“Lamb to the Slaughter” is a short story about how Mary Maloney successfully murdered her husband, Patrick Maloney, without being caught. The mystery was written by Roald Dahl. The unfortunate event of Patrick Maloney’s death took place in the Maloney household in 1950s. Mary Maloney was a six month pregnant wife who cared about Patrick. She patiently waited for Patrick to come home from his work. Patrick was a hard working detective. When Patrick came home, Mary was pleased to see him. As usual, she made him his strong tasting drink. They sat in chairs facing opposite sides of each other. Although Patrick did not speak much to her after his long day at work, Mary enjoyed the presence of her husband. Patrick was extremely exhausted; he fetched …show more content…
She began to cry and called the police. Police men, a doctor, several detectives, a police photographer, and a fingerprint expert arrived at the Maloney household to attempt to solve the case. Since the readers knew all who killed Patrick, dramatic irony was present. The detectives still had to figure it out. They asked her multiple questions. As a result, she had to lie for most of the answers to protect herself from being accused. The situational irony includes how the detectives never thought of the idea of Mary being the murderer, yet the truth was she had killed her husband. The detectives figured out the weapon must have been smooth with rounded edges. The weapon was expected to be found inside the house. Additionally, Patrick was hit in the head with an object between eight to nine pounds. The detectives suspected the weapon to be made of steel. Nevertheless, that was a deceiving clue. Mary invited the men to eat the lamb that was fully cooked. They ate the meat and discussed the possible solutions for the case. One man stated that it was probably right under their own noses. Mary Malone giggled from the other room. This was an example of verbal irony because the solution to the case was actually right in front of them. Mary was the