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Use Of Situational Irony In Lamb To The Slaughter

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In Ronald Dahl's short story “Lamb to the Slaughter,” situational irony and dramatic irony create suspense in the story. Mary, a stay at home wife happily awaits for her husband to return every single day, but this day was different. Her husband returns home and claims he is unhappy in their marriage and is leaving her. In the short story the author writes, “She carried it upstairs, holding the thin bone-end of it with both her hands, and as she went through the living room, she saw him standing…At that point, Mary Maloney simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb” (Dahl 136-138.). This scene in the short story demonstrates situational irony because it would be expected for Mary to become extremely distressed, and saddened over what her husband is claiming he will do. Instead Mary leaves quietly to grab the lamb to murder her …show more content…

Suspense is created because the audience now wonders what she is going to do with his body and with the murder weapon, it seems like it is her first time which the audience can gather that Mary has a high chance of getting caught. Irony also creates suspense in the short story as the officers are unknowingly consuming the murder weapon, while sensing that the murder weapon is somewhere near them in the house. In the short story the author writes, “Why don’t you eat up that lamb that’s in the oven….Whoever done it, they’re not going to be carrying a thing like that around with them longer than they need..Personally, I think it’s right here on the premises.Probably right under our very noses” (Dahl 340-370). Mary offers the men the lamb which she had used for the murder weapon for dinner, she claims it is a favor for her. As the men are eating

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Lamb to the Slaughter Essay A person's true identity will not be revealed if only noticed by their physical appearance. In Roald Dahl’s short story “Lamb to the Slaughter,” a frozen lamb leg is used by Mary Maloney, a housewife, to kill her husband. Next, she creates a crime scene, tricking the cops into eating the cooked lamb and erasing the evidence. Substantially, Dahl’s short story uses the murder of Patrick Maloney to show readers that everyone is not always as they seem.

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In Roald Dahl’s short story “Lamb to the Slaughter,” dramatic and situational irony forward the plot. For instance Dramatic irony is shown when the police are talking to Mary about dinner she asks them to stay and eat it. She also states “It’d be a favor to me if you’d eat it up. ”(345 Dahl) We the audience know that Mary used the lamb leg to murder her husband.

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“Lamb to the Slaughter,” a thrilling short story by Roald Dahl, tells the story of a young housewife in the 1950’s who kills her husband and has to hide it from the police. Mary Maloney and her husband Patrick Maloney are expecting a child and seem to be in love, until Patrick comes home from work one day and wants to file for divorce. Mrs. Maloney becomes sad, surprised, and is overcome with anger. Now fuming, Mrs. Maloney swings a leg of lamb as high as she can, brings it down on Patrick’s head, and kills him. Mary Maloney should be convicted for her crimes in “Lamb to the Slaughter.”

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In “Lamb to the Slaughter”, Mary Maloney manages to get the police to unknowingly destroy the murder weapon she used to kill her husband. Mary carefully coerces the officers into doing what she wants: “‘Please,’ She begged. ‘Please eat it. Personally I couldn’t touch a thing, certainly not what’s been in the house when he was here. But it’s all right for you.

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