Lamb to the Slaughter

There are various instances of verbal irony and dramatic irony in this story. Having failed to find the murder weapon, one of the officers concludes the story by making the remark that the murder...

“Lamb to the Slaughter” has several themes, but perhaps the most prominent and compelling is jealousy or, more precisely, the speed and intensity with which love can turn to hatred. Mary Maloney...

Roald Dahl describes Mary Maloney in the first paragraph when she is waiting for her husband. There was a slow smiling air about her, and about everything she did. The drop of the head as she bent...

The two lead characters in the story are Mary and Patrick Maloney, a married couple who are not very high up the social ladder since they are a single income family with Patrick being the...

This question can be answered through a close reading of the text; Dahl doesn't directly state the reason, but it can be inferred from clues given. If you look carefully at the story, it indicates...

The overarching literary device Dahl uses in the story is pun. A pun is a word or phrases that has two or more applicable meanings at the same time. The title—and the most important act in the...

In "Lamb to the Slaughter," we can find an example of foreshadowing after Mary has murdered Patrick and is sitting in front of the mirror, trying to regain her composure: "The smile was rather...

The detectives all knew Mary and knew her to be a loving, devoted wife--which she actually was up to the time her husband Patrick announced that he was leaving her. There are strong indications in...

The protagonist Mary Maloney in Roald Dahl’s short story “Lamb to the Slaughter” at first seems to be a stereotypical 1950s wife: faithful, obedient, and happily fulfilling the expected role of a...

In a literal, physical sense, the bulk of the action in "Lamb to the Slaughter" takes place in the Maloney house. When we first meet Mary Maloney, she's waiting at home for her husband to return...

Mary faces two conflicts in "Lamb to the Slaughter." The first occurs early in the story when Patrick tells her that he wants a divorce. This news shocks Mary to her core because she loves Patrick...

Dramatic irony occurs when the reader or audience member knows something that the characters in the story do not know. This kind of irony occurs in "Lamb to the Slaughter" at the very end of the...

Much of the foreshadowing occurs when Patrick Maloney returns home from work. He is acting moody and drinking more heavily than he usually does in the evening. He goes to mix himself another drink...

From the Holy Bible, Isaiah 53:7 says All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed...

We can infer what Patrick tells Mary from the way she treats him. She won't leave him in peace for a moment. She smothers him with affection and attention. For example: "Anyway," she went on,...

Mary is carefully characterized from the opening lines of "Lamb to the Slaughter" as a woman whose entire life revolves around her husband. Even before her name is mentioned, it is clear that she...

"Lamb to the Slaughter" is told from the point of view of Mary Maloney. The story starts off when she is all alone, so we have to be in her point of view at the start. Her husband's arrival, his...

Mary’s behavior at the grocery store contradicts what happened earlier in the story because she is in a completely different frame of mind. Earlier in the story, Mary Maloney, who was in her sixth...

A metaphor is a comparison. This is a story leans heavily on descriptive details instead of metaphor, using imagery—description using the five senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell—to...

Mary Maloney, the pregnant wife of a police officer, is the main character of Roald Dahl's short story "Lamb to the Slaughter". In the story her character is described, mainly through her actions,...

Mary's pregnancy makes it all the more shocking that her husband is planning to leave her. She is six months pregnant—very far along for him to decide to bail out of the marriage. Further, the...

It is quite likely Patrick told Mary that he was leaving her. However, we do not initially expect such an uncharacteristic development, as the author begins the story innocently enough. The first...

The story is told from third person perspective and focuses mainly on Mary Maloney. On face value it appears that she and her husband have a good, healthy marriage. She is a good and dedicated...

From a strictly factual viewpoint, it could certainly be said that Mary Maloney is guilty of killing her husband. There are no other factors at play in the instance of his death that could have...

It is quite simple to identify what is appearance and what is reality in Roald Dahl's short story "Lamb to the Slaughter." The interesting part is finding out how the author juxtaposes them in a...

