Lamb to the Slaughter
You had read the story 'Lamb to the Slaughter' and did answer a few questions in class. Those who have not read it, click on the above link and read it.
Some of you might have seen the movie version also. In this post you will have to answer the following questions based on the story.
1. Why is the title of the story important? What does it mean?
2. Explain why this murder could be called as 'perfect murder'.
3. How does a male stereotype of women work to Mary's advantage in her story?
4. Give two other examples for irony in the story apart from the given example.
(Example: 'perfect' wife kills her husband)
5. Mary is on trial for the murder of her husband. The question is not whether she killed him, but why? What is your perception of Mary’s guilt? Was the murder premeditated? Was she caught up in the moment? Or was she temporarily insane, therefore not responsible for her actions? You are a Junior District Attorney and are responsible for advising your supervisor in this case. Based on the evidence in this story, of what type of homicide is Mary guilty of? Write a report to your supervisor analyzing the evidence and determining what the charge should be. Make sure to support your assertions with evidence from the text.
Now see Alfred Hitchcock version of the same story for another interpretation. Click on the link to see the movie version
Lamb to the Slaughter - Hitchcock version
You had read the story 'Lamb to the Slaughter' and did answer a few questions in class. Those who have not read it, click on the above link and read it.
Some of you might have seen the movie version also. In this post you will have to answer the following questions based on the story.
1. Why is the title of the story important? What does it mean?
2. Explain why this murder could be called as 'perfect murder'.
3. How does a male stereotype of women work to Mary's advantage in her story?
4. Give two other examples for irony in the story apart from the given example.
(Example: 'perfect' wife kills her husband)
5. Mary is on trial for the murder of her husband. The question is not whether she killed him, but why? What is your perception of Mary’s guilt? Was the murder premeditated? Was she caught up in the moment? Or was she temporarily insane, therefore not responsible for her actions? You are a Junior District Attorney and are responsible for advising your supervisor in this case. Based on the evidence in this story, of what type of homicide is Mary guilty of? Write a report to your supervisor analyzing the evidence and determining what the charge should be. Make sure to support your assertions with evidence from the text.
Now see Alfred Hitchcock version of the same story for another interpretation. Click on the link to see the movie version
Lamb to the Slaughter - Hitchcock version
Q1.
ReplyDeleteAns:The title of any story is very important, it's as good as a poster for a movie. When the title features a pun or a metaphor, the readers are dragged to the story. "Lamb to the slaughter", has a very deep meaning and significance. Initially, the lamb is used to slaughter Patrick Maloney. However, the lamb is slaughtered to a delicacy, thus destroying the weapon that has been used to kill Patrick.
Q2.
Ans:The murder was planned very slyly. After Mary realized that she had murdered her husband. She rushes to Sam to stage a scene that makes it look like she cares for her husband and she wanted to make lamb for him. Also, it was a very smart choice of weapon as she could cook the lamb and voila! the weapon is gone. There is no evidence of any "killing".
Q4.
Ans:The dramatic irony occurs when she cooks the lamb and serves it to the men who are investigating the case. They fail to realise that the evidence theya re looking for is right under their nose.
Q5.
Ans:Mary is a very strong woman. She had the courage to kill her loving husband. She offered to do anything for him. She offered soup, she was a very caring wife. If something pushed her to this extent, she should absolutely hate him and come to terms with life after her husband. She took an extreme step by killing her husband and she must be charged guilty, as nobody in the world has the right to take someone else's life, also their own. It's considered as a sin in most of the religions. Mary should be charged a 3 year term in prison after she gives birth to her baby, provided the court manages all the expenses required to look after the child.
Q6:
Ans:After I killed the love of my life. I was frightened about what would happen to the baby. I knew what would happen to me. I didn't want to face any of the consequences, also I couldn't see the love of my life distance himself from me. I didn't want him to be someone else's. I was extremely possessive. I couldn't see my husband leave me as long as I'm alive. I would've killed myself if not for the baby. Since, i couldn't sacrifice the baby. I decided to raise the child alone.
Q3:
Ans:The cops do not suspect wife as she was pregnant and think that she couldn't do such a thing. They knew how much she loved her husband. The pregnant-woman stereotype was her trump card.
Vishal Bharadwaj 2018103081
2018103617 Usha Varshini Saravanan
ReplyDelete1. The title of the story is quite ambiguous and is significant, as it gives a hint on the genre of the story."Lamb to Slaughter" literally means "Lamb to the killing", (where an innocent lamb is killed for food,) but here a Patrick is "Slaughtered" with the use of a slaughtered lamb as a weapon.
2.There are many reasons why this is could be a called a perfect murder. One of them is, the fact that Mary left no clue/evidence about the murder. Though she didn't take much time to think, she perfectly planned the murder out.The only weapon she used(the lamb leg), was served to the cops. Moreover, she made sure nobody doubted her , by going Sam's shop and talking to him about making lamb for her husband, and buying groceries for the same.
3.The fact that Mary was now a pregnant, widowed woman who lost her only hope, made her look "Innocent"(stereo-typically). The fact that she didn't eat anything the whole night after the murder, which added to the "innocence".
4. i) Mary used a lamb's leg to kill her husband, and served it to the policemen who were investigating the murder. The irony her is "the murderer giving the murder weapon to the police herself".
ii) The last line, Mary giggling, is an irony, as the policemen almost guessed the weapon , she should have been scared instead of giggling.
