Lamb to the Slaughter

There is a great play on words in the title as it could be perceived two ways, either, in the way that a lamb goes to slaughter to be killed and this is what happens to Mr Maloney. Also, he is killed with a leg of lamb and this could be suggested that he was slaughtered. This gives the title a good twist for the reader to think about after they have finished reading the story. There is a very interesting narrative perspective in this story as it is really third person, but when she is thinking to herself it is a bit of third person and a bit of first person.

It is certain that it is all in the past tense, this adds great character and individuality. ‘No, she said, she’d like to stay right where she was, in this chair. A little later perhaps, when she felt better, she would move. ‘ The characters are portrayed very well in this story. Mary Maloney seems to be a very reserved woman at the beginning of the story and seems to dote upon her husband and uses him for company. You take this idea from the story when it is said that she waits for her husband to get home from work.

Now and again she would glance up at the clock, but without anxiety, merely to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he would come. ‘ There seems to be a very clear routine about this, as if it happens everyday. She waits for him to come home to stop her from being so lonely. She likes the idea that there is a man there for her protection. Mr Maloney doesn’t seem to be as mad about her as she is about him and you get the picture that he doesn’t really appreciate her and has probably got fed up with her over the years that they have been together.

Also the thing that he tells her that the reader doesn’t actually learn is probably about his infidelity, I come to this conclusion because of the way that Mrs Maloney reacts, she is a very quite woman at the start of the story but the something happens to make her so angry that she murders her husband, I would guess he just told her either about another woman or that he doesn’t want to be with her anymore. A lot more focus is based on Mrs Maloney than Mr Maloney as she is the protagonist and she is the one whose character changes the most throughout the story.

It is not very complex syntax used throughout the story and it is very easy to read, it is probably written for people of all ages, Roald Dahl is known as a children’s writer and although this is much more adult based than many of his stories, he probably didn’t want to cut off younger generation readers all together. Just because the language is simple and easy to read it does not mean that it is not very effective – because it is. The ease of the language gives the story a feel of ease and routine. It’s the kind of language that would be used in that household, between husband and wife.

It is a mixture of long and short sentences throughout; it changes to do with the context of the sentence at the time. When there is something dramatic happening it is usually a short sentence, this happened when he told her what ever it was that made her get so angry leading to the murder or Mr Maloney, ‘And he told her. ‘ Only four words are needed to get this point across, the author doesn’t even need to tell us what it was that he told her, because he uses such a small sentence it is given a dramatic dark effect, you know it is bad.

The long sentences in the story are used in a kind of list way. The occurrences are mentioned in chronological order, ‘The violence of the crash, the noise, the small table over turning helped bring her out of the shock’. These are the sentences that seem to explain a lot in a very short space of time, they paint a picture for the reader without going into much detail, and they are also very effective. Because the language in this story is very effective, it links very well to the style of the family involved.

She is very thoughtful and has a lot of time on her hands during the day, her sentences and long and drawn out, explaining everything that is happening. He obviously has no time for her and so his sentences are short and abrupt. The ending of the story has an element of comedy, which really adds to the story. It is a very unexpected finish and this gives it a good twist. It has a very silly sort of storyline but it works because there is an idea that it could actually happen, its very unlikely but because of the air of possibility the writer pulls it off.

Mrs Maloney does something very strange at the end, once the leg of lamb has been eaten, she goes into the other room and giggles at what has happened showing that she doesn’t seem to have any remorse as to what has happened and what she has done. This shows the great character change from the beginning of the story. It makes you think that has she always been like this, very devious. Or, has she just kept her husbands continuing acts of selfishness and his constant lack of interest in her locked up and him telling her this was the last straw and just made her snap.

In conclusion, I believe that this is a very good story and very different from the writers usual style. It is very well written and very easy to read. The way that the two people’s style of living has been taken into account and shown through the syntax, sentence structure and narrative is very good. It really grabs the readers attention and the conclusion of the story is definitely not the ending that is expected.