Lamb To The Slaughter Human Condition

The main character Mary Maloney is a devoted housewife that turns into murderer throughout the story. Mary Maloney was a normal wife but, throughout the story she changed drastically. In the short story Lamb of the Slaughter Mary Maloney’s actions and feelings throughout the story change as a result of the events in the story.

"Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude." Such is true for the characters Mary Maloney of Dahl’s “Lamb to Slaughter” and the narrator of Poe’s “Tell Tale Heart” whose relationships are greatly impacted by attitudes. In “Lamb to Slaughter”, Mary kills her husband and covers up the fact that she killed him. Meanwhile, the narrator in “Tell Tale Heart”also attempts to cover up his murder of the old man, but fails. Ultimately, Mary and the narrator both behave similarly when affronted with conflict.

In the two fictional stories Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin and Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl are both skillfully crafted to touch the hearts of readers and topics of tough subjects in society. A close examination of Desiree, the protagonist of Desiree’s Baby, and Mary, the protagonist of Lamb to the slaughter, react to the incounters with abandonment and rejection. The use of comparing both fictional stories helps display the true sense of irony. Although, the author and writing style of the texts are different; Lamb to the Slaughter and Desiree’s Baby are connected and similar in so many ways.

Traumatic news can lead to traumatic actions. In Roald Dahl’s ”Lamb to the Slaughter,” main character Mary Maloney is told very shocking new that causes her to overreact and kill her husband Patrick Maloney. Their blissful life turned upside down in a matter of five minutes. Mary was a great wife to Patrick. She loved him very much and is even carrying his child. Mary always catered to Patrick and was very loyal to him. Mary Maloney is a sympathetic character because she was very loving, compliant, and only lied to protect her baby.

In the story Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl, it creates irony that happens between the loving wife, Mary Maloney, and a husband and soon to be beget, Patrick Maloney. It all starts off nice and sweet when Mary, a 6 month pregnant woman, is waiting for her beloved husband to come home from work. It ends bloody after her husband betrays his wife by telling her he is leaving and Mary acting a murderous way. The author uses little actions and words to describe Patrick’s emotions and uses Mary’s actions and words to describe her motions.

Roald Dahl, a British novelist, offered his readers a classical short story, “ Lamb to the Slaughter,” with the tale of betrayal, justice, injustice and passivity. Two main characters of the story are detective Mr. Patrick and Ms. Patrick who live in small town. Roald Dahl tries to reflect human nature of perversity, and cruelty through the “ Lamb to the Slaughter”. As the story progresses, theme of love, passion, betrayal and injustice grow stronger. Author smartly shows us how an idle wife becomes a smart criminal to take the revenge of her betrayal and successes to trick officers.

Writers throughout time have taken it upon themselves to pen the injustices around them and hone their artistic skills to document and expose acts of injustice, intending to spark change, debate, and reform. Roald Dahl and George Saunders, two renowned authors, tackle the same responsibility in their works, in the hopes of critiquing society and its distasteful, unsavory elements. The short stories “Lamb to the Slaughter”, written by Roald Dahl, and “My Chivalric Fiasco”, written by George Saunders, utilize satire and stylistic techniques to critique society and outline their perspectives on the world around them.

She explains how content about her marriage is and the posterity that runs through their marriage. Shortly after her husband arrives and all the happiness and posterity rapidly shifts. Her husband explains that he no longer wants to be with her and her grief turns into murder. She hits her husband in the back of the head and proceeds to go on with life. Death shows Mary Maloney that life will never be the same and she takes matters into her own hands and heads to the supermarket as if nothing happened.

On very rare occasions, do people react to bad news by killing someone with a frozen leg of lamb and then feeding it to the detectives. Mary Maloney, the protagonist in Dahl’s story “Lamb to the Slaughter”, is characterized as a dynamic character comparing the beginning of the story where she is a loving housewife, then in the end a murderer. This illustrate how much her intentions of being a good person has changed. Throughout the story Mary is changing how she is becoming with the actions and diction that makes the story compelling to read.

Mary Maloney’s character changes drastically throughout the story. Her character is influenced by her behaviours/actions and motivation. Firstly, Mary actions tend to be more welcoming and friendly at the beginning, though near the end she became more violent and impulsive. For instance, the narrator uses quotes such as “Now and again she would glance up at the clock...merely to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he would come.” However, later on in the story, the narrator states “She swung the big frozen leg of lamb…on the back of his head...

It has often been said that betrayal is the most definitive strike one can lay on a person. Though many words have a perceived or attached negative connotation that can be supplanted with context or appear better in a certain light, the word betrayal continuously leaves a sharp, undesirable reaction, regardless of the contextual usage. When used appositely as a literary device, the concept of betrayal is best explored through the lens of its inherit dishonesty. Betrayal is disparaging because it only exists in a relationship built on a foundation of respect, loyalty, and trust. In the psychotic thriller novel The Girl on the Train, written by Paula Hawkins, Rachel Watson, a young and enthusiastic woman learns her husband and the love of her

In “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, the author illustrates the theme of looks can be deceiving through his masterful use of plot, characterization, and dramatic irony.

In the short story, “Lamb to the Slaughter,” by Roald Dahl, pivotal moments are distinguished by the emotions and dialogue of the characters. This story, set during the 1950’s, revolves around a married couple, Patrick and Mary Maloney. What starts out as a mundane story, Dahl transitions into a horrific tragedy of a perfectionist’s lost love.

Oppression is like a rainy day on the road, we can only see what is in front of us rather than the stretch of road ahead. Context of the work would be around the 1950’s where the views of women were to stay home and cook. Thus women were faced with a lot of oppression and may have not known how to handle big situations with such little experience, since divorce was rare. Roald Dahl in his short story, “Lamb to the Slaughter”, has a woman undergo a situation which gets the best of her and clouds her judgement and the consequences that may await her. The scene where she murders her husband with a leg of lamb, demonstrates how when being held back from having freedom and also the need of affection we can act irrationally.

Throughout the entire story, Mary is a very interesting character. She faces many issues in dealing with her husband’s news that he is leaving her. She reacts based on her instincts and kills her husband and this shows her cold heartedness. In the end she has to create an alibi to cover up her devious crime in which she has to manipulate the police into eating the evidence. Mary is a very unique complex character and she has, through her actions conducted a devious crime in which she will be proven innocent. Through the use of Many Maloney’s character, as well as irony and suspense, the author was able to maintained the interest of the reader throughout the entire short story.