The title of Roald Dahl's story is a humorous allusion to the Bible, in which there are many places in which a man who is going to be killed is being led quietly and passively "like a lamb to the...

The point of view in "Lamb to the Slaughter" is third person; although, the third person perspective is not the common omniscient point of view. We know that the story is in third person, because...

The point of the story is that Mary gets away with the crime of murdering her husband. She does not go to jail. The police think she is innocent, even as they are eating the murder weapon she used,...

Mary Maloney is the protagonist and her husband, Patrick Maloney, is the antagonist. Mary is the main character, around whom the story revolves, and this makes her the protagonist. The "pro" of...

The answer to this question is, of course, a matter of personal opinion. I will present arguments for each side of the issue and allow you to make up your own mind. On the one hand, we can argue...

Although "Lamb to the Slaughter" has a third-person narrator, the story is told with a strong focus on the thoughts and feelings of Mary Maloney. Mary idolizes her husband, and the reader never...

The main idea in the story is informed by irony. The story suggests that what we see is not what we get and that we are easily mislead by our perceptions of what is supposedly good and wholesome....

The love for her husband is as evident in her actions as it is in her words. The characterization of Mary Maloney shows her as a doting wife who, according to the narrator, spends a good time of...

I agree that this thesis statement summarizes your argument well and can easily be defended by referencing the text. However, another characteristic of a strong thesis statement is that there is...

In a moment, Mary Maloney transforms from a woman who lives to please her husband to one prepared to do anything to save herself and her unborn child. That moment is well-captured in her thoughts...

Mary Maloney is the quintessential doting wife. She anticipates her husband's every conceivable notion, desire, and or need. Take a look at the first paragraph. The room was warm and clean, the...

Patrick drinks two whiskey highballs before he tells his wife what is on his mind. The first highball was one she had made herself as their customary ritual for his return at the end of the day....

I believe that your question is asking about the short story "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl. The main character's name is Mary, and she gets away with the murder of her husband. She killed...

The phrase "A lamb to the slaughter" refers to lambs who are slaughtered for their meat. The also used to be slaughtered so their skins could be made into particularly good gloves. The lamb is...

Although the narrator does not explicitly state that Patrick has announced that he is leaving Mary, his pregnant wife, the words "of course, I'll give you money and see that you're taken care of"...

In terms of similarities between the two stories, both perpetrators are women. Both are described as benign and not, supposedly, able to do anyone any harm. Mary Maloney, in "Lamb to the...

The most basic answer to this question is that she needed vegetables to go with the dinner she was cooking, a leg of lamb. Because it was Thursday, Mr. and Mrs. Maloney usually went out to dinner,...

At the beginning of "Lamb to the Slaughter," Mary Maloney is described as luxuriating in the presence of her husband, like a sunbather worshipping the sun. His homecoming is a blissful time of day,...

Arguably, this quote definitely embodies the irony of the story and, at the same time, explains the exact moment when pregnant Mary Maloney seems to snap and kill her husband after learning that he...

Let us just remind ourselves that the climax of a story is the point in the tale when the tension is highest. This may involve a character having to choose between two decisions, but not always. I...

The reader has to feel something for Mary Maloney in order to be engaged. She commits a murder, then finds herself in a tight spot because the house is full of detectives and uniformed cops...

Authors use black humor to help readers deal with a serious or gruesome issue in a lighter way. It allows us to consider subjects which are often taboo while feeling emotions that are somewhat less...

Mary Maloney waits for her husband to come home each night and knows exactly what he will do and say. Patrick's arrival that night is described from Mary's point of view, and she senses that...

Mary is a completely devoted wife. She adores Patrick and waits on him like a maid. She is doting, attentive, and effusive. This may be why Patrick decides to leave. We are never given a reason. He...

Mr. Maloney never actually says he doesn’t want to go out to dinner, yet Mary is able to infer this based on his behavior. It is clear from the descriptions of Mary’s actions that she is used to a...