Lamb to the Slaughter free essay sample

In this essay i will be telling you about Mrs. Mary Maloney, setting, plot and my conclusion. Has Roald Dahl created the perfect murder? Lets find out. First i will be writing about the setting. Roald Dahl describes the home as warm and clean, curtains drawn, two table lamps alight and two tall glasses, soda water whisky. He also makes Mr and Mrs Maloneys home sound like a very neat and cosy enviroment. He inclues very specific detail bu mentioning the ice-cubes that were used for the whisky. The house also sounds private as the curtains are closed, so no one could realy peak in. It just seems like the perfect home. You wouldnt expect anything extremely bad to happen. In the short story, we are introduced to Mary Maloney, a 6 month pregnant housewife who recently found out that her husband is going to leave her. Mary is a typical housewife, waiting on her husband hand and foot. We will write a custom essay sample on Lamb to the Slaughter or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She loves him dearly, but as the story unfolds, we see that he does not share the same feelings. Mrs. Maloney, unable to handle the rejection, lashes out and kills her husband. We then see Mary’s character transform before our eyes and the once loving, dutiful housewife becomes a very devious, manipulative and cold hearted character. She manages to fool everyone maybe even herself. She comes across as a very quiet, innocent person, like she wouldnt harm anyone. Her skin was translucent. She devoted her whole life to her husband, but then something turns for the worse and Mary Maloney does something you wouldnt expect her to do. Im goign to give you a brief summary of the short story. Both Mr and Mrs Maloney live at home together. Mary Maloney is 6 months pregnant with Patricks baby. She expected it to be a normal day, but it wasnt. Patrick came home from work and he started acting un-easy around her. Giving her one word replies and telling her to just sit down and not make him a drink or anything to eat. He then finally tells her he is leaving her. She reacted as if he never said it and just carrie don as usual. She wnet to the freezer and picked up the first piece of meat she laid her hands on. A leg of lamb. She walked upstairs with it in her hands, walked up behind her husband and smacked him in the back of the head with this giant piece of meat. She then put it in the oven to cook. After the insidance, she went upstairs, got herself ready, and rehearsed herself to be fine, like everything was just normal. She came back from the shop and reacted as if someone had broke into the house and killed him. Mary Maloney phoned the police, as soon as they knew who it was, they were straight over. The police checked the house for clues, but there was none. The only evidence was the lamb. They carried on the investigation and got a statement from the man in the shop and Mary Maloney. She then lured them to eat the evidence. They ate the leg of lamb, they wont ever know who or how Patrick Maloney got killed. My opinion on the story was actually quite positive. I liked the way Roald Dahl created the perfect scenery, good characters, but the story had a twist. It made me more intreged in it. I enjoyed the strory a lot. But i dont think he created the perfect murder. I knwo its not a real story, but you cant get a perfect murder. Some way, you will get caught. Lamb to the Slaughter free essay sample Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl uses the literary devices of dramatic irony, foreshadowing, and imagery to depict a dark comedy by grasping the idea of a tragedy becoming humorous. There are multiple uses and examples of irony throughout this short story that relate to the idea of a dark comedy. One key quote of dramatic irony comes from the end of the book stating, Personally, I think its right here on the premises.? Probably right under our very noses. What do you think, Jack This quote here shows us as that the detectives have no idea that they are actually eating the evidence of the murder right then and there. We, as the audience, obviously know what is going on and by Mary Maloney chuckling at that statement shows us that Dahl turned something as horrible as murder into something that she laughs at in the end referring to the idea of dark comedy. We will write a custom essay sample on Lamb to the Slaughter or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Verbal irony is also represented in this piece of literature. When she goes to the market, she talks to the grocer and states, ? No, Ive got meat, thanks. I got a nice leg of lam, from the freezer.? (pg. 20) This is verbal irony because it shows that what she is saying is basically telling the grocer what she used for the murder of her husband. The irony here is amusing, knowing the fact that killed the supposed love of her life and can so easily lie about it. So again, the verbal irony really catches the tone of the dark comedy that Dahl is trying to capture here. Both dramatic and verbal irony relate to each other in the sense that the audience feels the ideas of a tragedy as something funny therefore, relating back to the overall picture of the piece of literate as a dark comedy in the short story Lamb to the Slaughter free essay sample The short story â€Å"Lamb to the slaughter† writer by Roald Dahl Is about a married couple named Patrick and Mary Maloney. In this story the husband betrays the vow of marriage; it takes place at their own house which Mary awaits her husband as he is coming home from work. As he comes home his wife senses something tragic that will happen. Patrick wanted a divorce and so they end up hurting each other, which appears to be a simple character vs. character conflict. Suddenly Mary ends up murdering Patrick with a frozen lamb that was suppose to be served as supper to nourish him. The police show up and the mood turns out to be suspenseful until the end of the story as Mary acts like nothing happened. With them theme showing Love and Revenge this leads the reader to not reject the Love shown towards others. After Mary murders Patrick â€Å"Patrick! How are you darling? †she said as she saw him laying on the floor (Mary Maloney, 15), it is clear from this quote that Mary didn’t seem to think that she has done something wrong to hurt him. We will write a custom essay sample on Lamb to the Slaughter or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the very beginning Mary Maloney sounded like a Loving wife who would do anything for her loved ones. It is said that she has translucent skin, a soft mouth, placid eyes, and is described to be a perfect innocent housewife. This story clearly tries to teach the reader about Love, Revenge, and Betrayal. When Mary acts like nothing happened right after she has murdered her husband, the reader feels suspenseful. When the couples start hurting each other the reader ends up feelings tragic and ironic since the object that was used to be served as supper for Patrick, was actually the weapon used to murder him. Three of these moods the reader must have felt makes he/she think that if people are showing Love against others, never reject it as it could lead into a wrong path. In today’s society many people tend to start entering a relationship and most couples tend to get married. Knowing that there might be rejection and betrayal in the future, all of them should stay faithful and committed to each other. However, this story makes the reader realize that rejection and betrayal can lead to something gloomy. Although this story was a bit abnormal, couples would follow through from it’s lessons as of today.