Lamb To The Slaughter Short Story Analysis

1. The story elements for this short story are the plot, the characters, the setting, the theme, the problem, and the solution. These elements will be listed next to the bullet points below:
• The plot of Lamb to the Slaughter starts with Mary Maloney waiting for Patrick Maloney, her husband, to arrive home after work. The tone in the first few sections of the story is uncanny. Soon after a few moments of waiting, she “punctually as always” hears her husband pull the car up the driveway. She greets him at the door and kisses him, just like any other normal married couple would. Shortly after a small communication, Mary pours a strong drink for him and a weak one for herself. Mary stands up and offers to fix her husband some bread and cheese. They converse slightly more until Patrick tells her to sit down, saying, “I’ve got something to tell you.” Mary is automatically concerned. Patrick tells Mary something that is not specified in the story, leaving the reader to guess what he told her.
Mary’s “first instinct” was not to believe it. She thought that if she pretended she had not heard him, that she would find out nothing had ever happened. Soon, she tells her husband that she will make supper for him. She walks off and into the kitchen, only to find that the leg of a lamb has been sitting in the freezer. She returns shortly, only to find that Patrick is facing the window with his back to her. She quickly bashes him over the back of the head with the leg, and this action