All of Roald Dahl’s stories seem to be brimfull of irony and wry humor, and “Lamb to the Slaughter” is no different. Mary Maloney, a pregnant, but cheerful woman is very much in love with her husband and we certainly don’t expect her to be of any trouble. It’s shocking enough to learn that her husband, who seems such a nice guy, is cheating on her and plans to move out. This changes the expectation of the story right off the bat, and we feel a compassion for the poor woman. We’re not sure how she’s going to cope with this news, especially since she’s six months pregnant with his child. So when she acts rather compulsively and strikes him over the head with the leg of lamb that was going to be his supper, we really are shocked. She’s acted
Molly Ayer is a young, teenage orphan. She, like many orphans, bounces from house to house with no priceless memories from the foster homes. To escape her sentence of juvenile detention, Molly helps a widow by the name of Vivan to clean out her many possessions stored in her beloved mansion. In Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, Molly and Vivian find that they are not too different. “Orphan Train” is a very appropriate title for the story of two orphans connected by their lonely pasts. However, the title could also include a word or two that will make the reader quizzical and curious. Otherwise, the title could mention the second chances the two characters were given.
Desperation is a state of despair,where someone will act in an extreme way. These extreme behaviours can lead to actions that cannot be taken back. In Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter” Mary is a kind and loving person before she is in a state of desperation. Mary’s actions are an example of how desperation can transform people forever. Mary is kind and loves her husband very deeply. Mary’s love for her husband is displayed when “ Mary Maloney was waiting for her husband to come home from work. Now and again she would glance up at the clock, but without anxiety, merely to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by making it nearer the time that he would come.”(Dahl 10) Mary loves Patrick very much and
In Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary Maloney, doting housewife pregnant with her first child, commits a heinous crime against her husband. After he tells her that he is leaving, she become distraught and strikes him in the head with a leg of lamb. Afterwards, Mary...
Having to take your anger out on someone isn’t fair or good, especially if you’re being killed with frozen lamb. Based on everyone’s understanding, when you kill someone you’ll have to pay the price and consequences. Apparently this lady didn’t. But are we sure she’s going to marry another man and kill him too? In “Lamb to the slaughter”, I’m going to be talking about Mary Maloney and how madly crazy she is.
Would lie to save yourself from punishment , or tell the truth regardless of the consequence?
Comparing the Way in Which Helen Stoner and Mary Maloney are Treated in The Speckled Band and Lamb to Slaughter
Lamb to the Slaughter, by Roald Dahl, instantly grabs a reader’s attention with its grotesque title, ensuing someone’s downfall or failure. The saying “lamb to the slaughter,” usually refers to an innocent person who is ignorantly led to his or her failure. This particular short story describes a betrayal in which how a woman brutally kills her husband after he tells her that he wants a divorce. She then persuades the policemen who rush to the scene to consume the evidence. This action and Patrick’s actions show the theme of betrayal throughout the story which Roald Dahl portrays through the use of point of view, symbolism and black humor.
As a former Harlem teacher she decided to create a girl did not fit into societal norms. In the book Precious (Push Movie Tie-in Edition) Precious states, “I’m gonna break through or somebody gonna break through to me” (Sapphire, par 15.). These same lines were used utilized in the movie. That line and many others were utilized to help show that people who are not in the societal norm can and will eventually be accepted even if they have to do it themselves.
With this in mind, Mary Maloney tries to “reject it all” like “he hadn’t even spoken” (Dahl 2). Evidently, Mrs. Maloney tries to ignore everything that her husband had told her and almost went on with the day like nothing had happened, which leads her to becoming mentally disturbed with the current situation. In the heat of the moment, Mary had decided that she didn’t want her husband leaving so she “simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head” (Dahl 3). Hence the current situation, Mrs. Maloney didn’t know what to do, so by killing her husband, she knew that no one else would be able to see him. Clearly, Mary Maloney from “Lamb to the Slaughter” only tried to have a good Thursday night, but during the heat of the moment, she killed her own beloved
In the story, “Lamb to the Slaughter” written by Roald Dahl, a woman named Mary Maloney was in conflict with her husband before his death, Patrick Maloney. The setting takes place in the 1950’s primarily in the Maloney’s house. At the beginning of the story, Patrick arrives at the house and Mary has dinner planned and ready to be made for them. Patrick is acting reluctant and avoidant towards Mary. She suspects this is because of a long, tiring day at work. After kindly offering to make him anything for dinner, he seems angry at Mrs. Maloney and refuses to eat anything she will make. Patrick Maloney than tells his wife that he does not want to be with her anymore, however she will be looked after. Trying to ignore what he had told her, Mary
In the story Lamb to the Slaughter written by Roald Dahl, the writer emphasizes the woman's loyalty to her husbands will, despite the constraint in her social life. Mary Maloney obeyed her husband's commands forgetting her own, making sure he had everything he needed. Offering to grab her husband whiskey, he commanded her to sit down insisting that he get it himself. (Dahl 1) Although she could have taken time to do stuff for herself she did as her husband told her to without question. Another scenario of Mary's loyalty to her husband was proved to him as she selflessly asked him about his day rather than putting the spotlight on herself. For instance, she asked him if he was tired forgetting her own concerns. (Dahl 1) In place of telling him
In “Lamb to the Slaughter”, Roald Dahl uses diction, details, and syntax to emphasize the matter-of-fact tone that is consistent throughout the entire story. Diction is a key element of tone that conveys this matter-of-fact tone. For example, Mary Maloney says to herself after killing her husband, “All right… So I’ve killed him” (Dahl 320). This sentence is lacking emotion. It states a pure fact, without going into further detail and captures a turning point in Mary Maloney’s way of thinking. By telling herself “all right,” Mary distances herself from the murder. She is detached from her own story and does not reveal any qualms about murdering her own husband. Similarly, Dahl uses the next sentence to describe Mary’s thoughts by explaining,
In the story “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, Mary Maloney is shown to have a very sinister and manipulative character. In the beginning of the story, Mary Maloney was a normal, loving and caring pregnant housewife that loved and cared for her husband, Patrick Maloney, very much. Earlier at the start of the story we see Mary was waiting for her husband to come home from work. She had set up the house with two table lights lit and plates on the dining table so they can have a very romantic dinner when Patrick comes home. When Patrick came home, Mary was very excited to see him. She would try to offer him some drinks and insisted she would get things in the house he needed so he didn’t have to get up himself. The countless times that Patrick said no to her offers and helpful doings, she still tried to serve and tried to make him feel comfortable and relax after work.
Mary Maloney is a character from the story “Lamb of the Slaughter” written by author Roald Dahl. Mary Maloney as a character in the story that has a lot of versatile characteristics. Her most versatile characteristics are that she’s very patient, clever and brave. First, Mary Maloney is a very patient individual. Even after she’s been waiting for her husband to come back home for like a decade she is still able to be calm and keep “[glancing] at the clock [without showing any type of] anxiety [and kept]… [bending] over to sew peacefully.” The fact that she kept her self-calm and relaxed in the point of situation where she needed him the most, which shows that she has a lot of patience. Secondly, Mary Maloney’s a clever woman. She knew in order to keep herself safe from being suspected as a murderer, she needs
The short story “Lamb to The Slaughter” by Roald Dahl is about the death of a detective who has been murdered by his wife. As officers arrive they can’t seem to find the murder and the murder weapon. The short story Lamb to The Slaughter is interesting to read because the author allows readers to put their own perspective into the book. Another reason is the storyline and finally the theme.