5. Mary Maloney is a normal,kind woman.("Now and again she would glance up at the clock, but without anxiety") .There isnt an evidence that Mary killed her husband, but if it were true, She wouldnt have done it with a long-term grudge. However, it is wrong to KILL someone for the only reason of leaving him/her. The murder was definitely not premeditated, as Mary loved her husband so much, the the news of their separation was intolerable to her. Based on the facts and evidences, Mary is guilty of Manslaughter, as the murder was not premeditated. She is guilty and has to be punished. She can be given less punishment based on humanitarian grounds, as she's pregnant.
6.I and Patrick were a beautiful couple. We were happy, and satisfied. We were a normal middle class family, and we would go out on dinner every Thursday night. One such night, Patrick told me something shocking.I was pregnant with my six month old baby then.As soon as I knew Patrick was going to leave me, I was devastated. I was worried about my baby.He said he would support me financially,("Of course I’ll give you money and see you’re looked after. ") but still it wouldn't be sufficient.I couldnt process it. What had happened that it could make him go away from me. I was sad, and I let my emotions take over. Yes, I killed him.("Mary Maloney simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head"). I was wrong, but he was too. He was so inconsiderate to have left a young woman, who loved him completely, all alone with a baby. He didnt deserve death, but there wasnt any other option. I tried to act as normal as I could, all these years, and now finally I open my life's secret to you. He didnt deserve death, but there wasnt any other option. I tried to act as normal as I could, all these years, and now finally I open my life's secret to you.
Aparna Shree Sivanandam,2018103009:
ReplyDelete1. The title of the story- "the lamb to slaughter" is meaningful and apt. the phrase lamb to slaughter means ignorance and innocence. Generally, the phrase refers to a person who goes unconcernedly and innocently into a life-threatening or dangerous situation like how patrick didnt expect that confessing to his wife will lead to his death. also the title appears meaningful because the meat-the murder weapon is then cooked to destroy all possible evidences.
2. The murder is perfect murder as there are no evidences to hold the killer guilty. the murder weapon used -the lamb leg is itself cooked and fed to the cops. Mary skilfully plans a whole plot which has no loopholes and doesn't hold her guilty on any terms.
3.The male stereotype of viewing women as weak, co-dependent, and submissive individuals works to mary's favour.In the first place. She was indeed pregnant, she was dependent on her police officer husband for income, and she was also submissive to his wants and needs and loved him deeply. this made her not even come up as one of the possible suspects.
4.Dahl uses dramatic irony when he has Patrick say, “Don't make supper for me. I'm going out.” Patrick has already told Mary that he is leaving her, and she still wants to make him dinner. This creates dramatic irony because Patrick doesn't know she is going to kill him, and he won't ever being going out.Another ironic instance is when Mrs. Maloney asks the police to eat the murder weapon. “It'd be a favor to me if you'd eat it up. Then you can go on with your work afterwards.” The creates dramatic irony because the murderer Mary Maloney is asking the police to eat the murder weapon.
5. Mary is a loving wife however news of her husband deciding to part ways destroyed and broke her down. Instictively and unaware of her consequences and not in the best state of mind, she flings the lamb leg only to see that hit and kill her husband. she was caught up in the moment, however she is guilty for taking away human life which is so precious and hence must be punished for the same. her murder must be treated like any other. even in a fit of rage, it is not justified to take away life.
6. " I lie here guilty of killing the man of my dreams, the love of my life. i loved him deeply and nothing ever mattered to me more than spending time and doing work for him. however his decison to leave me especially when i was pregnant broke me down. i never saw that coming. i was shattered and completely iunconcious of my actions i swung the lamb leg and killed him. i was completely out of my senses then but i realised what i had done, my instinct was to save myself and my child. I being a cop's wife definitely knew the consequence of murder and wanted to get it off my shoulder as soon as i could. i crafted a whole scenario of going to the vendor when the murder would have been committed and i cooked supper an called the cops. i cried and wailed to them and fed them the supper which destroyed the murder weapon. i wouldnt have been held guilty because the cops couldnt even suspect me knowing how i was in love with patrick and seeing my pitiable state then however my action horrified me each second,even now."
M.LOKESH 2018103042
ReplyDelete1.The title of the story is very important. For every story title is very important, The title says about story in one or two words. This title "Lamb to the Slaughter" is very apt . The slaughtered lamb is used as a weapon for slaughter.
2.The murder can be called as a 'perfect murder' because though the incident may happened without consiousness or proper planning ,Mary has perfectly planned to escape from the murder and have done it. So it can surely be called as a perfect murder.
3.Women aren't emotionally strong as men and they can't bear sudden shock. Here, as Mary Maloney was in the shock that her dear husband had been killed by someone. The policemen didn't enquire her much and they didn't even suspect her for a second . This helped Mary to act as if she was in trauma that her husband was killed and so she gained sympathy from the policemen.
4.* The most interesting thing of the story is that the murder weapon is served to the policemen.
* The policemen thought that Mary would be happy atleast if they finish the whole supper . The policemen thought that they were doing a favor to marry and ate the evidence itself.
