When appearances are deceiving, characters can be misjudged and not seen accurately. In some cases, characters can get away with whatever they are hiding without any form of consequence. In Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary Maloney was misjudged due to her feminine and innocent character traits which led to her getting away with her husband’s murder. She started to use the stereotypes which came along with being a female to her advantage (Controlling idea #1) and continued to convince the police officers about her innocence through her well thought out plan. (Controlling idea #2) As the story progressed, it was evident that different forms of deception were used and had a negative impact on certain characters.
Mary started getting away with her husband’s murder when she used her feminine traits to her advantage. (Controlling idea #1) One significant form of this would be how Mary was six months pregnant at the time of the murder. (Point) This information was revealed immediately after the narrator introduces Mary Maloney’s character. She was described as looking very beautiful due to her pregnancy when
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Did she know, he asked, of anything in the house that could’ve been used as the weapon? Would she mind having a look around to see if anything was missing-a very big wrench, for example, or a heavy metal vase. They didn’t have any heavy metal vases, she said” (pg#5). (Proof)
Near the beginning of the story, Mary thought of how she should look in front of others after the murder. In fact, she even cleaned herself up and practiced how she should speak in front of the mirror. This helped her look polished and not seem anxious when she got questioned by certain officers who were suspicious of her. (Connection) By portraying a young lady who was mourning the loss of her dear husband, Mary Maloney continued to convince the police officers of her innocence through her brilliantly executed