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Examples Of Situational Irony In Lamb To The Slaughter

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Sometimes people make a good first impression on other people, and they can get fooled into thinking that they are genuinely a good person. In “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, Mary, a sweet pregnant lady, is waiting for her beloved husband to come home from work; little does she know that he has bad news for her. In this short story, there are many examples of dramatic and situational irony. Roald Dahl uses different kinds of irony to create suspense, and make the reader want to find out more. One clear example of situational irony is when Mary, who appears to be a sweet lady, kills her husband. For example, Dahl wrote, “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 …show more content…

This example of situational irony adds suspense because the reader wonders if she will get caught, and it adds a plot twist to the story. Furthermore, another obvious example of irony occurs when the detectives are examining the corpse, and they come to a conclusion that he got hit in the head with a sharp, blunt object. For example, Roald Dahl solemnly states, “He had been killed by a blow on the back of the head administered with a heavy blunt instrument, almost certainly a large piece of metal” (8). This is ironic because the reader knows that the victim was killed with a frozen lamb leg, but the detectives think he got killed with a blunt metal object. This is an example of dramatic irony that creates suspense because it leaves the reader wondering if they will figure out that he got hit in the back of the head with the lamb leg. A third example of irony can be found when the detectives are eating the lamb leg and talking about the murder weapon. For example, Dahl says, “Personally, I think it’s right here on the premises. Probably right under our very nose”

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438 Words | 2 Pages

One of the officers mentions "[the weapon is] probably right under our noses. What do you think, Jack?" (4).This displays irony because they keep discussing how the weapon is so big it must be noticeable and the weapon must be near the house, but it’s actually in their stomachs. Another example of dramatic irony is when Mary gives them the lamb leg to eat she says “Here you all are, all good friends of Patrick's, and you're helping to catch the man who killed him” (4). This is dramatic irony because the readers know that Mary was the one who killed Patrick , her husband, and is trying to look innocent but the officers don’t know this and genuinely think they’re looking for another man and that Mary is just a nice

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276 Words | 2 Pages

In Roald Dahl’s short story “Lamb to the Slaughter,” dramatic and situational irony forward the plot. Dramatic irony is used when the character doesn't know about something but the reader does to further the plot. When the cops are investigating the case, one of them finds that the lamb in the oven is still cooking. Mary then comes up with the idea to offer the cops some lamb to eat. Mary comes up with an idea and says “Why don't you eat up that lamb that's in the oven?

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203 Words | 1 Pages

In the suspenseful short story, “Lamb to the Slaughter,” Roald Dahl uses dramatic irony to show that appearances can be deceiving because someone that appears weak and innocent could actually be guilty. For example, when Mary Maloney is at the store and she says, “Patrick's decided he's tired and he doesn't want to eat out tonight,”. This shows theme because Mary is just playing the part of the caring housewife who is willing to cook supper for her husband just because he’s tired. This also demonstrates dark humor because the reader knows she killed him, not what the grocer now believes. Furthermore, when the detectives are eating the lamb and a detective said “ Personally, I think the weapon is somewhere near the house.”

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431 Words | 2 Pages

In the story “Invitation to a Murder” by Josh Pachter, situational irony is used as the plot foundation for the story. The author communicates numerous occasions throughout the story in which situational irony is utilized. The first circumstance of situational irony is located in the title, “Invitation to a Murder”. This was situational irony due to the fact that they were supposedly invited to witness a murder, but they were truly invited to be a part of the murder. They became part of the murder when they all decided that they would force her to drink from the amber bottle.

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855 Words | 4 Pages

In “Lamb to the Slaughter” and “Trifles,” Roald Dahl and Susan Glasspell use irony to underscore the women’s competence and utilitarianism, as well as emphasize the men’s incompetence and absolutism. Firstly, Dahl uses irony to show the men’s incompetence in “Lamb to the Slaughter,” juxtaposing them with Mary. The men conduct the investigation opposite of how they should. Firstly, they did not evacuate the scene - allowing Mary to stay in the house.