5.When Patrick Maloney said that he was going to leave her as he loves someone else, she couldn't feel herself, she didn't have control over herself, and she hardly had any idea of what she is doing. The murder wasn't a preplanned one. Mary was temporarily insane and she is not responsible for her actions. The murder wasn't premeditated. She loved Patrick so much that she couldn't believe that he betrayed her. Thus this frustration made her hit him so hard that killed him. She felt guilty that she herself killed the person she loved.
6.Mary's confession would be that she killed Patrick by hitting him with lamb leg. She killed him because he was to leave her with their unborn child. She killed him instantaneously in anger and lack of control over her emotions. She didn't want him to leave her. She loved him that much.She cant accept a life without him.
2018103611
ReplyDeleteSwadesh B
Q1. A title in general is often used to attract the readers attention and in this case the lamb’s meat was used to kill the husband. Mainly the story talks about how such a caring and a wife who is eagerly waiting for her husband to cook him the lamb kills him with it.
Q2. A murder is perfect when no one can blame the attacker and find an actual evidence to use it as against him or her. This indeed is the perfect murder since the murder weapon is destroyed and no one will ever question the wife since there is no reason to accuse her of the murder.
Q3. Women are weak physically. So, no one will accuse her of the murder. Women are generally calm and not violent enough to kill someone. Women are generally objectified or compared with softer things.
Q4. The same lamb that was going to be served to him as supper was used to kill him. He decided to end his marriage life but it ended his life. LMAO.
Q5. Patrick murder case has all its twist and turns. Mary Maloney even though never meant to kill her husband and was provoked to hurt him because at that moment Patrick had taken such a decision without her consent, she should not get away with killing her husband. Murder is never an acceptable thing to do. We are not allowed to kill just because someone provokes us. When we look at things in this way, there is really no defence for Mary. She has murdered her husband and should be caught and punished in order for justice to be served. Yet she is pregnant and her act must not affect the baby. No soul’s life must start in the prison. Hence waiting till the birth of the child and after handing it to the social services Mary Maloney can do time.
Q6. Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us when we live. They say death comes twice. One, when you stop breathing and the second a bit after you find your love will not be there to give a reason for you to breathe. I am half dead already and the one reason I live is for my baby. And when I am assured that he is in safe hands I am happy and satisfied except for the guilt I have been holding all these years. I killed the person I love. I murdered the love of my life. He died in second but I am dying from the thought from second to second. At that very moment even though I didn’t mean it , I just couldn’t bear the thought he was giving up on me that too when I was happy and thinking of and planning an awesome life with him. Sorry!
1.Title is an important aspect to a story as it gives the first impression for the reader about the text."THE LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER" means if someone does something or goes somewhere like a lamb to the slaughter, they do it without knowing that something bad is going to happen and therefore act calmly and without fighting against the situation.
ReplyDelete2.The murder is a "perfect murder" since she did not leave any clue for the cops to find her and the best plan is to cook the weapon.Though it was not a well planned murder ,she was able to manage the situation and make clear "fake evidences" to save her.
3.The male stereotype of women potraying them as weak,innocent,not criminal minded by nature is favourable for mary in this case.Moreover she is now a pregnant women who lost her lovable husband who has no idea what to do next in life.This will definitely create sympathy to every man stereotyping women as pitiable
4.a)In the other room, Mary Maloney giggles is the situational irony of it all. The lamb, after all, saved her from the slaughter of what could have been a death sentence, or life in jail as a pregnant woman.
b)The irony of the title is that the murder weapon is a leg of lamb, which the policemen investigating the scene end up eating.
5.Mary is a sweet caring and lovable wife who was ready to sacrifice even her wishes for her husband.The line“If you’re too tired to eat out,” she went on, “it’s still not too late. There’s plenty
of meat and stuff in the freezer, and you can have it right here and not even move out of the chair".The murder is definitely not pre meditated.She was temporarily insane.Even though she had a valid reason for killing her husband she should not punish him for his mistake .That is against law.Considering she is pregnant on humanitarian basis may be her punishment level can be reduced ,but anyone in this world must definitely be punished for their mistakes.
6."On the last seconds of my life I feel really guilty and now its time to confess about my crime.Yes Iam the one who killed my lovable husband.It was really an accident.It was just a momentary reflux when I heard his decision of leaving me.The only reason that stopped me from confessing this on that time is my kid.I cant afford to leave my child alone without her father and mother.I really wished things to happen in the positive way.And at this time of leaving this world,I wish for patrik's and law's forgiveness."
1.Lamb to the slaughter textually means that lamb is going to slaughter house but the the lamb will not know anything about the consequences going to happen.It literally mean doing something without knowing the consequences.
ReplyDelete2.The murder is a perfect murder because there were no evidences left after though there was no time for here to response she planned well to escape of it. Moreover lamb leg was was the only evidence she planned in a such a way make that evidence disappear.she told the story in her point of view so its was a perfect murder.
3.In general it is believed that women can neither harm their family nor her husband because they have a heart of mother with full of kindness and generosity so they can't harm anyone. Like this the investigators in the story also didn't suspect on Mary for her husband's death because she is a caring wife of
Mr.Patrick.
