A Comparison Of Lamb To The Slaughter And Desiree's Baby

The many different styles of writing can be highly represented by the authors Kate Chopin, an African American writer during the late 19th century and Roald Dahl a British writer during the late 20th century. Furthermore, this can be represented in their stories Desiree’s Baby by Chopin and Lamb to the Slaughter by Dahl. Desiree’s Baby takes place during 1800s narrating a fictional story about a couple having partial knowledge of each others past falling in love and decide to have a child. However, when the couple later discovers their child was a quadroon, Armand finds his love for Desiree to be broken. Consequently, Desiree decides to kill herself and her baby. Resolving with Armand discovering his mother was African American. Moreover,

Lamb to the Slaughter explains how Mary, a pregnant woman after she discovers her husband was leaving her she proceeded to assassinate him. However, she uses her pregnancy and her courtesy to manipulate the detectives solving the murder into not suspecting in her and destroying the evidence.

Both of the stories share numerous characteristics in styles and plots; however, each author has a different approach developing the characters and resolving the conflicts which highlights the uniqueness in their perspectives.
After examining both stories Desiree’s Baby and Lamb to the Slaughter, it is evident irony was used in both stories ensuring the development of both stories that would create them meaningful. In Desiree’s Baby, Chopin demonstrates irony at the beginning when Armand remarks he loved Desiree regardless of her past. However, after Armand sees the child the narrator explains “Moreover he no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought his home and his name.” making it clear that he's true love was actually not true, highlighting the irony in his love towards her. As he assured to everyone he loved her, at the end he was the one who destroyed their love since he never loved her for who she was, but because of the race he thought she was. Furthermore, this again highlights the over all irony if the story. After Armand had discovered his son was of a different race he condemned his “true love” and his son. Amd believed the following “ He thought Almighty God had dealt cruelly and unjustly with him… Moreover

he no longer loved her…” Yet at the end of the story he discovers a letter from his mother stating the following, “that his mother who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.”.

Thus, the irony behind him treating cruelty the people who belonged to this race, returned to him when he found out he was indeed part of the race as well. Therefore, the irony throughout this story elaborating the meaning the author wanted to provide. Likeways, irony was repeatedly shown in Lamb to the Slaughter. Namely, after the detectives arrived to the crime scene they became aware the object used to assassinate Mary’s husband had to remain at the house they even mentioned “That’s why the weapon should be easy to find” and “It’s probably right under our noses…” referring to the weapon which they were eating, and eliminating. The

dramatic irony shown here remarked once again the meaning of the story on how the innocence can't be so innocent, something the author wanted to portrait. In like manner,the title of the story reflects irony as well. “Lamb to the Slaughter” taking in consideration that a slaughter usually kills the lamb, which in this case the lamb killed the “slaughter” in the author's perspective increasing the situational irony. Similarly, both of the author’s gave the role to the women to react a certain way to heart break up which made both of the plots similar as well as the characters. In “Desiree’s Baby” the author made sure to explain how deeply in love she was with him when she explained “This was what made the gentle Desiree so happy, for she loved him desperately” this highlights and makes more meaningful when Armand broke their love. In like manner, in “Lamb to the Slaughter” the author assures to make evident Mary’s love for Patrick after he has said no to her she tries to make everything possible for him “I can easily fix you something. I’d like to do it. We can have lamb. Anything you want. Everything’s in the freezer”. Thus, made it evident that all she wanted was to make him happy, so that whenever he decided to break her heart this would be more meaningful.
Although both women, had their heart broken by their partner they each reacted differently in solving the problem. Desiree decided to kill herself and her baby and Mary decided to kill her husband and use her child as an excuse of it.