“I tell you, Sam, a human can only take so much.” In the short story “The Ransom of Red Chief” two men, named Bill and Sam, need to make money so they decide that they would kidnap a boy and then ransom him off to his father for 1500 dollars. When they kidnap the boy they hide off in a cave until the ransom is complete, but little did they know that this boy is not like most of the kids his age. This boy is a lot meaner and more out of control than any of the other kids his age. When the two men sent the ransom note to the father, which he declined and said that he would take the kid off the two mens hands if they paid him 250 dollars. The men accepted the offer and paid the father 250 dollars so they wouldn’t have to deal with the boy any longer. In the short story “Ransom for Red Chief” the author O. Henry creates the theme that people should be careful not to bite off more than he or she can can chew.…show more content… To start, the boy is very hyper and energetic. For example, the first night that they camped out in the cave with the boy “He kept us awake for three hours, jumping up and reaching for his rifle and screeching” (5). The boy is a handful and he was out of control. This relates to the story “Flowers for Algernon” when the main character Charlie Gordon bites off more than he can chew when he undergoes an operation to get smarter and he ends up learning more then he wanted to about his own life. Also, the boy was very mean and would make threats toward both Bill and Sam. For instance, when the kid was playing indian the boy “announced that… I was to be broiled at the stake at the rising sun” (3). The boy would make threats toward Bill and Sam and would try to follow through with them, which scared both Bill and Sam of what he might