4.a.At the end of the story, while the detectives are indulging in a nice dinner,they do not realize that they are eating the murder weapon and Mary giggles knowing the evidence is being destroyed. This is an ironic behavior to what she portrayed in the beginning of the story.
b. Also, the fact that the detectives are consuming the murder weapon itself is an irony.
c. The way Mary reacted when she entered her house after going to the grocery store is ironic. She calls out to Patrick as though he is still fine and alive though she sees his dead body on the floor. This is ironic as she was the murderer.
5.1) Mary was a loving caring wife who was very closely attached to her husband.
2) Mary is pregnant with a child and a child needs a father for emotional and financial support. So such hasty decisions wouldn't have been taken.
3) Mary seems to have been in the grocery shop when the murder happened and the grocer is an alibi.
4) Mary didn't seem to showcase any unusual behaviour and didn't try to flee the scene. She broke down on seeing dead Patrick and looked inconsolable
6.Mary's death confession:
"I killed my own husband with a frozen leg of lamb because I couldn't accept him leaving me for another woman.I can't rise a child in a world with his father living with another woman.I may have hurried in this matter but my heart couldn't just take it for another second and I thought he deserved it."
She would have felt sorry for her action but she might have still thought that what she did was justifiable as shown from her perfect planning and reliefat the end when she was cleared of suspicion.
1.Yes ofcourse the title of the story is more important and possess deep meaning in it.."LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER"..as it frames the main key concept of the story and it also conveys that the leg of the lamb acts as a weapon for Patrick's death and the sarcasm is finally lamb serves as a delicious food for the investigators..
ReplyDelete2.As initially the murder is not planned..but it made under the circumstances and emotions of Mary maloney..anyhow she had done the murder under emotional content but after the murder,she thinked logically brilliant andshe framed a better drama to survive herself and baby from the murder....the way she tried to act(rehersal) on the mirror for how to express herself to the Sam and she made a brilliant conversation to sam that she cares her husband a lot so that when investigators came to ask,the sam conveys as she thinked..and her sadness and emotional attacked expression made the investigators to believe that she doesnt do the crime..as a whole proves that it is a perfect murder.
3.Basically a pregnant lady needs the love and care of her husband atmost peak..which is a fortune for her in this murder..and she really love heartly her husband a lot..which is came to know to investigators by the Sam and generally the womens are stereotyped towards soft,love and caring nature..and they are physically unfit for a murder.
4.The irony occurs at the weapon they are searching for..No murderer carries out weapon along with them..and it serves as a hot &spicy content for investigators..the whole sarcasm occurs at the end..that the one of the investigators,his expression after the dinner at the lamb is very different..so that every reader would thought that he came to know the real..but as her goes near..he thrashed the thing into bin..
5.Because,every womens are much possessive then men under their loved ones..but mary is much possessive because of her true love towards patrick and her pregnancy made a little more..
If all the things are came to emotional arouse due to Patrick's affection on another..No women cant tolerate such a thing...So she kills...Ya,ofcourse the mary is supposed to be feel guilty for being murderer of her loved one..and the murder is not premeditated..its supposed under emotional and circumstances..As of my perspective,she is temporarily insane and not responsible for the actions possessed..(Humans are more vigioursly reactive towards emotional then logical)..and this homicide falls under justifiable homicide..As a attorney, i would suggest that the actions possessed by maloney is completely crime free...but under the circumstances of pregnancy...the charge is to be 1 or 2 yr imprisonment after baby birth..if and only if the court accept the care of baby..during those periods..
Text:And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle.
6.At the time of bed confession of maloney,she will be very guilty toward her actions and mentally unfit..but the only logical thing arouse in her mind.."past is past and the future of baby is much significant"
.her consequences should not affect her child and she has some justification of her action, possessive ness and she would also regret for that,but she would not like to have this at any time of her life to the child..
1)The title of the story is very important because it gives an idea to the readers about the story. Here the title 'Lamb to the slaughter' is a pun. A lamb to the slaughter usually refers to someone who is unaware they are about to be harmed, since lambs are easily led to their slaughter since they trust the one leading them and they are unaware of the impending danger .In this story, the husband, Patrick Maloney, is killed like a lamb, totally trusts his wife Mary and is completely unaware of his impending death, but the title is also ironic because it is actually a frozen leg of lamb that is used kill Patrick .
ReplyDelete2)There are two reasons why this is a 'perfect murder'. As soon as Mary killed Patrick, she went to Sam's shop and acted as if she wanted to buy groceries and cook for her husband. Also by cooking the lamb and serving it to the cops, she cleverly destroyed the only evidence which could prove that she murdered Patrick. That's really a clever move.
3)Generally men consider women to be weak, dependent and fragile .Moreover, she was pregnant and it is common that men care for pregnant ladies usually and so did the cops. Also, she made the cops and the others believe that she loved her husband immensely. In addition to that, those cops were Patrick's colleagues. So they were kind to Mary and tried to console her instead of interrogating her regarding the murder.
4)As soon as Mary came to know that Patrick was about to leave her, she grabbed a frozen leg of lamb and had hit him with all her anger. This is an example of situational irony as it was completely unexpected. The readers would usually think that Mary would cry and try to mend her relationship. But what actually happened was totally unexpected.
Also she asks the cops to eat the leg of the lamb saying, "It would be a favour to me if you'd eat it up ". This is an example of dramatic irony as the readers know that it is the murder weapon but the characters don't. This way she easily destroyed the evidence also. The line "And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle." proves this.
