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A comprehensive guide to Roald Dahl's short story about a pregnant woman who kills her unfaithful husband with a frozen leg of lamb. Learn about the themes, quotes, characters, and symbols of this dark comedy.
A wife kills her unfaithful husband with a frozen leg of lamb and serves it to the police who investigate his death. Dahl explores the dark humour and horror of a woman’s transformation from dutiful wife to cold-blooded murderer.
How does Mary Maloney's life change after her husband's confession? How does she cope with the shock and the consequences of her crime? Explore the themes of solidity, desperation, and strength in this darkly humorous suspense story by Roald Dahl.
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Dahl began his writing career in 1942 with a story about being shot downwhile fighting in North Africa. Violence, whether associated with warfare orwith crime, continued to fascinate Dahl and figures prominently even in hischildren’s stories. ‘‘Lamb to the Slaughter’’ belongs to the first full decadeof Dahl’s writing career and to the first decade ...
The same decade was also the heyday of popular fiction in the United States,with dozens of weekly and monthly journals featuring short fiction andserialized novels, and with paperback publishing getting under way. Dahl beganhis career in the ‘‘weeklies’’ before breaking into print in commercial bookform. The wave of popular fiction, emphasizing the...
The year of ‘‘Lamb to the Slaughter,’’ 1953, puts the story in the glorydays of American television, on which at the time gimmicky dramas of a slightlygrotesque character frequently appeared. (Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone,which would come along in 1957, represented the zenith of the trend.) With itstwo-setting structure (the Maloney household and th...
Learn how Roald Dahl uses black humor and irony to subvert the idealized suburban life and gender roles in his short story \"Lamb to the Slaughter\". Explore the themes of betrayal, revenge, and conformity through Mary Maloney's murder of her husband and her clever deception of the police.
A pregnant woman kills her unfaithful husband with a frozen leg of lamb and covers up the crime by serving it to the police. Read the full story summary and analysis of Roald Dahl's short story, exploring themes, motifs, and literary devices.
The best study guide to Lamb to the Slaughter on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes. Get the summaries, analysis, and quotes you need.
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Learn about the plot, themes, and characters of Roald Dahl's short story \"Lamb to the Slaughter\" with this comprehensive study guide. Find chapter summaries, quotes, analysis, and more to help you understand and appreciate this classic tale of black humor.
