Irony Analysis
Irony fits in with the “ohenryesque” style in plot development, characterization, use of irony, and motifs because O.Henry used irony when he was writing Memoirs of a Yellow Dog. The irony in characterization is how Lovely and the husband understand eachother and both hate their owner/wife. The irony in plot development is how the husband looks to Lovely for advice and Lovely gives him hints on what he should do. This story’s irony is closest to The Ransom of Red Chief because in both stories the characters thought they were happy with what they did but in the end they realized they couldn’t handle themselves being miserable anymore so they had to pay to get out of their mess and be happy. “It looked like a good thing: but wait till I tell you. We were down South, in Alabama--Bill Driscoll and myself-when this kidnapping idea struck us. It was, as Bill afterward expressed it, "during a moment of temporary mental apparition"; but we didn't find that out till later,” (The Ransom of Red Chief) “‘Me and my doggie, we are bound for the Rocky Mountains.’” (Memoirs of a Yellow Dog)