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Lamb To The Slaughter Character Analysis Essay

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There are many moments in life that alter and change someone’s personality and character, from losing a game to a valuable possession. These situations are shown in the story “Lamb to the Slaughter”. Mrs. Maloney’s character is changed when Mr. Maloney decides to leave her with her six month baby. The author shows this change with precise language and dialogue. Before Patrick’s big reveal, Mary still desires to be the “perfect wife”. Mary constantly offers to help him once he gets home. She says, “Would you like me to get you some cheese? I haven’t made any supper because it's thursday.” Even though he declines, Mary still insists. She tries to please her husband who she basically devoted her life to. She feels pleasant whenever her husband is home. This is it. Patrick has chosen his fate. Patrick tells Mary that he was …show more content…

She also changes right after the murder. “...how clear her mind became all of a sudden. She began thinking very fast. As the wife of a detective, she knew quite well what the penalty would be.” She realizes that Patrick does not matter to her anymore. Mary becomes cunning and deviant, thinking up the perfect alibi. She goes to the grocery shop, buys food for “dinner”, and uses Sam as an alibi. She then goes home and pretends that she came home to find him dead. Her personality changes completely, from being all sweet like sugar to clever like a fox. Another thing to point out is that Mary doesn’t seem remorseful at the end. “And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle.” She does not feel heartbroken for the fate of her husband. All in all, Mrs. Maloney in “Lamb to the Slaughter” changes characters after Patrick reveals the truth to her. The author conveys this change with specific language and dialogue use. Before, she is the “wanna-be perfect wife”, and after, she has no care for her husband

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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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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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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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I’m defending Mary in the short story, “The Lamb to Slaughter,” written by Roald Dahl. I am pleading for my client, Mary who is not guilty in the murder of Mr. Maloney. Mary would have never murder her husband, because she is six months pregnant. She couldn’t lift the heavy weapon used to kill him while carrying a baby. Mrs. Maloney was at the neighborhood grocery store at the same time the murder happened.

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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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“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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