The Irony of “Lamb to the Slaughter” The phrase “lamb to the slaughter’’ is used to describe an innocent or naive person being led into danger or failure. Roald Dahl’s use of this expression is effective for two reasons. First, it reminds the reader that the slaughter is a real killing. Second, throughout the story …
A Critical Analysis Of Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter” Roald Dahl was a short story writer for grown-ups and children. He was born in 1916 in Wales. Roald explains how he went through many hardships as he was young attending St. Peters Prep School. The headmaster of the school, as well as the older …
Can sanity determine whether one murder is worse that the other? In the two short stories, “If this be Madness” by Lawrence Block and “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl there are protagonists who murder their spouses. One murder is committed while sane and the other is committed while insane. The narrator is the …
Literary Analysis Irony is a major stylistic device used in “Lamb to the Slaughter”. After Mary Maloney kills her husband, she puts the murder weapon, a frozen leg of lamb, in the oven to cook. She says to the detectives “Why don’t you eat up that lamb that’s in the oven? It’ll be cooked just …
