The plot of "Red Ryder Nails the Hammond Kid" centers around the opening sign the main character notices that read "Disarm the Toy Industry." This immediatly look him back to a flashback to his childhood Christmas where he hopes to receive a Red Ryder BB Gun. Ralphie seems to talk as an adult, but when asked what he wants for Christmas he says, "A Red Ryder BB gun! I was just kidding. Even though Flick is getting one (page 480) shows the childlike behavior in Ralphie. His adultlike behavior shows up at the beginning of the story when he says, "Of course there were the usual H & H club members spotted here and there in the mob; out-of-work seal trainers, borderline bookies, ex-Opera divas, and pandhandlers trying hard to look like Madison Avenue account men just getting out of the cold fot a few minutes (page 473). Overall, the plot throughout goes through different dictions to get the whole aspect of the story.
Point of View
The story is written in first person point of view. The main character Ralphie tells the flashback of Christmas as a child. Even though he is telling about his childhood flashback, he is not at all acting as a child. For example Ralphie says, "Again we waited. Schwartz with a superior smirk playing faintly on his chapped lips (page 481). No one would expect a young boy to talk such like an adult. It shows that he was interested in his childhood and allowed the reader to understand what he truely thought about.
Characterization
The narrator used indirect characterization to allow the reader to understand the characters true thoughts and feelings. Telling the story in first person allows the narrator to tell his story and allows the flashback of his choldhood to be effective. The main character is Ralphie, but if it was not for the old lady at H&H, Ralphie would have not had the falshback. The encounter with the old lady sets the whole plot of the story with his flashback. Therefore, the old lady is an important character for the story along with Ralphie.
Setting
One setting of the sotry is before the flashback when Ralphie is sitting in a H&H around Christmas in Manhattan. Then, the story goes back to his chilhood in Hammond, Indiana where it was also around Christmas and during the Great Depression. Even though it was during the Great Depression, people never let the spirit of Christmas die. In their homes still stood trees and they still exchanged gifts. The settings are relevant to the plot because if it was not for the old lady at H&H, then Ralphie would have not had the flashback. Also, the fact that Christmas was involved, Ralphie would not of wanted the Red Ryder BB gun.Theme
The theme of the story is that even when you are an adult, some things do not ever change. When the narrator saw the sign that said, "Disarm the Toy Industry" it took him back to when he was a child and how that Red Ryder BB gun could shoot his eyes out. Ralphie accepted the dangers when he was a child and as an adult he was not for disarming the toy industry. The flashback shows that he never will forget the toy he always dreamed of as a child that no one thought was right for kids. The sign also shows that some things do not ever change.
