Main characters of the story "The Ranson Of Red Chief"

           "The Ransom of red Chief"  has everything a good story needs: two villains who lack skill, a dangerous 10 year old, and a wealthy father.  But wait, irony follows us through all the story...
The boy, Ebenezer Dorset's son is supposed to be a the protagonist or main character is the central or main figure of a story and  Bill Driscoll and the Narrator are supposed to be antagonists in the story.

                                     But is it really so? 

RED CHIEF 
As it's known, protagonist is usually the "good" guy in the story. The principal opponent of the protagonist is a character known as the antagonist who represents or creates obstacles that the protagonist must overcome. As with protagonists, there may be more than one antagonist in a story. The entire premise of the story is ironic. O. Henry is a master of irony and the ironic twist ending. One would think the child, would be the protagonist (usually the good guy) and the antagonists would be the kidnappers ( usually the bad guy), but the irony is that the kid turns out to be a giant pain-in-the-neck and the kidnappers can't wait to take him back. The kidnappers are basically good guys who never intended to the harm the kid and actually take good care of him. Red Chief  is a troublesome, and represents a burden to Bill. He is also playful and doesn’t respect other people.
The kid  has caused Sam and especially Bill to live in alert and terror. Although both of them believe that a  10 year old is harmless, Johnny has proved to them that he can be a deathly machine.  Boy is selfish, stubborn and ill-mannered.  Not only criminals  are afraid of him but also all  his neighbors. Maybe that's why when he disappeared all the town continues quite joyful live in peace.
BILL DRISCOLL AND SAM
They are independent, and are inexperienced in kidnapping. They are to be the main criminals of the story but the situation turns that way that they became victims themselves of the Red Chief. Everything starts when  Sam and Bill decide to keep the kid of a rich man in hostage in exchange for two-thousand dollars. However, their flawless plan eventually causes them to lose two-hundred and fifty dollars and left traumatized by their experience with Johnny. Bill is the weakest character of the story. Though he is adult he couldn't manage with 10 year-old kind. Bill is simple-hearted  by his nature and maybe he is really good guy  but life made  him  stick  to the criminal life. Bill has soft character and does not know how to behave with children although he allows the boy to manipulate him. Therefore, when Bill punishes the boy, he didn't take it seriously. We can judge that Bill is good according to his appearance and manners: he is fat, slow and thoughtful. That makes him comical. Sam complete opposition to Bill. He is strong, courageous and persistent. So the boy is afraid of him, Sam has strong spirit and strong character. He is the leader who at the end accepts the  failure of their kidnapping project.
EBENZER DORSET 
 Ebenezer Dorset  seems to be serious, smart, and a caring father. He plays not so important role in the story. He is only a father who is trying to get his son back from two kidnapers. The sarcastic thing about what he did, is that he demands his son back with 250 $. On the other hand, an ordinary father wouldn’t do that, and would pay the ransom without any hesitation. Ebenezer is a shock for the reader.