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1101 Words | 5 Pages

It isn’t Irony, it’s the Truth! In “Lamb to the Slaughter” and “Trifles,” the authors use irony to underscore the women’s acuity, as well as emphasize the men’s sexiest incompetence First, the authors of “Trifles” and “Lamb to the Slaughter” use irony to emphasize the men’s sexiest and most biased actions. For example, in the short play Trifles the male investigators on the crime scene completely disregard the kitchen as a place with criminal evidence. They believe that the only thing the kitchen contains is women’s culinary tools.

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1568 Words | 7 Pages

Situational irony is present because the reader would never expect this from Mary. Later in the story, Mary is able to start thinking about possible penalties and goes as far as to create a plan, “She sat down before the mirror, tidied up her hair, touched up her lips and face. She tried to smile. It came out rather peculiar. She tried again” (Dahl).

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584 Words | 3 Pages

Furthermore, an example of irony in Trifles can be found at the end of the story when the women decide to hide the evidence from the men. This decision is an example of situational irony, as the situation's outcome differs from the expected outcome of them giving the evidence to the men. Both of these instances are examples of the use of irony in the story to create suspense and better emphasize the theme of both

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657 Words | 3 Pages

One example of situational irony is first, the name “Fortunato” means “Fortunate” in Italian, but Fortunato is actually very unfortunate. Next, the word “cask” means “wine barrel,” but coffin also comes from the same word. So in other words, Fortunato believes he will reach a cask of wine, but in all actuality he will reach his coffin. Also, another great example of situational irony comes when Montresor has just dismembered Fortunato and exits the catacombs. Then, Montresor claims, “My heart grew sick-“(240).

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1049 Words | 5 Pages

The irony is that they don’t know that the lamb was used to kill Mary’s husband Patrick. They think that she just wants them to have supper but in reality she wants them to destroy the murder weapon. To be clear in Roald Dahl’s “Lamb To The Slaughter,” he uses situational irony and verbal irony to advance the plot of the short story. He has Mary, the caring non-violent wife, kill her husband in a brutal fashion and have the cops say that they would do her a favor by eating the lamb because they think that she wants them to have supper when she needs them to get rid of the murder

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2436 Words | 10 Pages

Around the time the men begin to lose hope that someone will save them, the narrator says, “For a space both men were silent, turning over in their minds the wonderful changes that this dramatic reconciliation would bring about,”(Saki). Again, since the narrator is aware of both of the character’s thoughts, the story is written in the Third Person Omniscient Narrator. “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl 1. Dramatic irony is when the reader knows something that a character does not. In “Lamb to the Slaughter”, Mary Maloney murders her husband by striking him with a frozen lamb leg.

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294 Words | 2 Pages

In “Lamb to the Slaughter,” Roald Dahl uses irony to highlight major points. Irony contradicts what is said and what actually happens. For example, dramatic irony is present when a detective in the story states, “‘It’s probably right under our noses. What do you think, Jack?’” (Dahl).

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776 Words | 4 Pages

Certainly 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.”

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1331 Words | 6 Pages

Exotic Animals Shouldn’t Be An Issue Exotic animal ownership is something that is highly debated by many people today and raises many questions. Should exotic animals such as: monkeys, tigers, lions and other such desert dwelling or jungle dwelling animals be allowed to be kept in captivity by humans. Or should they be able to just roam free in the wild? Many people would be inclined to say roam free because it is not “natural” for wild animals to be kept in captivity. Or they can potentially be very dangerous if they escape or turn on a person, they can also carry very deadly diseases.

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393 Words | 2 Pages

In Roald Dahl’s riveting short story “Lamb to the Slaughter” dramatic irony is used to build tension. Dramatic irony is defined as a literary device where the reader knows more about a situation than the characters in the story. The main character Ms. Maloney, a devoted and tender wife, suddenly turns into a reckless murderer as her husband tells her he wants to leave. Throughout the narrative a prominent example of dramatic irony is when the policemen eat the leg of lamb. " ‘That's why the weapon should be easy to find.’

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