ipl-logo

Lamb To The Slaughter Mary Maloney Character Analysis

787 Words4 Pages

In the short story “Lamb to the Slaughter” written by Roald Dahl. A character that interested me the most would be Mary Maloney, Mary was the main character in the story, the story was written around her. Mary was interesting for me because of the way she acted towards her husband Patrick Maloney who she loved a lot and how she was able to cover up the murder of her husband and go on with her normal life so quickly afterwards.

In the beginning of the story the author makes Mary out to be a loving wife,who cares about her husband Patrick very much. Mary’s life is mostly based around Patrick’s needs and wants. In the story Mary does not work, as it is based in earlier times when women would stay at home and look after the family. An example …show more content…

An example of this is when she phones the police station “Quick! Come quick! Patrick’s dead!” she says this down the phone line to the police office Jack Noonan who her husband worked. When they arrive she fells into his arms. This show that Mary, wants the police offices to think that when she returned for the shop, Patrick was killed well she was gone and that she did not kill him. Another reason in the end part of the story why I found Mary interesting was when she offered the police detectives the leg of lamb that she killed her husband with. “Why don’t you eat up that lamb that’s in the oven. It’ll be cooked just right by now”. This show also that Mary is turning to not think that she killed her husband. When the police detectives are eating their leg of lamb on of them says “Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack?”, and it is really right under their noses, when Mary hears that she is “in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle”. This shows that Mary is the cold blooded killer of her husband and that they well never find out because they just ate the murder weapon.

In conclusion, there are many reasons why, Mary Maloney was the most interesting character for me, the way she covered up her husband murder, without planning any of it and also how she how she acted without any passion on

Show More
Related
276 Words | 2 Pages

Mary Surratt's testimony Mary Surratt should have been executed. Mary Surratt should have been executed because she aided in the assassination plot. To begin, she helped with the kidnap plot. She helped Booth hide the, “shooting irons” in her tavern so he could then pick them up later that night. This shows that she hid the guns for their plot.

Read More
475 Words | 2 Pages

After Mary had been pregnant for 6 months, he came home to say that he was leaving her for someone better. For anyone, this would not be an easy topic, especially for a woman who has been carrying her husband's baby for six months. Mary Maloney has always loved her husband and never thought of killing him until he announced that he was leaving her. It says in the book that "Mary's favorite part of the day was waiting for her husband to come home with his drink," which shows that she did love him.

Read More
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.

Read More
300 Words | 2 Pages

When Mary was on the phone with the police, telling them that Patrick was dead, Mary was crying and in shock. When Mary got back from the grocery store, she saw that Patrick was lying on the ground. She called

Read More
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.

Read More
638 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
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

Read More
1068 Words | 5 Pages

Her mother died shortly after her birth leaving her father to care for her and her half-sister, Fanny Imlay. The dynamic of her family soon changed when her father remarried. Mary was treated poorly by her new stepmother, and her quality of life was less than satisfactory. Her step-siblings were allowed to receive an education while Mary stayed at home. She found comfort in reading, and created stories in her father’s library.

Read More
524 Words | 3 Pages

The second most important character is the murder victim himself, Patrick Maloney. Mary seems to have a quite inaccurate perception of her husband. She perhaps loves the idea of him and having a normal life more than she actually has affection for him. Patrick, while he is alive which is mostly in the beginning of the story, is withdrawn and mellow, due to the stress caused by having to tell Mary the bad news. This news was most likely asking to divorce her, but the exact reason is never stated up front.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
1237 Words | 5 Pages

Lamb to the Slaughter is an action packed short story about a wife who is let down by her husband and proceeds to kill him as an act of revenge. Obviously much more happens in this story consisting of humour, action, mystery and irony. Roald Dahl is a master of writing short stories in ways that attract readers, draw them into what is happening through using literary elements and universal themes to make the story relatable to the readers. In this story the main literary elements were foreshadowing, situation and dramatic irony, imagery and symbolism which really drew me in and kept me attached to the story. Literary elements are what make a story powerful and attracts readers to continue reading in the story and in this story they highlight the universal theme of Revenge and Betrayal.

Read More
467 Words | 2 Pages

Mary Maloney makes up an act and gets away with the murder. Mary Maloney is a dynamic character because she changes throughout the story. She changes from a caring and loving wife to a murderer and a crazy person. Mary has more traits like caring, ruthless and clever.

Read More
1643 Words | 7 Pages

In her youth Mary dreamed to become either a nun or pianist, both consisting of an intimate and dedicated lifestyle. Instead though she married James Tyrone and endured many subsequent tragedies. Her decision to marry James an alcoholic, the death of her father, the death of her infant son, and finally the birth of Eugene, created many resentment, causing her to lean towards isolation and ultimately her addiction. She uses her addiction to go back to a time before all of her pains. While remembering the past in a dope haze, Mary says, "Something I need terribly.

Read More

More about Lamb To The Slaughter Mary Maloney Character Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document