A narratological analysis of O. Henry's "the ransom of red chief"

Abstract

The studies within the frame of classical narratology have remarkably contributed to the field of narrative analysis. The significance of the present study is to raise awareness of constructive elements of a narrative using classical narrative analysis. This study aims at investigating character, time and space in O. Henry's "The Ransom of Red Chief", using the narratological terminologies in the analysis. Considering the current situation of narratology as a method of analysis that involves many approaches towards a high number of aspects in a narrative, the study focuses on the essential constructive elements of the story and point of view. The employs the theoretical terminologies offered by classical narratologists. Findings in the study fall into two categories: Narration and narratorial position of the narrator, and formative elements of the story. These categories present three essential formative components, (a) Characters and characterization, (b) space, and (c) time. The data gathered from the findings indicated that O. Henry's achievement might lean on the prevalence of a reliable narrator using discourse time more for the narration of incidents between the characters than that of others in specific types of space with humoristic style as well as situational and verbal irony. This study allows for critical implications both on the readers who wish to understand O. Henry better and on the researchers calling for an increase in the number of narrative studies.