An Evaluation of “Lamb to the Slaughter” By: Roald Dahl
Not many people look at their food and see a weapon. There has been some accidents in justice, but have any of them included where the law enforcement has eat the evidence? In ‘Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, a wife is home and waits for her husband to arrive. When he arrives, he does not cooperate about dinner, his wife Mary gets angry, and kills him.
In the short story “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, it displays the theme of betrayal through the use of symbols, point of view, and black humor.
One of the major themes that are shown in Lamb to the Slaughter is betrayal. One example of betrayal is when Mary’s husband left her, Mary got really mad, and she killed him with …show more content…
One example of black humor in the short story is when Mary kills her husband by using the leg of lamb, because it is unexpected. “ The image of the cheerful housewife suddenly smashing her husband’s skull with the frozen joint of meat intended for his dinner is itself blackly humorous for it’s unexpectedness and it’s grotesque incongruity of the murder weapon” (Lazzari and Wilson 128) The murder of Mary’s husband can be seen as blackly humorous because the leg was supposed to be used for dinner, and the murder was unexpected. The police looking for the murder weapon or leg of lamb can be seen as blackly humorous because they do not know where it is, when it is actual right in front of them. “Personally, I think it’s right on the premises. Probably right under our noses. And in the other room, Mary begins to giggle.” (Dahl 6) Both the lamb’s leg and the actual murder can be seen as black humor because they are both ironic and somewhat comical when they were used in the …show more content…
One of the ways that point of view is used in the story is when Roald Dahl describes what the setting is through Mary’s eyes. “The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight-hers and the one by the empty chair opposite. On the sideboard behind her, two tall glasses, soda water, whiskey. Fresh ice cubes in the Thermos bucket.” (Dahl 1)This shows Mary’s point of view before she murdered her husband. The second way that point of view is shown in this story is when after Mary kills her husband. She reflects on what she has done, and what her point of view is on what just happened, and what will happen next. “She sits in front of her vanity mirror and practices saying normal things to Sam the grocer. Her talent for lying rises, here, to the superb. It shows itself superb again when, returning from Sam's, she convinces herself to act naturally, as though she did not know the fact of her own criminal deed.” (Bertonneau) This segment of the story shows her point of view on reflecting what she just did. The short story Lamb to the Slaughter uses the writing style of point of view to show Mary’s point of view both before and after the murder. The short story Lamb to the Slaughter is about a wife betraying her husband, and getting the police to eat the evidence. Roald Dahl uses betrayal to describe how Mary killed her husband and betrayed the police, symbols to show what the murder and leg
Not many people look at their food and see a weapon. There has been some accidents in justice, but have any of them included where the law enforcement has eat the evidence? In ‘Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, a wife is home and waits for her husband to arrive. When he arrives, he does not cooperate about dinner, his wife Mary gets angry, and kills him.
In the short story “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, it displays the theme of betrayal through the use of symbols, point of view, and black humor.
One of the major themes that are shown in Lamb to the Slaughter is betrayal. One example of betrayal is when Mary’s husband left her, Mary got really mad, and she killed him with …show more content…
One example of black humor in the short story is when Mary kills her husband by using the leg of lamb, because it is unexpected. “ The image of the cheerful housewife suddenly smashing her husband’s skull with the frozen joint of meat intended for his dinner is itself blackly humorous for it’s unexpectedness and it’s grotesque incongruity of the murder weapon” (Lazzari and Wilson 128) The murder of Mary’s husband can be seen as blackly humorous because the leg was supposed to be used for dinner, and the murder was unexpected. The police looking for the murder weapon or leg of lamb can be seen as blackly humorous because they do not know where it is, when it is actual right in front of them. “Personally, I think it’s right on the premises. Probably right under our noses. And in the other room, Mary begins to giggle.” (Dahl 6) Both the lamb’s leg and the actual murder can be seen as black humor because they are both ironic and somewhat comical when they were used in the …show more content…
One of the ways that point of view is used in the story is when Roald Dahl describes what the setting is through Mary’s eyes. “The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight-hers and the one by the empty chair opposite. On the sideboard behind her, two tall glasses, soda water, whiskey. Fresh ice cubes in the Thermos bucket.” (Dahl 1)This shows Mary’s point of view before she murdered her husband. The second way that point of view is shown in this story is when after Mary kills her husband. She reflects on what she has done, and what her point of view is on what just happened, and what will happen next. “She sits in front of her vanity mirror and practices saying normal things to Sam the grocer. Her talent for lying rises, here, to the superb. It shows itself superb again when, returning from Sam's, she convinces herself to act naturally, as though she did not know the fact of her own criminal deed.” (Bertonneau) This segment of the story shows her point of view on reflecting what she just did. The short story Lamb to the Slaughter uses the writing style of point of view to show Mary’s point of view both before and after the murder. The short story Lamb to the Slaughter is about a wife betraying her husband, and getting the police to eat the evidence. Roald Dahl uses betrayal to describe how Mary killed her husband and betrayed the police, symbols to show what the murder and leg