I chose "Lamb to the Slaughter" By Roald Dahl because of its change in mood and the insanity of the main character, Mary. The story revolves around many different themes such as betrayal and deception; but the main theme is underestimating the vulnerable. An example that pertains to underestimating the vulnerable include the police assuming it was a man that murdered Patrick, when in reality it was Mary. There are many reasons on why I have chosen this piece of text. My first reason on why I chose this piece of text is because of the obsession of Mary. In the beginning of the story, Mary seems to be very obsessed with Patrick coming home, and sat with no anxiety, knowing he'll come. My second reason on why I chose this text is because of Mary's
The speckled band and the lamb to the slaughter are both a comparison of two short stories from the murder mystery genre. The speckled band was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (in 1892 and was published in the following year). The lamb to the slaughter was written by the famous Roald Dahl (in 1953). Arthur was a Scottish physician and writer, he wrote a series of books featuring Sherlock Holmes and his side-Kick Dr. Watson. The stories were a big hit, the speckled band was also one of his adventurous chronicles. The lamb to the slaughter was a story written for older children and was also, satisfactory. Roald Dahl was an author and an intelligence officer –he was most famous for his great storytelling-His short stories are known for their unexpected endings and his children’s books for their unsentimental, often dark humour.
“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
GCSE English Coursework – Wide Reading Assignment - Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl, and The Speckled Band In this wide reading assignment I have been looking at two stories, 'Lamb to the Slaughter' by Roald Dahl, and 'The Speckled Band' by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle. Both these stories are classed as murder mysteries, and I am intending to investigate and compare the motives of the killers in both stories. 'The Speckled Band' is written in first person from the viewpoint of Dr. Watson.
Mary played the role of a very caring wife at the beginning of the story, since she was always there for her husband and tried to do anything to serve and satisfy him. Firstly, as soon as her husband came home “She took his coat and hung it in the closet. Then she walked over and made the drinks”(Dahl 2). Later on when she notices that her husband seemed depressed, she asked him, “Would you like me to get you some cheese” (Dahl 2). When he says no, she replies “But you must eat! I’ll fix it anyway” (Dahl 2). This shows the care she had toward her husband at the beginning of the stroy and how her life used to revolve him. Furthermore, it shows how she used to do anything to please him. Therefore this proves how she knew her duties and responsibilities toward her husband really well. Although, in this story, Mary Maloney was not only a very a dutiful and caring wife, but during the story she transitioned into becoming an even more dutiful mother who was well aware of her responsibilities. After she killed her husband she thought of her child and wondered, “What were the laws about murderers with unborn children? Did they kill the both- mother and child? Or did they wait until the tenth month? What did they do? Mary Maloney didn’t know. And she certainly wasn’t prepared to take a chance” (Dahl 3). This shows how Mary Maloney had created this entire plan just to save her child and didn’t care what harm came to her. Therefore this definitely makes her a very caring mom, because it takes a lot of love to do such a thing. So this definitely makes her the perfect mother. In conclusion, Mary Maloney is strongly aware of her duties and responsibilities. Therefore, she was able to carry out the entire plan because people knew how much she loved her husband and so people trusted her. Also, she created this plan because
Patrick’s muscle tightens as hear Mary coming closer to him. Is she suspecting something? He thought nervously, what should I do now? What should I say? He was lost in his thoughts when Mary walked up behind him and swung the big frozen leg of lamb on the back of his head. Patrick’s vision suddenly when darken and t-- to the ground with the sounds of overturning tables and crashing
Compare and Contrast Lamb to the Slaughter And The Speckled Band As Murder Mysteries When many people think of a murder mystery, they think of a dark and stormy night, a large forbidding house, a gunshot heard by everyone yet seen by no one, and the phrases "you're probably wondering why I called you all here", "The butler did it", and of course not forgetting "elementary, my dear Watson". In the end, the intelligent and very observant detective solves the case, and justice, sometimes through the courts and sometimes poetic is served. 'Lamb to the Slaughter' and 'The Speckled Band' are both stories based around a suspicious death. Roald Dahl wrote 'Lamb to the Slaughter' in 1954.
mystery style. "Lamb to the Slaughter" was written by Roald Dahl, in 1954. He is more famous for his children's books, but has also written many short stories. stories for adults, compiled in books such as "Tales of the Unexpected" and "Switch Bitch". In these books he writes about strange things happening to ordinary people. "
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.
Roald Dahl wrote some amazing stories in the 1950’s that had important female characters in them, and these characters even had the tendency to kill, like Mary from “Lamb to the Slaughter” wrote in 1953 and The Landlady from “The Landlady” wrote in 1959. Mary killed her husband, and The Landlady killed her guest Billy. These ladies went about the business of killing the two men in a strange way, there are four things that vary between the stories and they are, how the murder took place, the way the two women’s speech made them look innocent, and the disposal of the body. Both women in these stories murder men, but the difference is how they do so. In “The Landlady” the Landlady seems nice and sweet to her guest Billy, but she has a love for taxidermy which can turn deadly, as she states “I stuff all of my little pets when they pass away” (Pg.
Patrick would go home and ignore her when all she wanted to do was make sure he wasn’t hungry. Mary was so in love with him she would wait on the couch because she was anxious to see her husband. She was a very loving wife and would do anything for her
When Roald Dahl used repetition to add to the scare factor in his short story, “Lamb to Slaughter”. Throughout the story he used repetition to emphasize things. Like when he repeats “They always treated her kindly.” and “The two detectives were exceptionally nice to her.” It was to emphasize that they treated her as the victim rather than a suspect. The repetition used made me curious when reading the story. Whenever I saw something repeated, I asked myself ‘Why would they do that?’ I became intrigued and wanted to read more and find out. By repeating, Roald created suspense and anticipation for the reader to get to the climax, prompting the reader to keep reading. In conclusion, repetition definitely made the story scarier.
There is a frequently quoted saying that all good things must come to an end. Such is the case, quite routinely, with author Roald Dahl, whose vast literary works that range from beloved children’s novels such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to chilling short stories such as “Lamb to the Slaughter” incorporate, in some way, a sense of finality. In regards to his short stories, Dahl particularly encompasses this theme as he uses the element of surprise juxtaposed with death to create a realm in which impulsive passion dictates the actions of his characters.
Near the middle of the story we see Mary exhibit her bad sinister character; her personality and feelings suddenly change when she murders her own husband by hitting him at the back of the head with a frozen lamb leg. After denying all of Mary’s helpful deeds, Patrick told her to sit down so that he can tell her something serious; the story doesn’t tell us what he says to her but Mary suddenly changes after he tells her something, her “instinct was not to believe any of it” (Dahl 2). She just responded with “I’ll get the supper” (Dahl 2) and felt nothing of her body except for nausea and a desire to vomit. She went down the cellar, opened the freezer, grabbed a frozen leg of lamb, went back upstairs, came behind Patrick, and swung the big leg of lamb as hard as she could to the back of his head killing him. This act of sudden violence shows how much she has gone ...
Roald Dahl presents creepy moments in his story creepy things or have strange details that made you question if its normal or not. He will make the statement creepy in your head.
When the police arrived they try to understand and figure out how Patrick has been killed. But unluckily the officers can not notice Mrs. Maloney was the killer. At the end of the book Mary Maloney giggles when the officers said, “Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack?” (Dahl 18). Throughout the beginning, Mary Maloney seemed like a nice caring wife but what Patrick said caused her to do a crime. At that point, Mary knew she got away she eliminated the evidence and managed to escape. Mary laughing shows readers that the killing of her husband was not important to her at all. Therefore the theme of this story is to not trust everybody.