Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl – MUST read

Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter” takes a surprising twist, and keeps the reader engaged for the entirety of the story. In this story, Dahl approaches a less merry scene, differing from the traditional, relatively blithe stories he writes, such as “The BFG”, and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. Mary Maloney, months into her pregnancy, desperately wants to please her husband who works long hours as a detective. One day when he returns home from work, he gives her the cold shoulder, and eventually ends up telling her he wants a divorce. Obviously hurt and shocked, she decides to swiftly kill him by the blunt force of a frozen lamb leg to his head. To cover up her crime, and protect both herself and her unborn child from punishment, she then feeds the murder weapon to the police who arrive on the scene shortly after.

Dahl incorporates a well thought out title to the meaning of the short story, as “Lamb to the Slaughter” usually signifies obliviousness and true dumbfoundedness, something both the policemen and Patrick Maloney, Mary’s husband, faced from Mary directly. The contrast in the words as well (Lamb vs Slaughter) connect to the meaning behind the story as well, as the comparison between seemingly innocent and blameless notions within characters, to such violent and surprising acts are shown through Mary’s overall development in the story.

One of Lamb to the Slaughter’s most significant elements in its story is its plot/character development. Right from the very beginning, a melancholy and tense setting is portrayed, as the husband’s energy does not reciprocate that of his wife’s in the slightest. The wife, Mary, genuinely wants what is best for her hardworking husband, and takes upon common housewife roles such as cleaning, sewing, cooking, etc. The breaking of this stereotypical role of a pleasing and compliant wife leads the story into its key development stages, as an unexpectancy from what people would consider a more seemingly righteous character, to the polar opposite craft of it, acts as the glue for providing surprising turns of events. Towards the end of the story, the wife even expresses emotions of enjoyment and contentness, even after killing her husband and feeding the murder weapon to the policemen. This elicits humor in the story, as one would be shocked that this emotion would even be expressed at such a time, and especially from the apparent innocent outlook Mary gave in the very beginning. The contrast between the character of Mary in the beginning and end of the story is what keeps the reader engaged, as the reader wants to see more of what deviant actions could further occur as the story progresses.

The actual lamb leg, otherwise known as the murder weapon in this specific story, serves symbolically as well. A lamb is known for its innocent presence, always at the hands of wrongful doers; preyed upon. In this story, Mary is the embodiment of this lamb, as she too finds herself at the hands of submission and prone to vulnerability. When the lamb leg is used to inflict an act of violence, however, the tie to innocence is broken, and Mary and the lamb leg both start to embody the idea of evil within the seemingly good. The lamb leg also signifies being at the hands of sacrifice. When Mary hits her own husband across the head with the lamb leg, she resonates this feeling of relief to arise from the suffocating feeling of unimportance during their marriage. She is finally able to free both her and her child to the world of appreciativeness, having the dead husband serve as a sacrifice needed for this to happen for them. When Mary feeds the lamb leg to the officers as well, this also serves as a sacrifice, as she both literally and figuratively gets rid of the wrongful act on her conscience and record. To protect the future of both herself and her unborn first child, the lamb leg prompts a leeway into how a figure of innocence can sometimes be used to push to hide the truth.

Roald Dahl’s short story “Lamb to the Slaughter” is a must read, as its plot development, use of symbolism, and humor will keep the reader captivated throughout. The startling plot twists have the reader on their toes, wondering what more cleverness could possibly occur as the story proceeds. This specific short story will have the reader in awe at the unique craftsmanship of the events, and how well all the aspects of the story tie into each other.