Mary Moose And The Sparrow Short Story

Compare and Contrast Essay

Don’t judge people by their appearance, sometimes, the most innocent looking people are the ones that are guilty of murder. In the story “The Moose and the Sparrow”, the protagonist, Cecil is more guilty as he committed a first degree murder whereas Mary Maloney, from “Lamb To The Slaughter” by Roald Dahl committed manslaughter. The murder committed by Cecil was considered to be a first degree murder because the murder was intentional, premeditated, and Cecil was aware what he was doing. In contrast, Mary Maloney did not kill her husband intentionally, the killing wasn’t in anyway planned, lastly, Mary was not exactly emotionally stable when she committed the murder.

The murder of Maddon Moose was intentional. Cecil wanted to hurt Maddon because of the bullying that Maddon has put him through. Cecil had a horrible childhood. “His mother and father had split up while he was still a baby and he’d been brought up in a series of foster homes.” (Garner 3) Maddon made his life into a complete and utter nightmare as Cecil “was bait for all of Maddon’s cruel practical jokes.” (Garner 1) The practical jokes quickly escalated, Maddon was making the boy feel worthless and insecure. Soon, Cecil was concerned that Maddon would really hurt him. As a result, Cecil murdered Maddon as an act of self protection.

Cecil committed a first-degree murder whereas Mary committed manslaughter. The murder of Maddon was intended, planned carefully beforehand, and Cecil was aware of what he was doing all throughout. In contrast, Mary Maloney had no intentions of murder her husband that night nor did she plan the murder at all, lastly, she was in emotional shock when she murdered her husband, she was not fully aware of what she was doing. Even the most innocent looking people can commit a crime such as