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Lamb to the Slaughter
There are two particular examples of Dahl's famed subtlety in "Lamb To The Slaughter" that I want to examine. I think they're important because they illustrate the wider theme of the story: the...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
The characters of Roald Dahl’s dark 1953 short story “Lamb to the Slaughter” can be seen as somewhat flat, stereotyped caricatures rather than round, fully developed characters. Mary, for...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
I do not think that it ever becomes obvious to a reader that Mary is going to kill her husband, Patrick. The first time that I read the story I was shocked and surprised that Mary killed Patrick....
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Roald Dahl begins the story with a familiar domestic scene: a wife sits patiently sewing, waiting for her husband's return from work. When he arrives, the reader notes her loving and rather servile...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
I believe that this question is asking about character motivation and what motivates that particular character to act. Mary Maloney is a good character to use regarding motivation. When readers are...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
The author's main reason for handling Patrick Maloney's announcement in the way he does was probably that he wanted to avoid a dialogue between husband and wife. Mary would be more than likely to...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Mary Maloney calls Patrick "darling" many times. He never responds with a similar term of endearment. In fact, he is dismissive and condescending. He breaks the news to her with no compassion...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
The title of "Lamb to the Slaughter" is rather ingenious because it has so many possible meanings. "Lamb to the Slaughter" is more than a double-entendre; it might be called a "quadruple-entendre."...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Mary is the protagonist of "Lamb to the Slaughter" because she is the central character that the story revolves around. While I might be able to argue that Patrick drives the early events of the...
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Literature
One change that I am quite certain that I would like to make is that I would have the film show what Patrick says to Mary. In Dahl's short story, the reader never gets to know exactly what Patrick...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Before committing the murder, Mary behaves in the same way that she would on any other evening. She prepares the home for her husband's arrival by lighting the lamps and then preparing the glasses...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
The irony of the title lies in its ambivalent implications; through his fantastic story, Roald Dahl introduces an unlikely twist to the way this famous phrase is interpreted. He chooses to focus on...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Over the course of Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter," the point of view is always third person limited. We as readers are told about events from Mary's point of reference for the entirety of the...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
There is no conversation. Roald Dahl deliberately avoids any dialoguing between Patrick and Mary Maloney. Instead, Patrick does all the talking and Mary merely listens. She is so astonished by what...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
In "Lamb to the Slaughter," Dahl does not reveal to the reader Patrick's reason for wanting to divorce his wife, Mary. Instead, the reader experiences this moment from Mary's perspective. As we...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
There are several instances of black comedy in Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter." When Mary commits the murder of her husband, for example, her reaction makes light of the violence which has...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
This is a solid question, and one that I like to ask my students about. I would like to point out that it is an opinion question, and either answer is correct. The important part of the response...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
The more times that I am forced to consider the title of this story, the more I think it is the perfect title. First, Mary is initially presented to the reader as a lamb. A lamb is typically...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
The theme of love can be seen in Mary Maloney. Dahl makes it clear early on in the story that Mary is completely devoted and in love with Patrick. When the reader is introduced to Mary, she is...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
The purpose of Mary's visit to the grocery store and conversation with Sam is to establish a credible alibi for herself. Within the previous hour, Mary's husband told Mary that he was leaving...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Mary Malone's character is well-described through direct characterization all throughout the story "Lamb to the Slaughter." This direct characterization occurs each time the author describes Mary...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
It is up to you how you want to answer this question. My opinion is not any more correct than your opinion. The important thing will be to defend your answer. No, I do not think that Mary...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
The title of this story is very clever because it has multiple possible interpretations. Only one person is really being slaughtered. That is Patrick Maloney. He goes to the slaughter as meekly as...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
In all courts of law, there are two types of evidence that are allowed to be presented as proof that a crime has been committed. They are direct evidence and circumstantial evidence. Direct...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Roald Dahl uses metaphor to better describe Mary Maloney in his short story "Lamb to the Slaughter." A metaphor makes a comparison between two things that are unrelated but share some common...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
In "Lamb to the Slaughter," Mary's love for her husband is one of the story's most prominent themes and it is expressed at a number of points in the text. At the beginning of the story, for...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
The title of the story suggests that there is more than one meaning implied. It could be a double-entendre, or a triple-entendre (if there is such a thing), or a quadruple-entendre. Patrick is a...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Roald Dahl did not seem especially interested in making a statement about man's (or woman's) capacity for violence. Someone had suggested the idea for a short story in which a woman kills her...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
In some of the major religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), lambs were sacrificed as a way to rid a person of his/her sins. The person would place his hands on the lamb, thus transferring...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Mary's pregnancy has an effect on the story in a number of ways. It naturally makes her a more sympathetic character, so the reader can continue to identify with her even after she commits a brutal...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Mary commits her crime right in her own house. The murder weapon is easily available because she uses a frozen leg of lamb she takes right out of her big freezer in the cellar. If she had killed...
