief.”

2. allusion
a reference to famous person, place, event, or work of literature.
Example: In “The Bet,” writer Anton Chekhov alludes to Byron and Shakespeare when he describes the lawyer’s reading material during the last two years of confinement.

3. irony
a contrast between what is expected and what actually exists or actually happens.
Example: In the story, “Checkouts,” it is an example of irony when the reader expected the girl to go to the bag boy’s line to pay for her groceries. But she didn’t, and they never spoke to each other ever.

4. Three Types of Irony
Situational Irony
Verbal Irony
Dramatic Irony

5. Verbal Irony Also called sarcasm
The contrast between what someone says and what he or she means
Think of an example from a recent conversation.

6. Dramatic Irony
The contrast between what a character knows and what the reader or audience knows. Usually, the reader knows something the character doesn’t.

7. paradox
a statement or situation that seems to contradict itself but is, nevertheless, true.
Example: In “The Ransom of Red Chief,” it is a paradox that Red Chief enjoys being kidnapped.

8. exaggeration An extreme overstatement of an idea
Often used for purposes of emphasis or humor
Example: In the story, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the narrator exaggerates when he says, “I heard all thing in heaven and all things in hell.”

9. hyperbole
a figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or for humorous effect.
Example: “With his gang’s help, Pecos Bill put together the biggest ranch in the Southwest. He used New Mexico as a corral and Arizona as a pasture. He invented tarantulas and scorpions as practical jokes.”

10. foreshadowing
Hints found in the story that suggest future events.

11. Satire
A humorous emphasis on a character’s shortcomings or personality flaws.
Satire is created through exaggeration, sarcasm, amusing descriptions, irony, and witty dialogue.

12. One purpose of satire is to make people of our society think about how we treat each other in order to encourage change for the better.

13. Vocabulary Write the word on the left and the definition on the right.
Draw a small picture to remind you of the word

14. Diatribe/fjalim demaskues
A bitter, abusive criticism; putting someone or something down.
“Today’s newspaper had an angry diatribe about the actions of the kidnappers.”

15. Tastes good, not bitter or sour or bad.
Palatable
Tastes good, not bitter or sour or bad.
“I’m not always sure what passes as palatable in the school cafeteria!”

16. Ransom/Haraç-shpërblesë
A price or payment demanded in exchange for the release of property or a person.
“The kidnappers wanted a large ransom for the return of the little boy.”

17. Lackadaisical/I lëshuar-I çinteresuar
Lazy, slow; taking a long time to get started at something.
“Melvin’s lackadaisical approach to homework resulted in him not meeting deadlines for assignments.”

18. Pervade/Pushtoj-shprëndaj
To be spread or present throughout.
“The smell of fresh flowers pervaded the whole classroom for a week.”

19. Collaborate/bashkëpunoj
To work together on a project.
“If we collaborate on this assignment, we’ll get it done a lot quicker.”

20. Comply/bindem-pajtohem
To act according to directions, request, or order.
“Because the man would not comply with the police officer, he was taken to jail.”

21. Fraudulent/mashtrues
Fake, counterfeit
“The store clerk was surprised when the customer paid with a $2 bill; it was clearly fraudulent cash!”

22. Surreptitiously In a sneaky and sly manner.
“The kids tried surreptitiously to movie hop, but were caught by management.”

23. Commend/lavdëroj To speak highly or give praise.
“I have to commend you for your amazing pie baking skills.”

24. Proposition/sygjerim
A request or suggested plan.
“The people did not pass Proposition 19.”

25. Impudent/I pacipë-I paturpë
Offensively bold and disrespectful.
“The impudent child was sent to the office for disrupting class.”

26. Imagine you are “Red Chief” and have been kidnapped by Bill and Sam.
Write a “ransom” note to your dad describing the demands that Bill and Sam have for your safe return, and your experience of being kidnapped by them. Be sure to keep accurate to the story.
Include instructions of how much money is required in the ransom, and how and when it should be delivered.

27. Be sure to include a consequence if the demands are not met!
In order to create a ransom note, cut out all the letters or words from magazines and glue them to a piece of loose leaf paper. You must write a rough draft first before cutting and gluing.
There is no minimum or maximum sentence amount, but you must include all required elements.
Graded on: Accuracy, Spelling, Use of Complete Sentences, Neatness