Lamb to the Slaughter
Characters
Create a ‘Wanted’ poster for either Mary Maloney or
her husband Patrick.
Your poster should include:
Their name + at least 5 adjectives to sum up their
personality (can turn into aliases)
A mugshot picture
Any discernable/distinguishable characteristics
Their crime
‘Witness reports’ – key quotes
Some form of reward and/or warning
Characterisation
Characterisation is the process by which the author reveals
the personality of a character.
Characterisation is revealed through direct characterisation
and indirect characterisation.
Direct Characterisation tells the audience what the
personality of the character is.
Example: “The patient boy and the quiet girl were both
well mannered and did not disobey their mother.”
Explanation: The author is directly telling the audience
the personality of these two children. The boy is “patient”
and the girl is “quiet”.
Characterisation
Indirect Characterisation shows things that reveal the
personality of the character. There are five different
methods of indirect characterisation= S.T.E.A.L!
Speech
What does the character say? How does the
character speak?
Thoughts
What is revealed through the character’s private
thoughts and feelings?
Effect of character on others/How others feel
about the character
How do other characters feel or behave in
reaction to this character?
Actions
What does this character do? How does this
character behave?
Looks
What does this character look like? How does
this character dress? Etc.
Method of
Characterization
Speech
Thoughts
Effect on others—how
others behave
in reaction to the
character
Actions
Looks
Examples from the text
What the examples reveal about the character’s
character
Themes
Describe and explain each of these themes in the text, giving specific
examples/details to support your answer:
Survival / Coping mechanisms
Appearance versus reality – When a character appears to be
something they are not (e.g. Mary appears to be nice, but actually
she is a murderer). Often shown through dramatic irony (when
the audience knows something that the other characters do not).
Loss – Losing something or someone important to you. In the
story types of loss include: loss of innocence, loss of
life/love/husband, loss of sanity, potential loss of freedom/baby
Features/Techniques
Key features of short stories include:
‘Slice of life’
Twist endings
Left to draw your own conclusions
Some of the key techniques used in this story include:
Dialogue
Stream of consciousness / Third person limited narrative
POV
Short sentences
Find at least 3 examples of each of these techniques in the
text.