Irony In 'Lamb To The Slaughter'

Answers come in unexpected ways. The answer to problems are not as complex as what the world makes it out to be- a universal relevance is answers are more simple than they first appear. They think that the life will never be figured out. Some may believe that the world if full of impossible questions and problems. In “Lamb to the Slaughter,” Roald Dahl the officers overlook the idea of Mrs. Maloney being the killer and the murder weapon for that matter. Mrs. Maloney thought up the most clever way to get away with murder. The officers had their hands on it, but because of their complex thought the answers washed away. The theme of “Lamb to the Slaughter,” by Roald Dahl is, sometimes it is too easy to overlook the obvious answer the world makes

“The woman stayed where she was, listening to them speaking among themselves, their voices thick and sloppy because their mouths were full of meat”(Dahl 10). The officers ate the weapon that they were searching for all day. They searched and searched and found the weapon without realizing it. The irony of the officers eating the weapon showed that the answer was there the whole time but the officers failed to notice. "Personally, I think it's right here on the premises. Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack? And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle. ” (Dahl 11). The officers missed all of the clues leading to Mrs. Maloney killing her husband. The officers found no evidence of a break in and Mrs. Maloney was the only one to see him around the time of his death. The irony of a pregnant, loving wife killing her husband showed the theme by the world hiding the possibility of Mrs. Maloney killing her husband. Therefore, the irony Dahl used portrays how easy it was for the officers to overlook the idea of the lamb leg being a murder weapon and Mrs. Maloney being the