5)The murder wasn't premeditated because Mary actually didn't have any thoughts of killing her husband. She was a sweet, caring and a loving wife. Patrick's decision of leaving her made her commit the murder.
This is purely an emotional act. But still, murdering someone is a crime. So it would be better if she is given minimal punishment at this moment as she is pregnant too.
6)"Patrick and me lived a happy and a peaceful life until that day came when he decided to leave me. I was very shocked and did the most meanest thing in my life that day. I killed my love. Yes.I killed him.I just couldn't control my emotions. After committing the murder I was so scared. I was so worried about my baby. What will happen to my baby if I get imprisoned? So I cooked up a story and made the cops believe that I was not the murderer. I destroyed all the evidences that could prove me guilty.
Today,I confess that I killed my husband Patrick using a frozen leg of lamb and destroyed all the evidences .
Thank you.
2018103503.
1.Lamb to slaughter is basically being killed in a cruel manner. Here lives of Mary and her child were being cruelly demolished by Patrick, who no longer wanted to live with them. "A lamb to the slaughter" means being completely unaware of the impending danger.
ReplyDelete2. This idiom "Perfect Murder" can be viewed from two perspectives in this story. Mary was clueless about the shock that Patrick was about to reveal. Patrick wouldn’t have imagined his wife to gather courage and raise against him. This story is told from Mary’s perspective. This story was addressed around mid-1950s.This is a good choice as it broke the jinx that men take women for granted, and escape without any penalties.
3. In those days, women were restricted to their homes without much of exposure. There were considered submissive to their husband and were expected to abide by them. They were basically visualised as innocent. Thus, Patrick was ignorant about such a move by Mary. Even the interrogators just accepted whatever she reported. A more in-depth analysis was required.
4. Irony of the story – the person whom she loved more than herself, for whom she used to wait every moment, was murdered by her own self. Patrick who found the truth behind many crime scenes as a criminal investigator, was not provided with justice for his own death.i.e. the person who murdered him wasn’t brought to the limelight.
5. Mary was in a state of shock, when she heard that her better half had an affair with other women. She was probably emotionally unstable at that moment and might’ve been worried if Patrick would cause harm to her child. In order to protect her child from a criminal she had to transform herself to a criminal in the end. The murder wasn’t predetermined. It was due to her emotional instability.
6. The house looks very disturbed
• She was in a shock that she even forgot about the meat kept in the oven.
• No weapons found in the house.
• Grocers’ opinions on Mary are strong.
“My countdown has begun. at least ill join Patrick now. happy that the society is changing... no one should suffer as I did. I trusted him blindly but my life took an unexpected turn that day. I can’t change it now. but it least now I’ll be relieved that this hidden secret is no more a secret.
Lamb to slaughter
ReplyDelete1) The title plays a very significant role in addressing the context of the story.its metamorphical.It works as a "double entendre" which conveys two meanings.The phrase represents something innocent happily making its way towards a negative situation.Mary could be compared with the lamb as she was very calm and caring,making dinner for him, even after her husband told the terrible news.ironically, the title also symbolizes the weapon used to kill patrick.slaughtered lamb were used for slaughtering.
2)This murder is perfectly a "perfect murder" and in fact I would rather say a perfectly planned and executed murder.the way she handled it shows how clever is she .the weapon(lamb) used for killing and the idea she carried out to erase the evidence by serving them to the cops and ofcourse the way she brought to light that her husband was murdered by "someone" when she was away, was brilliant enough to prove that this is a perfect murder
3)The male stereotype of suppressing women as physically,emotionally weak and dependant on male made the situation favorable to Mary.addition to this she was pregnant and now that her husband was killed the cops didn't get a chance to turn their suspision on her.
4)1."probably right under your nose"-dark humour.
2)"get the weapon and you have got the man"
3)“She wants us to finish it. She said so. Be doing her a favor.” - in this the cop was right they were indeed doing her a favour by swallowing the evidence.
5)Patrick Maloney's unexplained decision to leave his wife made her take a quick decision for killing him.this murder is surely not a planned or premeditated one.any women could not bare the pain of their loved ones leaving them.also there is no evidence that she killed Patrick.but abiding by the law she must be punished for her hastful act as its unnecessary to kill a person just because he left her.
6)"I went numb,heartbroken,devastated on hearing the terrible news that patrick is going to leave me forever.Living a happy,contended and middle class life,it wasn't easy to accept Patrick's decision.
My adrenaline and ACTH in the blood started raising.But still I was not able to believe my ears.it was a momentary thought to kill him and I executed it without thinking.I was broke ,it was unbelievable that I killed my husband.I decided to wash out the evidence and escape from this crime only for the sake of my baby.
I can't carry this guilt along with me anymore,and now I am in my death bed revealing the true incident."
-2018103593
1.The title is justified since, firstly, in a direct and literal sense, the object used to kill Patrick Maloney is a frozen leg of lamb. Patrick is essentially "slaughtered" with a leg of lamb as the murder weapon. In this sense, then, the lamb, or rather, a part of it, is brought to the slaughter.
ReplyDelete2.This murder can be called as a ‘perfect murder’ is because Mary left no evidence behind. She also created a fake alibi by going to Sam’s shop. She also gt rid of the murder weapon by cooking and serving it to her husbands colleagues.
