Referring closely to the short story, Lamb to the Slaughter, give details of the conditions that led Mary Maloney to commit her husband's murder. Describe her feelings and the strategies adopted by her to prove her innocence.
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Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl is a fun story that uses
irony and perspective to create a truly enjoyable story. Still, to get the
greatest value out of this story, it is worthwhile to understand not only what
happens in the story but why it happens. From the way the situations of the
characters change them to the decisions they make, everything in this story
must work together to create a masterpiece.there are two major conflicts in this story. The first of these
conflicts is between Mary and Patrick as Patrick tells his pregnant wife that
he is going to leave her. This conflict ends as Mary hits her husband with a
frozen leg of lamb and leads into the main conflict of the story. This second
conflict is in Mary's attempt to avoid being caught. She knows that if she is
caught she will be executed and fears that her unborn child will be killed as
well. This becomes the main conflict of the story and leads to the ultimate
resolution of the story in which the detectives eat the evidence of her crime.
Lamb to the Slaughter" is an unusual story that never ceases to interest us. The story begins on a note of domestic bliss. The six months pregnant wife is waiting for her husband. It is the day to dine out. The man of the house comes in a serious mood. He makes a stiff whisky for him and asks his wife to sit down as he has a serious matter to tell her. Then things take a dramatic turn. He makes it clear that he is going to leave her but she'll be provided for. She shouldn't make any fuss as it will reflect badly on his reputation in the police department.
The young wife feels that the world is slipping under her feet. She feels dizzy at the thought of losing her man around whom her whole life has revolved. She goes to the kitchen to take something to eat. She takes out a leg of lamb. As she fetches it, he brusquely tells her not to bother about dinner as he intends to go out. Like a somnambulist she goes near him and hits on his head with the frozen leg. Death was instantaneous. He falls with a crash and this brings Mary to her senses. Her mind is clear now. She is willing to face the legal consequences but if she is executed what will happen to the child. With mechanical precision she goes about her plan of destroying the evidence. She prepares the leg of lamb the murder weapon, and puts it in the oven. She then goes to her room and gets ready to go out. As she does so, she rehearses the conversation that she will have with the grocer, trying to act with expressions as normal as possible. She goes to the grocery and uses the exact words that she has rehearsed, so that the whole scene at the grocery appears to be the everyday act of a wife picking up food for her husband's dinner and chatting with the grocer. She then returns home, telling herself that she must remain natural and to expect nothing out of the ordinary when she enters the house. Her cry over the dead body was really genuine.
Mary then calls the police and reports that Patrick Maloney has been killed. Two police officers, one of whom is Jack Noonan, arrives at the house. Both men are familiar to Mary, who knows most of Patrick's friends on the police force. They begin the investigation into Patrick's murder by recording Mrs. Maloney's story about going out to get food for supper and coming back to find Patrick's body. Mary's words are corroborated by the grocer.
When a doctor and other specialists arrive to examine the body, the police conclude that Patrick was killed by a blow to the head with a blunt instrument, probably made of steel. Noonan, comforts Mary, asking if she would rather go to her sister's house or stay with his wife. Mary, however, stays throughout the investigation.
The police get tired of looking for a heavy weapon. Mary says there is nothing of the sort in the house, but she's not sure whether something in the garage. She tells the policemen to have a drink and also offers the now cooked leg of the lamb. After a little hesitation, the officers have it. They keep on talking about the murder weapon without realizing that they have eaten it. Thinking of the irony of the situation, Mary goes on giggling in her room.
The macabre humour in the story fascinates us. We are also amused at the clever way the lady saves herself. The unexpected twists and turns in the story really appeal to us.
· Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl is a fun story that uses irony and perspective to create a truly enjoyable story. Still, to get the greatest value out of this story, it is worthwhile to understand not only what happens in the story but why it happens. From the way the situations of the characters change them to the decisions they make, everything in this story must work together to create a masterpiece.there are two major conflicts in this story. The first of these conflicts is between Mary and Patrick as Patrick tells his pregnant wife that he is going to leave her. This conflict ends as Mary hits her husband with a frozen leg of lamb and leads into the main conflict of the story. This second conflict is in Mary's attempt to avoid being caught. She knows that if she is caught she will be executed and fears that her unborn child will be killed as well. This becomes the main conflict of the story and leads to the ultimate resolution of the story in which the detectives eat the evidence of her crime.
Lamb to the Slaughter" is an unusual story that never ceases to interest us. The story begins on a note of domestic bliss. The six months pregnant wife is waiting for her husband. It is the day to dine out. The man of the house comes in a serious mood. He makes a stiff whisky for him and asks his wife to sit down as he has a serious matter to tell her. Then things take a dramatic turn. He makes it clear that he is going to leave her but she'll be provided for. She shouldn't make any fuss as it will reflect badly on his reputation in the police department.
The young wife feels that the world is slipping under her feet. She feels dizzy at the thought of losing her man around whom her whole life has revolved. She goes to the kitchen to take something to eat. She takes out a leg of lamb. As she fetches it, he brusquely tells her not to bother about dinner as he intends to go out. Like a somnambulist she goes near him and hits on his head with the frozen leg. Death was instantaneous. He falls with a crash and this brings Mary to her senses. Her mind is clear now. She is willing to face the legal consequences but if she is executed what will happen to the child. With mechanical precision she goes about her plan of destroying the evidence. She prepares the leg of lamb the murder weapon, and puts it in the oven. She then goes to her room and gets ready to go out. As she does so, she rehearses the conversation that she will have with the grocer, trying to act with expressions as normal as possible. She goes to the grocery and uses the exact words that she has rehearsed, so that the whole scene at the grocery appears to be the everyday act of a wife picking up food for her husband's dinner and chatting with the grocer. She then returns home, telling herself that she must remain natural and to expect nothing out of the ordinary when she enters the house. Her cry over the dead body was really genuine.
Mary then calls the police and reports that Patrick Maloney has been killed. Two police officers, one of whom is Jack Noonan, arrives at the house. Both men are familiar to Mary, who knows most of Patrick's friends on the police force. They begin the investigation into Patrick's murder by recording Mrs. Maloney's story about going out to get food for supper and coming back to find Patrick's body. Mary's words are corroborated by the grocer.
When a doctor and other specialists arrive to examine the body, the police conclude that Patrick was killed by a blow to the head with a blunt instrument, probably made of steel. Noonan, comforts Mary, asking if she would rather go to her sister's house or stay with his wife. Mary, however, stays throughout the investigation.
The police get tired of looking for a heavy weapon. Mary says there is nothing of the sort in the house, but she's not sure whether something in the garage. She tells the policemen to have a drink and also offers the now cooked leg of the lamb. After a little hesitation, the officers have it. They keep on talking about the murder weapon without realizing that they have eaten it. Thinking of the irony of the situation, Mary goes on giggling in her room.
The macabre humour in the story fascinates us. We are also amused at the clever way the lady saves herself. The unexpected twists and turns in the story really appeal to us.
