To understand "Lamb to the Slaughter" fully, it requires more that simply understanding the events of the story. It is important also to understand the reasons for the characters'
actions and the choices that the author made. These questions will help to delve into the depth of this story.
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"Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl is a fun story that uses irony and
perspective to create a truly enjoyable story. Still, to get the greatest value out of
this story, it is worthwhile to understand not only what happens in the story but
why it happens. From the way the situations of the characters change them to
the decisions they make, everything in this story must work together to create a
masterpiece.
What Point of View Is "Lamb to the Slaughter" Told From and Why Is That
Important?
"Lamb " is told from the point of view of Mary Maloney. This choice to tell the
story from the point of view of the murderer is an interesting choice and one that
largely defines this story. The reader knows only what she knows. At times, such
as the end of the story, this means that the reader knows more than the other
characters, especially in relation to the leg of lamb. On the other hand, the reader
is not given access to the reasoning behind Patrick’s decision to leave. This
makes it far easier for the reader to be on Mary’s side when she makes
questionable decisions.
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What Influence Does Mary's Pregnancy Have on the Story?
Early in the story, the reader discovers that Mary Maloney is pregnant. This
understanding is important to the story on a number of levels. The most basic is
that it helps the reader to understand just what it is that her husband is doing by
leaving her. This makes the story more ambiguous in morality by making the
reader associate with the woman more. In addition, it almost certainly helps keep
her from being suspected. The motherly instinct of protection is invoked by this
understanding as anyone can understand the instinct of a mother protecting her
child and the fear of execution is vital to making Mary a more positive character.
Why Are the Exact Words Patrick Says When Leaving Mary Left Out?
In the middle of the conversation between Patrick and Mary, the narration
changes for a single paragraph at the very climax of the conversation. Patrick
leads into the conversation with the hope she won’t blame him too much. It then
says that he told her, though not exactly what, and ends with him saying that he
will take care of her. This change in narration is disconcerting and in large part
that is the point. This helps the reader to understand the disorientation and
detachment of Mary.
In addition to this, by not telling the reader exactly what happened, it gives far
more power to the reader in the interpretation of her later actions. By not knowing
exactly what he said, it lets the reader decide if Mary’s actions in the rest of the
story are justified or not.
Why Is Patrick's Profession Important?
Patrick is a police detective. This bit of information is vital to the story in a
number of ways. As a story in which the reader is supposed to empathize with
the murderer, having the victim be a vital and trusted member of society creates
even more conflict in the mind. In addition to this, it plays with two basic ideas,
that the police will look for a killer more vigorously if an officer is killed, but also
that she knows the officers who will investigate the crime. This means that they
are more likely to be comfortable with her. Also important is the understanding
that Mary is likely to have an escape of being arrested for the crime. As the wife
of a police detective, she has almost certainly heard many stories about crimes
that he has solved and how he has done it. Finally, this creates many other
suspects that could have committed the crime because as a police detective he
has many enemies.
What Is the Dramatic Irony in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?
There are a couple of moments of dramatic irony in "Lamb to the Slaughter."
These are cases in which the reader understands more than the characters. The
most clear of these occurs near the end of the story. Mary has called the police
and the detectives are in her house. As they are eating the lamb of leg, one of
the officers says in relation to the murder weapon that it is “probably right under
our very noses.” This statement is literally true though the officer who says it has
no idea what he is saying.
What Is the Origin and Meaning of the Title "Lamb to the Slaughter"?
The original use of "Lamb to the Slaughter" is found in the Bible. This phrase is
located in both Jeremiah and Isaiah. It refers to someone who goes innocently
and unconcernedly into a dangerous or life threatening situation. In the story
"Lamb to the Slaughter," it has a number of meanings though.
The first clear meaning is one that is a form of dark humor. The lamb in this case
is actually a murder weapon. This twists the meaning of lamb to the slaughter
into something that is not a metaphor but what actually happens.
While the first meaning is clear, the metaphorical use of the statement is still valid
and in fact there are two people who go into a situation like lambs to the
slaughter. The first of these is the murder victim who, while knowing he is going
to do something uncomfortable, has no idea what is going to happen to him. The
second though is Mary herself. It is the shock because she doesn’t know what is
coming and that shock is what drives her over the edge.
Why Does Mary Insist the Police Eat the Leg of Lamb?
In the story, Mary asks the detectives to eat the leg of lamb she had made for her
husband, and even when they turn it down, she insists that they eat this. This
insistence is important beyond simply the idea that it is the murder weapon. By
having the detectives eat the lamb, they have destroyed the evidence which will
make them look stupid even if they later understand. This will discourage them
from thinking of it as a weapon. In addition, because she ensures they have seen
the murder weapon rather than hiding it, she defies the expectations as most
criminals hide the weapon.
