Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Johnny (Red Chief)

Johnny is certainly an antagonist in that he makes life very difficult for Sam and Bill. He makes a very interesting antagonist because it's not all that common to claim that a ten-year old boy is either evil or unlikeable. Okay sure, we first see him "throwing rocks at a kitten" (6) and he eventually "announced that, when his braves returned from the warpath, [Bill] was to be broiled at the stake at the rising of the sun" (14). Even so, O. Henry takes pains to point out his general kid status, and his excitement at his predicament:

'I never camped out before; but I had a pet 'possum once, and I was nine last birthday. I hate to go to school. Rats ate up sixteen of Jimmy Talbot's aunt's speckled hen's eggs. Are there any real Indians in these woods? I want some more gravy…' (16)

Half of the charm of the story is the wicked delight we take in watching such an unassuming figure create such chaos. By the end, Sam and Bill would almost prefer a stand-up villain to the little boy in their midst.