From Mary Maloney's Dynamic Character In 'Lamb To The Slaughter'
In many short stories, quite often, characters will change throughout the story. At times, the protagonist changes so drastically that it is very unexpected. In the short story Lamb to the Slaughter, written by Roald Dahl, shows how a person can change unexpectedly in a short period of time. These drastic changes occur when a sweet, loving housewife finds out terrible new from her husband, when she commits a horrible crime, and when she realizes she will get away with murder. With analysis of the story and through examples, the protagonists dynamic character helps develop the plot from beginning of the story to the end. Early in the story, Before she begins to change, Mary Maloney is a sweet, loving housewife. Mary Maloney, the kind-hearted wife, is 6 months pregnant. She waits every night for her husband. She always makes sure his whiskey and water is set out and everything is perfect. Dahl states that “There was a slow smiling air about her and everything she did.” (Dahl 152). Everything that Mary Maloney does is sweet and kind. She was just a good person all around. Even though she is previously portrayed as loving and kind, she begins to change considerably when she acts on impulse and commits murder. Soon after her husband’s arrival, he tells her that he is leaving her and wants a divorce. Needless to say, she is shocked. Due to this …show more content…
Characters, in many stories, change dramatically throughout the course of the story. Those drastic changes occurred in the short story Lamb to the Slaughter, written by Roald Dahl, when a sweet, loving housewife finds out terrible news from her husband, when she commits a horrible crime, and when she realizes that she will get away with murder. Characters repeatedly change dramatically throughout many stories. This often times is so vivid that it is a shock to many
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781 Words | 4 PagesThe Lamb to the Slaughter is a mystery horror story by Roald Dahl. It is about a wife (Mary Maloney) murdering her drunk husband (Patrick Maloney) after he gives her short answers when she asks him questions. She hits him over the head with a leg of lamb to kill him. A theme I see is change and when something bad happens. You can drastically change in life.
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