3.The fact that Mary was pregnant threw her off the suspicion list. Also Patrick’s colleagues knew how much Mary loved Patrick and didn’t suspect that she could carry out such a dirty deed.
4.(i) The first irony is found in the title of the story. The phrase "Lamb to the Slaughter" suggests an innocent creature about to undergo torture and death. Mary Maloney could represent such a creature, and she would have met a similar fate if she had been found guilty of killing her husband.
(ii) The lamb, after all, saved Mary from the slaughter of what could have been a death sentence, or life in jail as a pregnant woman.
5.Case: Patrick Maloney’s Murder
Suspect: Mary Maloney, wife of the deceased victim.
Crime Scene: A modern home was left in shambles as someone attacked the resident during the evening when no one else seemed to be present at home. The victim was still in his coat indicating he had just gotten back home. The drink on the counter might suggest the victim may have been slightly intoxicated.
Evidence:
• No weapon that fit the forensics’ description (heavy rounded object with no sharp edges, like a metal bat) was found in the house.
• The suspect was not home during the crime. She was verified to be at the grocery store by the owner Sam.
• Suspect seemed traumatized and shocked during the whole incident.
• Victim was disturbed when he got home. This is proved by the fact that he still had his coat on.
• Suspect was cooperative and did not seem in any kind of hurry
Conclusion: All charges against Mary Maloney for the murder of her husband must be dropped as there is no concrete evidence that proves her as guilty.
6."There is one confession i would like to make before i go. Few months before my first child was born, one evening my husband came home with some disappointing news. He told me that he had decided to leave me for another woman he loved. I was taken by surprise and was extremely shocked to hear that.
I do not know for sure what was going through my in that moment. I was feeling shocked, angry, betrayed, hopeless and sad all at once. I was confused. I was furious at the fact that my husband, whom i loved very much, could be so selfish and abandon me and his unborn child so easily. These feelings got the best of me and led to me committing a crime I have regretted more than anything. I killed my husband that evening. I killed him with the frozen leg of lamb I was to cook for dinner. I got lucky, and the detectives had no thought of me being the murderer. I am truly sorry for what I did. I have always been since that day. My grievance was true. I miss my husband and still love him very much. "
Roll no: 2018103003
Delete(2018103030)
ReplyDeleteA1. The title of the story carries a deep symbolic meaning. ‘Lamb’ symbolizes innocence, weakness, helplessness. The term ‘lamb to the slaughter’ means to be unaware of any impending catastrophe. This is extremely fitting in the case of both Mary, who did not expect her husband to leave her, as well as her husband, who would not have imagined for a second that he would be murdered by his wife. They were both completely unaware of their doom.
A2. In the story, 6 months pregnant Mary performs an act of cold blooded murder as she ruthlessly takes a leg of lamb out of the freezer and slams it into the back of her husband's head, killing him instantly. Mary thinks quickly and sets up an alibi by feigning a normal conversation with the grocer. Later, she slyly leads the naive police officers who come to investigate the scene of crime to the dinner table. “You must be terribly hungry by now because it’s long past your supper time, and I know Patrick would never forgive me, God bless his soul, if I allowed you to remain in his house without offering you decent hospitality,” she says. They then consume the evidence, the very weapon of the murder. Every step of the way, Mary ensures that she leaves behind not even a trace of evidence. It was indeed a ‘perfect murder’.
A3. It is clear through the given description of the Maloney household that Mary has internalized the middle class ideal of a young mid-twentieth-century housewife, maintaining a tidy home and catering to her husband; pouring drinks when her husband finishes his day. She is viewed as a dependent wife and expectant mother who is supposed to be meek and submissive. This works to her advantage in the story as the officers do not doubt her for a second because they do not think she is capable of fighting her husband and performing such a murderous act.
A4. Irony plays a strong role in the story. While the hungry detectives eat the lamb, they say that the weapon they are looking for is "Probably right under our very noses”. Another instance of irony is when the lamb that Mary takes from the freezer to cook and serve as nourishment for her hungry husband turns out to be the weapon she uses to kill him.
A5. The murder was very much “a crime of passion”- a term which refers to a violent crime, especially homicide, in which the perpetrator commits the act against someone because of sudden strong impulse such as sudden rage rather than as a premeditated crime. Mary's whole world is crashing. Her husband, to whom she's given such undivided loyalty and devotion for many years, has told Mary he's leaving her. Mary's whole life has been devoted to caring for her husband; she cannot conceive of any kind of meaningful life without him. We can see the shock and unbelief in her reaction from the lines: “It didn't take long, four or five minutes at most, and she sat very still through it all, watching him with a kind of dazed horror as he went further and further away from her with each word.” Caught up in her emotions, she lashes out at him with whatever she has in her hand—a leg of lamb. But Mary should still be held responsible for the crime. Simply the fact that it was not a premeditated crime is not a reason to say that she's not guilty of murder. She had no good reason to kill her husband. He was not bad, not violent; he just wanted a divorce. The fact that she is expecting a baby is especially worrying because the question arises whether or not she is truly fit to take care of the child. The charge for murder is a life sentence and Mary should be given that. The child should be taken good care of at a foster home.
