An individual’s identity distinguishes himself from others, but it leaves both a positive and negative stereotype upon him. The short stories, “Lamb to the Slaughter” and “Identities”, by Roald Dahl and W.D. Valgardson respectively, are similar in that irony plays a profound role in the theme of the short stories. In both compelling stories, the irony creates the overall theme of mistaken identities and deception, revealing how people can perceive others in both positive and negative ways.
Dahl’s use of irony highlights the main theme of mistaken identities in “Lamb to the Slaughter”. The irony in “Lamb to the Slaughter” creates the theme, which is concerned with how people allow perceived notions to cloud their judgement of people. For example, …show more content…
At the beginning of the short story, the protagonist feels worried and guilty when he leaves his neighbourhood - his identity- and drives through a dangerous neighbourhood filled with gangsters. Like Dahl, Valgardson uses situational irony, when the protagonist and the reader expects the man to get hurt or run into trouble by the ‘bad people’ because of their “jackets gleam[ing] with studs… eagles, tigers, wolves and serpents [on their] backs,” as well as the “double-locked” gates and “cracked sidewalks with ridges of stiff grass” (Valgardson) that made up the city. In other words, because of the images of the poor and messy area, the reader does not expect the protagonist to get hurt by the police officer - the one who makes him feel safest. In comparison to “Lamb to the Slaughter”, the situational irony creates the theme of mistaken identities; society often mistakens police officers as helpful people due to stereotypes, like how the officer’s identity is mistaken in the short story. Furthermore, Valgardson uses dramatic irony to create the theme of mistaken identities when the man “reaches his hand toward his wallet for his identity,” (Valgardson) but the police officer is not aware of this and shoots him, mistaking him for a thief. In other words, the officer mistakenly identifies the protagonist as a bad person, because of his
Dahl’s use of irony highlights the main theme of mistaken identities in “Lamb to the Slaughter”. The irony in “Lamb to the Slaughter” creates the theme, which is concerned with how people allow perceived notions to cloud their judgement of people. For example, …show more content…
At the beginning of the short story, the protagonist feels worried and guilty when he leaves his neighbourhood - his identity- and drives through a dangerous neighbourhood filled with gangsters. Like Dahl, Valgardson uses situational irony, when the protagonist and the reader expects the man to get hurt or run into trouble by the ‘bad people’ because of their “jackets gleam[ing] with studs… eagles, tigers, wolves and serpents [on their] backs,” as well as the “double-locked” gates and “cracked sidewalks with ridges of stiff grass” (Valgardson) that made up the city. In other words, because of the images of the poor and messy area, the reader does not expect the protagonist to get hurt by the police officer - the one who makes him feel safest. In comparison to “Lamb to the Slaughter”, the situational irony creates the theme of mistaken identities; society often mistakens police officers as helpful people due to stereotypes, like how the officer’s identity is mistaken in the short story. Furthermore, Valgardson uses dramatic irony to create the theme of mistaken identities when the man “reaches his hand toward his wallet for his identity,” (Valgardson) but the police officer is not aware of this and shoots him, mistaking him for a thief. In other words, the officer mistakenly identifies the protagonist as a bad person, because of his