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Lamb To The Slaughter Essay

Decent Essays

Imagine standing in front of a mass shooter during a dramatic event. Imagine being 16 years old, and facing a teenager shooting at others with the goal of killing them. Imagine what sort of existential questions would be running through your mind. Everyone has had some morbid thoughts about killing someone, but few people act on this thought. “Lamb to the Slaughter” is a short story written by Roald Dahl. This story narrates the murder of Patrick Maloney by his wife, Mary Maloney. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe. This story explains how Montresor killed a man out of revenge. People kill for many reasons such as greed, power, or ego, however the main reasons to kill someone is often excessive anger and revenge.
“Lamb to the Slaughter” is a short story written by Roald Dahl and published in 1953. It narrates the story of Mary Malloney, a housewife, killing her husband Patrick, a detective. When Patrick arrived, he felt uncomfortable. Patrick was preparing himself to tell his wife that he was going to leave her. The revelation was so disturbing for Mary that she was not really herself while hearing it. She rejected it. …show more content…

This story describes how Montresor decides to revenge himself toward Fortunato by killing him. Montresor tricks Fortunato by hiding his knowledge of wine and pretending that he has received a barrel of amontillado, but he cannot identify it. The machiavellian plan succeed, and Fortunato is immured by Montresor. “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 208). Revenge is a very powerful fuel. It may push people to the hideous action of killing. After being supposedly insulted by Fortunato, Montresor can only seek extreme punishment for Fortunado. “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Poe 208). Montresor swears at beginning of the story to avenge

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