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Character analysis on story lamb to the slaughter
The characters of lamb to the slaughter
Indirect characterization of lamb at the slaughter
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Character Essay
Characterization, a method that an author chooses to develop his/her character, is a very important element in a story. In “Lamb to the Slaughter,” Roald Dahl, effectively develops the protagonist both directly and indirectly; however, the use of indirect characterization is more dominant because it reveals her actions and how she deals with her conflict, her words, and creating a dynamic character with her words, and her personality.
First, she seems like a typical house-wife longing for her husband to return, but something is odd about this particular day; “There was a slow smiling air about her, and about everything she did…was curiously tranquil…the eyes, with their new placid look, seemed larger, and darker than before” (108). It was almost as if she is expecting something unusual to happen, and that she is preparing for that specific moment. In addition, her actions change from being a wife-pleasing-husband, to a self-conscious woman that knew all of a sudden, exactly what to do, as if she had been prepared for months. Also, in the beginning of the story she is described as a inoffensive, harmless person, but immediately after her husband reveals his burden, she becomes unstable and almost naturally she hits her husband. She “…simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb…and brought it down as hard as she could…” (111). And as strange as it looks, she goes somewhat through a metamorphoses, from being a content house-wife, to a maniac, possessed woman, to the point of killing her husband.
Second, she reveals through her words, her duplicity and deceitfulness by exterminating all the evidence left. When the police arrived she trying to hide evidence, asks for her husband’s whiskey, “‘Jack…would you mind giving me a drink?’…’You mean this whiskey?’…’Yes, please’…’Why don’t you eat up that lamb that is in the oven?’…” (115,116), and the reader realizes that she tries to convince others with her deceitful lies, and with a concrete set of credible words, she gets away easily; “She tried a smile. It came out so peculiar…The voice sounded so peculiar too…She rehearsed it several times more…” (112). Mrs. Maloney, had thought about it even before the incident happened, for she tries to look as normal as possible, by acting it out her daily routine.
Finally, her personality creates in her a dynamic characterization, and as the reader observes it when she is talking to the shopkeeper, by saying something very odd: “’I got a nice leg of lamb from the freezer…I don’t much like cooking it frozen…but I’m taking a chance on it this time.
Preliminarily, had been established that Mrs. Maloney was the murderer of her husband Mr. Maloney. Despite this, it was for good reason, as it was due in part to mental anguish. This can be concluded by the reactions and behaviors Mrs. Maloney presented in Dahl’s eyewitness account. To start, Mrs. Maloney was headed for the store at around 6 o’clock. Why would she continue to act even if her husband is dead? “Hello, Sam,” she said brightly, smiling at the man in the shop. “Good evening, Mrs. Maloney. How are you?” “I want some potatoes, please, Sam. Yes, and perhaps a can of beans, too. Patrick’s decided he's tired and he doesn't want to go out tonight,” she told him. … “Anything else?” The grocer turned his head to one side, looking at her. “How about a dessert? … How about a nice piece of cake?” … “Perfect,” she said. “He loves it.”” This quote, from Dahl’s account, shows that she obviously cannot completely function mentally. She murdered him, then went and bought him cake. At this point, she is very confused about herself and the events that occu...
“Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl captivates readers as they follow the story of how a loving wife turns into a merciless killer. This passage is told from the point
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