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Roald Dahl
The short story "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl begins with a description of a seemingly happy marriage. Mary Maloney sits alone in her living room eagerly waiting for her husband to come...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
The consistent nature of Mary's dialogue helps the reader to compare and contrast her, before and after the crime. In doing so, the reader can also make conjectures about Mary's state of mind, her...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
I would say that Mary is misjudged in a few ways. First, the reader and Patrick believe and accept Mary as a completely mild-mannered and docile individual. She is portrayed as the perfect doting...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Pretty much everything in the story paints a picture of a peaceful routine, all the way up until the husband reveals how tired he is (which he usually doesn't do) and when he consumes his drink...
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Roald Dahl
The primary genre that the story would fit into is crime fiction. Mary commits the murder of her husband and the ensuing conflict and plot revolve around the detectives trying to figure out the...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Mary is no victim. She is obviously a very resourceful and clever woman who was put in a very challenging situation. She may not be a victim, but her circumstances definitely made her react as if...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
In answer to your question "Does the lamb refer to more than one character?", yes, I believe that the lamb refers to two characters. It refers to Patrick Maloney and Mary Maloney. The phrase...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
I can see this answer going either way, so what is most important is explaining to your teacher why you think what you think. Personally, yes, I think Mary Maloney was very much in love with her...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Choice D. Mary is heartbroken that Patrick would leave her. Of the four choices that are listed there, that is the best choice. The opening paragraphs of the story clearly show readers that...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
The story teaches readers about capability. When the story first begins, the reader never once would have thought that Mary Maloney was capable of killing her husband and getting away with it. I...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
The domestic setting of Roald Dahl's short story "Lamb to the Slaughter" presents a scenario in which gender roles thrive within their socially-specific parameters. The setting also gives us a...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter" begins in the Mahoney home. It is not clear as to which room in the house, but I picture it like a stereotypical sitting room (living room). Mary is pregnant,...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
I scoured through this story in an attempt to find an exact amount of time that the police spent searching for the murder weapon. There is no stated amount of time that the police spent looking...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
This question is tough, because "Lamb to the Slaughter" probably fits into a few genres. It also depends on how specific the genre category is. In the broadest sense, the genre of this story is...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Good questions! I believe that the murder was a crime of passion. I do not believe that Mary premeditated Patrick's death. In fact, it wouldn't be called murder anymore with a crime of passion....
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Lamb to the Slaughter
The initial mood is set by Mary herself. Her home is "warm" and inviting as she waits for her husband, Patrick, to return from work. There are two glasses waiting for the two of them. She waits...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
I believe these are the two paragraphs in question. It was extraordinary, now, how clear her mind became all of a sudden. She began thinking very fast. As the wife of a detective, she knew quite...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
Love can turn to hate, and it often does so in marriages. The surprising thing in "Lamb to the Slaughter" is that Mary's love for Patrick turns to hate so suddenly. Her action in killing her...
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Lamb to the Slaughter
That particular line of text is meant to further highlight Mary Maloney's pregnancy. It is often said about women who are pregnant that they have a particular "glow" about them. The glow has been...
