Name _________________________________
Building Your Own Character / Body Biography
Directions: All week we’ve been reviewing what it means to characterize when we read short stories and novels. Now,
it’s your turn to get creative and to create your own character. With your table partner, carefully design your own body
biography of Mary Maloney that will fit into the plot details of A Lamb to the Slaughter below. For each body part,
select symbols (pictures) that will represent the answers to your questions. You will need to think creatively, but the
answers you choose should reflect your knowledge and understanding of Mary and how she is presented in A Lamb to
the Slaughter.
For at least 5 of the body parts, find quotations to accompany the visual decisions that you make. Be sure that you place
the quotes in parenthesis to reflect that they are not your words, but rather those of the author.
Details:
Mary Maloney is a simple housewife that looks forward to serving her husband, Patrick Maloney. What’s more
exciting is that she’s six months pregnant and she looks forward to meeting her new child in just a few months. When
her husband Patrick arrives home one day for work, she helps him take off her coat, pours him and drink, and tries to
talk to him. However, Mary notices that Patrick is unusually quiet. Eventually, Patrick tells Mary a horrible secret that
makes her feel numb all over. After going to make dinner, Mary comes from the basement with a leg of lamb and finds
herself hitting Patrick over the head with the icy piece of meat. When she discovers that her husband is dead, Mary
covers up the murder by going to the grocery store and then calling the police, telling them that she found Patrick dead.
Eventually, the police come and investigate and Mary convinces the officers to eat the leg of lamb, the evidence used to
kill her husband.
What does my body biography need?
Head: Intellectual side of the character – What are Mary’s dreams? Visions?
Eyes: What memorable sights affect her? How?
Ears: What does she notice and remember others saying to her? How is she affected?
Mouth: What philosophy does the character share? What lyrics from a song would symbolize his or her philosophy?
Arms: What are Mary’s responsibilities? What work does she seem to value or respect? What actions or work seems to
symbolize her?
Hands: What conflicts does Mary deal with in the story? How does she handle conflict with others?
Heart: What is revealed about the emotional side of Mary? What does she love and how passionately does she love?
Torso: What secrets does Mary hide? What brings her pain?
Legs: What does Mary do for fun or what do you believe she would do for fun?
“Wings”: Where might Mary be going next? What is her future?