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Examples Of Mary Maloney In Lamb To The Slaughter

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Harsh winds, lush scenery, broiling heat, crisp air. We are as ever changing as the seasons. Some of us more drastically and quickly than others, like Mary Maloney in Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter.” Mary’s character development reveals the theme of, “Seemingly “perfect” people have a dark side.” In the beginning of “Lamb to the Slaughter,” Mary portrays a very “perfect” wife image. For example, according to the author, “She took his coat and hung it in the closet. Then she walked over and made the drinks…” (Dahl, p. 318) The quote is explaining the things Mary does for her husband as soon as he comes home. This quote includes an example of how selfless and kind Mary is. This makes her appear as the “perfect” woman. In addition, the text directly states, “‘But you must have supper. I can easily do it here. I’d like to do it. … Anything you want.” (Dahl, p. 318) The quote is saying that despite Mary’s husband, Patrick, constantly saying no to dinner, Mary willingly insists she can easily make it. …show more content…

The author claims that, “All right, she told herself. So I’ve killed him.” (Dahl, p. 320) The quote is reinforcing the idea of Mary realizing that she has killed her own husband. An examination of this quote reveals that because Patrick wanted to leave her, while Mary wanted things to stay the same, she acted irrationally. This is a change from her innocent, perfect image to a guilty, more knowledgeable self, which will cause her to showcase her dark side. As stated by the author, “Did they kill them both- mother and child?” (Dahl, p. 320) In this quote, the author clarifies why Mary is worried about the penalty of Patrick’s murder- her child might be killed. This quote demonstrates how Mary adjusts from tranquil to worried. This conflict of Patrick wanting to leave her has snapped Mary out of her utopian world. Once out of this delusion, she develops further away from the amiable Mary we began with

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Once again if you read the whole book, you learn that Mary actually achieves her goal and turns out to be a wonderful person who figures out what life is through traveling. Another example would be aquote such as “ Sometimes you walk into a room one person, and when you come out the other side, you’re someone else altogether.” I believe this uncovers or foreshadows that she will change throughout the

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518 Words | 3 Pages

The woman, Mary Maloney, loved her husband so much in the story and then he gets home one day and something wrong happens, so in this story, Mary Maloney is having problems. The character, Mary Maloney, in the story “Lamb To The Slaughter,” is a very smart person. She knew what she was doing after she killed her husband to make her story seem real to the detectives. Mary Maloney’s husband, Patrick, was a man who probably taught her what a detective thinks like and how different situations could affect a case.

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436 Words | 2 Pages

During the discussion, I didn’t talk as much as I should have because for the questions that I didn’t raise my hand for I didn’t have an opinion for the discussion at hand, or at least I didn’t have a solid response that could be backed up with the text or generate more discussions among the group. For the two times that I did respond to someone’s response, I felt that I had a view worthy of being shared among my group, and this was supported when some of my peers agreed with the point I made and added their own view on top of mine. But for my second response, it was more like two responses which were included in one as a result of my wanting to respond to something that was mentioned before but that I wasn’t called on for, and for the most recent response at the time. The story closes with the image of a giggle to further convey to the reader that Mary’s mentally unstable.

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568 Words | 3 Pages

Mary’s motivation is to get back at her husband, while Guy’s motivation is to change society. Mary reacts to her husband telling her he is leaving. “ at that point Mary Maloney simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head.” She got back at (382). Her husband because her husband was leaving (divorcing Mary).

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452 Words | 2 Pages

She was forced into submission by the man she devoted her life to. “She stood up ‘sit down’ he said ‘just for a minute sit down’. It was not until then that she began to get frightened. This piece of evidence clearly shows a hostile relationship between Mary and Patrick Maloney.

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1734 Words | 7 Pages

Mary Maloney “simply walked up” behind Patrick and struck him with a “big frozen leg of lamb” “as hard as she could”. This completely contrasts the starting character of Mary as a housewife whom was patiently waiting for her husband to return home, which no one had expected. She did it “simply” which moulds an image of her not needing to think through her action, effortless and swift. The readers would be disgusted at how fast her character changes, thus suspense would be created as they would constantly question themselves about how it was possible. Additionally, after she struck her husband, she thought that it was “funny” on how “he remained standing” for a while.

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638 Words | 3 Pages

Planning with Cowardice In the book “Lamb To The Slaughter,” written by Roald Dahl, was a really cliffhanger story. During the story Mary’s husband decides he wants to leave Mary after she’s already six months pregnant with her husband. Something tweaks in her head and ends his life with a leg of lamb, that she was going to cook for dinner.

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626 Words | 3 Pages

"(155). This is showing that she didn’t something that she regretted because of what he told her. conclusion In “Lamb to the Slaughter” Dahl uses conflict, imagery, and direct characterization to develop feelings for Mary’s husband. This is important because the feelings Mary has for her husband are a main purpose in the story.

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294 Words | 2 Pages

Mary Maloney provides the detectives with lamb that she kills her husband, Patrick, with. When the detective declares that the murder weapon is probably right under their noses, it is ironic because the reader knows that they are eating the weapon that the detectives are seeking. Furthermore, situational irony is displayed when Dahl narrates, “At that point, Mary Maloney simply walked up behind him and without any pause, she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high

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524 Words | 3 Pages

The way she addresses her husband, Patrick, is caring and compassionate. As the story progresses she gets more and more uneasy until Patrick tells her very bad news, and the entire mood of the story shifts. Mary becomes removed, cold, in shock. At this point, she “simply walked up behind him and without any pause, she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head” ( ). Patrick died within seconds.

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781 Words | 4 Pages

From the beginning, you can see how the Mary might change to the point where she wants to kill her husband. In the beginning she is shown waiting eagerly for her husband to walk thru the door. Roald Dahl shows this by Mary looking at the clock every once and awhile. She would know that every time a minute goes by, the closer he is to home. Patrick finally comes home and sits down to drink.

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881 Words | 4 Pages

Both of them try hard to guess how their husbands feel. In the first scene Mary asks Patrick some questions such as “Tired, darling? (1)” and “Darling, shall I get your slippers? (1)”. She desperately wants to know why he looks unusual.

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812 Words | 4 Pages

Mary Maloney was sitting in her living room when her husband, Patrick Maloney, came home. This was the premises of the short story, “Lamb to the Slaughter,” composed by Roald Dahl. Patrick was a police officer; his wife stayed at home, which was typical for the 1950s, which was the time period of the story. The couple had been, so it seemed, happy throughout their marriage. In fact, Mary was pregnant with a baby boy.

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467 Words | 2 Pages

First , Mary is a very caring person. Here is a quote to prove she is caring. “He paused a moment leaning forward in the chair, then

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834 Words | 4 Pages

Betrayal and False Stereotypes in “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl “When people rely on surface appearances and false stereotypes, rather than in-depth knowledge of others at the level of heart, mind, and spirit, their ability to assess and understand people accurately is compromised.” – James. A. Forbes. As Forbes states, when “people rely on surface appearances” and do not look beyond, they often times fail to realize how deceiving looks can be. In “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, Mrs. Maloney uses her image as leverage to get away with the murder of her husband. Throughout the story, Mrs. Maloney betrays multiple people after being betrayed by her own husband.

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