Lamb To The Slaughter Mrs. Maloney

People can change in a split second, just like Mrs. Maloney. We can tell she is a dynamic character from this. In the beginning Mrs. Maloney is head over heels in love with her husband. Following her first murder Mrs. Maloney doesn’t fall to pieces. Prior to the end Mrs. Maloney is proud of what she did. With this story “Lamb To The Slaughter” the author Roald Dahl characterizes Mrs.Maloney as dynamic, revealing to us that people are fragile and can snap at the slightest things. Mrs. Maloney loves her husband. According to her internal monologue Mrs. Maloney “loved the warmth that came out of him”, and we can infer that she loves him (Dahl 1). The author uses descriptive words such as “warmth” to create an uplifting mood. The positive

The majority of people would not be able to handle the stress of killing someone. The reader can tell Mrs. Maloney doesn’t care for her spouse by the way Mrs. Maloney “fixed her makeup, and tried to smile”. By using the word “makeup” and “tried” the author tells us that she was trying on her “new self” like a mask. The author uses this action to highlight the fact that Mrs. Maloney is a different person; one who doesn’t love. “Mary Maloney began to giggle”, yet she is not giggling because she is happy. When the author uses verbs such as “giggles” he is implying that she is childish. Children are usually happy and carefree. From this we can infer that Mrs. Maloney is happy about her husband's death. Mrs. Maloney does not love her husband, because if she did she would not be able to live with herself. Roald Dahl in “Lamb To The Slaughter” indirectly characterizes Mrs.Maloney as dynamic. From a loving person Mrs.Maloney dynamically changes into a killer. The changes in her emotional feelings clue us to the fact that she is dynamic. The author uses diction and Mrs. Maloney’s actions to portray this. This story along with a dynamic character give away that people can seem stable, but can erupt when something doesn’t go their