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Horror In Roald Dahl's The Lamb To The Slaughter

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The story “The Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl is of the horror genre for a multitude of reasons. The horror genre itself is in my mind is a story filled with suspense and large expectations. The characters also make this story of the horror genre, as in this story Mary Maloney poses an inside threat to her husband when she attempts, and successfully kills him. The characters in the horror genre do not have to be supernatural. Horror stories may also include paranormal activity, parallel universes, and unnatural explanations. Before I explain on why this story is of the horror genre let me give you the back story. Mr. Maloney arrives home from work to explain to his wife something, Mrs. Maloney then gets so aggravated she runs down stairs to grab a leg of lamb, she then walks up the stairs and knocks her husband over the head, he then dies. She puts the lamb in the oven, she then arrives at the local grocery store to buy vegetables for her lamb. Once she gets home, she calls the cops, the cops arrive and search her house in the dying heat. Once they conclude that she is “innocent,” she offers them the lamb and the vegetables. When the detectives eat the murder weapon, Mrs. Maloney laughs a devilish laugh. Mrs. Maloney would prove this …show more content…

The detectives in the story predicted that Mary is innocent, as a normal conventional technique they did their investigating and as said in the story ““In fifteen minutes he was back with a page of notes, there was more whispering, and through her sobbing she heard a few of the whispered phrases-”....acted quite normal....very cheerful... wanted to give him a good super...impossible that she....””(PG6 p4) The omj de twa in this story is when the detectives eat the murder weapon. This makes this story of the horror genre as Mary Maloney suggested them to eat it. She deliberately got rid of the murder weapon, and that then proved her

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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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Mary Maloney is a very loving and devoted house wife and mother-to-be. Though her dream of having the perfect American family was destroyed by the bewildering news of Patrick choosing another women over Mary and their child. Innocent is all Mary Maloney is, due to her indistinct state of mind caused by her heinous husband’s decision to desert her and her child while she is unable to control her emotions due to her being pregnant. Mary is not guilty of murder instead innocent due to diminished capacity.

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Gothic Literature, both traditional and contemporary are sources of unpredictable, mysterious entertainment. For example, ‘The Signalman’ written in 1866 by Charles Dickens utilises the setting, imagery and symbolism, as well as the theme of supernatural to generate the tension in the story. On the other hand, ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ written by Roald Dahl exploits intense emotions such insanity and the theme of reality to conceive suspense. Both writers successfully integrate mystery into the stories to provoke suspense. To begin with, the setting in ‘The Signalman’ is used to generate thriller, especially the creepy, isolated tunnel and the Signalman’s post.

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In the book “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl the landlady is a serial killer. She is a serial killer because she addicted to killing young good looking men. Another reason why she is a serial killer is because she uses the same techniques as the other serial killers. The landlady is a serial killer because all serial killers are addicted to killing people and they select the victims from the same place. To begin, the landlady is a serial killer because she is addicted to killing handsome boys.

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It was extraordinary” (Dahl). Mary was lost inside of her insanity. She didn’t feel any remorse. Instead, she was already thinking of how to get away with the murder of her husband. Mary Maloney, “makes the transition from housewife to murderer that one wonders about her mental state prior to the day she killed her husband” (Bertonneau 1953).

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Once she settled down she acts fast with faking a story by going to the store and coming home to the police. She ends up using the weapon as dinner for the police. The author showed how Mary used cowardice throughout the story through the literary devices of Symbolism, Foreshadowing, and Tone.

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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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Roald Dahl's short story Lamb to the Slaughter is a very intriguing read. Dahl uses a lot of characterization throughout the story, giving subtle descriptions of what the characters are like. This happens the most with the main character, Mary Maloney. In the beginning of the story, Dahl describes Mary as as being six months pregnant, with big calm eyes. This displays a picture of innocence.

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They ask her questions. The detective have asked Mary if they can look around for the murder weapon. When they have searched the entire house they came back and Mary asks them for a drink. They all sip a bit of whiskey. One of the sheriff 's (Jack), tells Mary her oven is on with the lamb (the murder weapon) inside.

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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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“Patrick! She called. How are you darling. She put the parcel down and went into the living room and when she saw him lying on the ground.” Mary also creates an act that makes the detectives believe that she did not do anything to do with the murder.

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In the stories, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “Lamb of the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl both have a similar aspect in furthering the plot and creating an aesthetic impact on its target audience. In the story, “The Story of an Hour”, Mrs. Mallard not only has heart trouble but her husband was pronounced dead. Whereas, in “Lamb to the Slaughter”, Mary Maloney kills her husband after finding out that he was leaving her, while she was still pregnant. Furthermore, what makes these stories similar is having two female protagonist feeling strong emotions towards their husband’s motives. Given this fact, “The Story of an Hour” uses a gloomy exposition and depressing ending whereas, “Lamb to the Slaughter” begins in a calm exposition to a clever ending in order for both of their stories to have a climactic resolution and have an aesthetic impact on its readers.

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