Symbols In Lamb To The Slaughter

In the short story, “Lamb to the Slaughter” Patrick, Mary’s husband, goes home and tells Mary that he no longer wants to be with her and their baby. She then proceeds to express her anguish by murdering him and sets up the murder scene so that she would not get caught. Later on, she calls the police and says that her husband was murdered and the detectives try to uncover the murderer and murder weapon. Roald Dahl uses objects and symbols to contextualize his ideas that people go through things innocently without knowing the danger, like a lamb to the slaughter.

Now, lamb has come to represent innocence and peace and the meaning of a lamb has come to change in this story where it is used to murder the woman’s husband. In the bible, lamb is

Amos 8:11 states, "I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord" (Amos 8:11). This suggests that the words of the Lord are that of truth and in the story, Roald Dahl shows that they are getting hungry because they have yet to find the “truth” behind their friend's murder. Also, the supper represents the Last Supper, which is also shown in the bible to commemorate the death of Christ, “Do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). To add, the Last Supper signifies the betrayal of Jesus by His disciples. This connects to the betrayal of Patrick by Mary and Mary by Patrick. Also in the story, Mary says, “God bless his soul if I allowed you to remain in his house without offering decent hospitality. Why don’t you eat up that lamb that’s in the oven.” Comparable is when Jesus said, “do this in remembrance of Me” because the cooked lamb signifies Patrick and his demise. Roald Dahl uses the symbol of hunger to stress that the detectives are going through things innocently without knowing the