A6. I loved Patrick with all my heart. I still do. Oh how I regret that day. If only I could have controlled my emotions better, if I only I could have handled rejection, maybe Patrick and I would have been able to work things through. At the very least, our baby Angela would have grown up knowing her father- not through stories about his police adventures as she does now, but by actually getting to spend time with him. The guilt of knowing that I stripped my daughter of experiencing one of the greatest loves in the world is a heavy burden to carry. As I lay here, taking my last few breathes, the only thing I can ask for is for forgiveness. Though I know I don’t deserve it, if there is anyone out there listening, please forgive me.
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ReplyDelete2018103548
ReplyDeleteKarthikeyan A S
1.The story "Lamb to the slaughter" is told from Mary Maloney's point of view.It portrays her emotions,anger,guilt and calmness within a short period of time and it is important that the story must be told from a character who holds the story till the end.The title "Lamb to the slaughter" means that doing something without knowing the upcoming bad consequences and act calmly without fighting the situation.
2.I agree that Mary murdered her husband through a heat of passion. We can see this when she came back from downstairs and he said "I'm leaving. Don't make me anything". Although I agree that it was in the heat of passion, I do not agree that it was because of him discussing to her, because if it was due to the divorce statement that Patrick made.I believe that the heat of passion was at the moment when Patrick was facing towards the window and said he "had to leave", provoking her to hit him due to him seeming as though he didn't care about her or her child.The murder is not preplanned. It is just due to temporary insane of Mary.
3. Women are more sensitive than men in most cases.As she acted like she was in shock in her husband's death,the policemen and the detectives had no reason to suspect her as emotions and sensitivity of women are seen as a stereotype that she might tell the truth and this worked out to be an advantage for Mary Maloney in this story.
4.First, When Mary entered the kitchen after returning from the grocery and remarked "Patrick!" and asked "How are you darling?" . Even though she knew that Patrick was dead yet she treated him as if he were alive.Second , In the end she begged the policemen to eat the meat and the policemen also knew that she cannot eat the whole meat alone but she really want them to eat it because she knew that it is the murder weapon but policemen didn't and if they eat it they will never be able to find the murder weapon.
5.So as to prove that Patrick was not killed by her wife Mary Maloney the following points are being taken into account of this case:
-> On the day of the murder Patrick had taken a lot of drinks that he usually don't.
-> He was in state of depression and didn't speak or expose himself much to Mary.
-> When she returned home from grocery she found him lying in the floor being hit by someone with a heavy metal or wood.
-> Patrick and Mary didn't have any kind of heavy metal in their home or there was no sign of suspicious weapons around the house.
With the above facts,it is enough to prove that Mary Maloney is not the murderer.
6. Mary's confession would be that she killed Patrick by hitting him with lamb leg. She killed him because he was to leave her and marry someone else leaving Mary and their unborn child. She killed him instantaneously in anger and lack of control over her emotions. She didn't want him to leave her. She loved him.
1. "Lamb to the Slaughter" is a clever title. Lamb refers to an unsuspecting person seemingly unaware of the dangerous event ahead.Lamb figuratively represents Patrick who had no clue on what his wife might be capable of.
ReplyDelete2. Mary Maloney destroyed the weapon used (lamb's leg) so that it cannot be identified, crafted a reasonable alibi involving the grocer to cover for her, made sure that there are no witnesses. Nobody would dare suspect an emotionally distraught pregnant wife. Her reputation of being a well-known submissive model housewife also helps. Thus, it is nearly impossible to suspect her and hence she did a perfect murder.
3. Women are typically perceived as physically weak, soft-hearted caregivers.
4. *Lamb's leg that was initially intended for supper became the weapon that killed her husband. Mary Maloney went from being the innocent and helpless wife to an impulsive killer.
*Mary calls the police and the detectives to inspect the crime which was ironical considering the fact that she was the one who murdered.
5. Mary committed the murder on the spur of the moment under strong impulse. It's not a premeditated murder. A crime of passion like this deserves a jail time. Neither the divorce proposal nor the fact that she's pregnant isn't the justification for a murder. Hence, serving some prison time after the birth of her child is appropriate.
6. On death bed : "When he told me about the divorce proposal, I almost wouldn't want to believe it. I don't know why, I suddenly thought of the times he promised about being together and forever and how his eyes lit up when he said it. But I saw a different person when he told me that he fell out of love and actually has someone else in his mind. Those 4 minutes of his confession was a slow burn of epiphany for me. All those little pieces of information which I've discarded made clear sense. His long call logs with unknown number, his overstay at work, everything made sense. I wonder why I ignored those things. Was all this an act? What was all of it for? I guess people tell you who they are all the time, but we ignore them because we want them to be who we want them to be. I thought about the baby. Suddenly, I felt betrayed,lied to and I want to hurt him and so I swung the lamb's leg and killed him. Eversince that, I've been living a lie convincing myself that someone else did it and not me. An essential part of me lost and died just like the evidence."
2018103554
Delete1.The title should be like the aroma of a delicious food.It should attract the readers towards it.The word "slaughter" is a "uncountable noun" .The author has used this word because he descibes the cunning face of a innocent women.The phrase "Lamb to the Slaughter" suggests an innocent creature about to undergo torture and death. Mary Maloney could represent such a creature, and she would have met a similar fate if she had been found guilty of killing her husband.