"Lamb to the Slaughter": Conflict, Rising Action, Falling Action,
Climax and Resolution
By understanding how Roald Dahl is able to build the tension and conflict in "Lamb to the Slaughter" and how the tension falls afterward is a great way for anyone to understand
how to tell a better story or simply recognize the qualities of a good story.
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The best stories are often those in which we miss most of what the author is
doing. A good author is not only able to use the tricks and tools of language to
tell a good story but able to hide those tools so that they don’t distract the reader.
Yet in stories like "Lamb to the Slaughter," there is a great deal of value in
looking at and understanding what they have done. That is why the examination
of the structure of a story is so useful. Understanding the rising and falling action
of "Lamb to the Slaughter" can help writers to tell a better story and readers to
understand and enjoy the skill of the author just as someone might enjoy the
brush strokes of a master painter.
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Climax
In order to understand what happens after the climax, one must first be able to
pinpoint the point of maximum tension in the story. In the case of "Lamb to the
Slaughter," there are in some ways two climaxes. The first of these is at the point
in which Mary attacks her husband and kills him. This is the culmination of
everything that has happened to this point in the story. The story then pulls back
and allows the action to fall.
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The second and main climax of the story occurs when the detective notices that
the oven is still on with the leg of lamb cooking. This is the point at which the
detectives are closest to discovering the murder weapon and Mary has to keep
from being caught. The conflict then begins to rise again as she creates an alibi
and brings in the police to catch the murderer.
Conflict
Just as there are two climax in the story, there are two major conflicts in this
story. The first of these conflicts is between Mary and Patrick as Patrick tells his
pregnant wife that he is going to leave her. This conflict ends as Mary hits her
husband with a frozen leg of lamb and leads into the main conflict of the story.
This second conflict is in Mary's attempt to avoid being caught. She knows that if
she is caught she will be executed and fears that her unborn child will be killed as
well. This becomes the main conflict of the story and leads to the ultimate
resolution of the story in which the detectives eat the evidence of her crime.
Rising and Falling Action of the First Climax
The action of the story begins to rise as Mary waits for her husband to return in
anticipation and continues to increase as it becomes clear that he is preparing to
tell her something. It reaches its climax as he explains that he knows that it is a
bad time and as he turns his back Mary hits him with the leg of lamb.
The falling action for the first of these climaxes is interesting because it has to set
up the action for the second half of the story while releasing some of the tension
of the first half so that it can be rebuilt. The line which carries the load of this
work reads "All right, she told herself. So I’ve killed him."
This line pulls back the emotions not only of Mary who is telling the story, but
also the reader. It is a well created note to the reader that the story is now going
to slow down and change. The next paragraph continues this as the woman, who
was moments ago out of control, begins to think through the possibilities. She
knows that the penalty for murder is execution, but fears for her unborn child and
decides that she must protect that child. This then leads into the action beginning
to rise again as she focuses on avoiding being captured.
Rising and Falling Action of the Second Climax
The second climax of "Lamb to the Slaughter" is the true climax of the entire
story. With action that continues to rise as Mary tries to cover up her crime from
seconds after she commits it until the moment the detective sees that the oven is
still on, the tension spikes. At this moment, Mary is very close to being caught.
Yet she is able to think clearly and doesn’t react out of fear. The character herself
creates the falling action as she offers the officers something to drink and asks
them to help her get rid of the meal that she had been cooking for her husband.
This leads not only into the irony of "Lamb to the Slaughter" as the officers eat
the evidence that would have likely put Mary into the electric chair, but also the
falling action. The officers have clearly decided that she is the victim of the crime
and not the perpetrator as they try to console her.
The last of the action disappears as the police officer, while eating the leg of
lamb says of the murder weapon, "Probably right under our very noses," a literal
truth that makes it entirely clear that the police have no idea what happened and
are unlikely to discover the truth. In the other room, the last line of the story
shows Mary free of tension as she begins to giggle.
Resolution
The resolution of "Lamb to the Slaughter" is largely implied by the final line. The
assumption of the author and reader is that with the murder weapon gone, Mary
will not be captured for the crime. Yet none of this is actually said in the story.
The story simply ends with the police commenting on the lack of murder weapon
and Mary giggling presumably at the irony of them looking for the weapon while
eating it.
"Lamb to the Slaughter" is an excellent example of a story that is able to create
and release action expertly. It builds up slowly, adding tension on top of tension,
until it reaches a crescendo and then releases that, creating a powerful story in
the process.
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