Lamb Of The Slaughter Mary Maloney Essay

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In the short story “Lamb of the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, the loyal, loving housewife Mary Maloney, in her 2nd trimester, waits patiently for her husband to return home from work. When he returns, Mary receives unexpected news that will alter her life forever. She makes a spontaneous decision that could change her life even more dramatically. One thing drives Mary Maloney to loose control: revenge. Thursday evening, the night Mary Maloney and her husband, Patrick, go out for a nice dinner. On this particular night they will not be going out, at least not both of them. When Patrick returns from work he makes an announcement. Immediately, Mary enters into a daze of unbelief. She remains calm, surprisingly, and whispers “I'll fix some supper”. She returns from the basement with a frozen lamb leg. "I've already told you," Patrick said. "Don't make supper for me. I'm going out.” Quietly, she moves toward him with the stealth of a tiger. Bam! Patrick hits the floor with a thud. Mary Maloney shocks herself with her insidious action. It takes no more than a few seconds for her to come back to reality. Her dirty deed has been completed and now she needs to get away with it. With her mind racing in a million different directions, Mary enters the kitchen with a plan. She throws the lamb leg into the oven and heads to the market to create an alibi. …show more content…
Come quickly!” Mary yells into the home phone “Patricks dead.” Almost instantaneously the police and detectives arrive at the front door of their fellow co-worker’s house. As the minutes pass, the detectives ask questions and search for evidence. The detectives find nothing but generously remind Mary her meat is still in the oven. Overwhelmed with emotions, she informs them she is in no mood to eat. “Why don't you eat up the lamb in the oven?” she offers; Mary knows the perfect way to discard her weapon. Finally, she convinces the detectives to eat the lamb after hours of hard work searching for the murder

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