This is a twisted, gripping tale of Mary Maloney, who murders her own husband by hitting him with a frozen leg of lamb and then hiding her crime and disposing of the evidence by feeding the lamb to the policemen who come to investigate the murder.

This clever story is crafted down to the smallest detail - every word and expression implies something, often has a second meaning and so manipulates the reader’s opinion. The factor that makes this story even more interesting, is that it is written from the murderer’s point of view, while the opinion of the author is still evident.

Roald Dahl effectively developed the protagonist both directly and indirectly; however

the use of indirect characterisation is more dominant because it reveals and explains Mary Malloney’s actions. In the beginning of the story, Mary Malloney appears to be an ordinary house-wife, awaiting her husband’s return, but already Dahl starts creating the eni

Mary becomes different - no more is she a husband pleasing wife she once was, she is now a self-conscious woman who know exactly what to do as if she has been prepared for months.

When one of the policemen, Jack Noonan asked if Mary “would rather go somewhere else” and hadn’t she “better lie down on the bed", it was very clever of her to refuse Noonan’s suggestion and remain in the living room because then she observe what is happening and find out whether she has gotten away with the murder.

The choice of adjective “curiously” implies that Mary Malloney is not usually as calm as she is today. Dahl also mentions that Mrs Malloney’s “eyes, with their new placid look, seemed larger, darker, than before. All these things aren't characteristic of her and Dahl’s uses the word “new” to make the reader realise this and makes the reader expect other unusual things to happen.

gmatic atmosphere of the story by describing Mary as “curiously tranquil”.

The next several paragraphs prove just how much Mary loved her husband and explain why “She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man”. However, the more reasons Mary gives for loving her husband and the more attempts she makes to please him it becomes clearer and clearer that something is wrong - Patrick is avoiding conversation and is becoming increasingly more irritated with Mary for her attempts to please to him. When Mr. Malloney cannot bear another moment of the fuss that has been created around him by his wife, he loses his nerve and tells at Mary to “just for a minute, sit down“. Patrick tells his wife, which by the evidence in the text I assume is, that he is leaving her.

I have enjoyed reading “Lamb to the slaughter” it is original, interesting

Some common words found in the essay are:
Mary Malloney, Noonan Mary, Mary Maloney, Roald Dahl, Dahl Mary, Mary Malloney’s, leg lamb, roald dahl, “lamb slaughter”, actions beginning story, policemen eating lamb, it’ll right”, frozen leg, lamb murder, eating lamb, frozen leg lamb, leaving wife, policemen eating, mary malloney,
Approximate Word count = 1241
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)