ReplyDelete2.Mary knows that, if she gets executed for murder, her baby will likely die, too, so she devised a plan to fool the police. She puts the leg of lamb in the oven, then goes to the grocery store, where she speaks to the grocer as if the murder never happened.She returns home, feigning shock over her husband's body as if she don't know nothing.The choice of the murder weapon again proves this a perfect murder.
3.Women are weak physically and innocent. So, no one will accuse her of the murder. Women are generally calm and not violent enough to kill someone.So it worked for her.
4.Mary comes up with a way to dispose of the murder weapon.she cooks it. What's more, she feeds it to the policemen who come to investigate the scene.They even comment that the murder weapon could be right "under their noses," which it is. Meanwhile, in the other room, Mary Maloney giggles at the other room creates a situational irony of it all.
5. The author in the beginning of the story describes her as a innocent calm women with tonnes of love with her husband.But when the most trusted person betrayed her,things went wrong.Her husband is the only calling hope in her life.But it is gone.So she killed him.But every crime deserves punishment.She should not be jailed.She will realise the truth at the end.In the remaining course of her life,The guilt itself is a spear in her heart.It stings her every second.More than anything,she is pregnant.An innocent awakening life should no be punished.
6.The world is full of liars.People hide things from us.I know that a best betrayer is a member of my own family.Yeah! It's my beloved husband.In all these years I realised truth is important even though it is not always easy to accept.The truth is "I killed him".I made it because when he told me that he is going to leave me and join another women,at that moment I felt emptied.I felt I have nothing left.It made me empty hearted.He breaked up the promise made at the time of our shower.So if anyone betrays with a sting,The same must be showered on him.So I killed him.He deserves it.I convinced myself that I was right because I have a child.I spent all these years for my child and now it's time for me to join my husband.
LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER
ReplyDelete-T. Umar Ahmed
2018103075
1)The title of a story is as important as the story itself, because it gives the reader, an impression about the story. The title of a story should be in such a way that it captures the reader’s attention when he/she reads it and it should reveal a hint about the story. In that case, a title other than ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ couldn’t be more befitting. Actually this title carries two meanings. Patrick, being the lamb is about to killed or a lamb slaughter used as a murder weapon to kill Patrick.
2) There are many reasons as to why this murder is a perfect one. As soon as Mary realized that her blow on her husband’s head with the lamb slaughter killed him, she didn’t panic and decided to do things that would deviate her from entering the suspects list. She framed a perfect alibi, by going to the grocery store and convincing the shop vendor that Patrick and her. were not going to dinner that night and she came there to buy some vegetables to make him supper. Moreover, any investigation is taken forward by identifying the murder weapon. Mary having to known this fact, slyly devised the perfect way to get rid of the murder weapon.
3) The general male stereotype of looking at women as weak and dependent individuals worked to Mary’s favour in this context. Moreover, Mary being a pregnant woman, made the other detectives think that it would have been impossible for her to carry out the murder. As soon as the detectives confirmed Patrick’s death, Mary put on an emotional drama which convinced the detectives that she was a very caring wife and she couldn’t have murdered her husband. The fact that she was completely dependent on her husband’s income also hid their eyes.
4)
Delete• Patrick didn’t want Mary to make supper as he was going out. But Mary was still going to make supper which didn’t make Patrick think that he was going to be killed. After all he didn’t even have a clue that he was never going out again. He didn’t have a clue that ending his marriage life, could end his life as well.
• The detectives were chatting about the murder weapon, that it could be right under their noses and they may not be noticing. But they didn’t know that the lamb slaughter which they were eating was the murder weapon and it was actually right under their noses.
5) Mary is a strong woman. She was a kind and caring wife. When Patrick said that he wanted to part ways, she was in a deep shock. In that same state, she hit her husband with a lamb slaughter. She didn’t realize it would kill him. Imagine how much she would have loved her, that she was in such a deep shock that she didn’t even realize what she was doing. So, it was definitely not a premeditated murder. But she needs to be charged guilty. No one has the right to kill, however justifiable their purpose or circumstance maybe. She took an extreme step of killing her husband and this deserves punishment. Mary should be charged a 2-year term in prison after giving birth to her child, provided the court manages the hospital expenses and the welfare of her child till she gets released.
6) “Patrick was a great guy. The happiest times of my life were those days with him. No, I can’t stand this anymore. I need to confess something. I was the one who killed my husband. It was the most sinful thing that someone would do. But I didn’t do it willingly. It was just an involuntary action. I never imagined it would kill him. But it is wrong. No one has the right to take another person’s life. I should have confessed it before, because I deserved the punishment. But every time, I feel like confessing, I see my son. If it wasn’t for him, I would have been in prison. I never wanted my son to live without his parents. That’s what made me cover up the murder. The fact that I wasn’t a good wife kills me more than the fact that I killed my husband. What was it that made Patrick decide to part ways with me? What did I do that made Patrick decide to part ways with me? What did I not do that didn’t make me good enough for him? I don’t need forgiveness, because I know that my sin is not something that can be forgiven. But I really hope to know the answers for my questions.”
This is roll no:2018103557
ReplyDelete1)The title of a story is very important because it attracts the readers attention here "lamb to slaughter" is very apt for the story it invokes readers attention and makes them to think how a lamb leads to slaughter? Which intentionally leads them to study the story. The title 'Lamb to the Slaughter', actually means an innocent creature about to undergo torture and death.According to the context, it means doing an action without knowing that something bad is going to happen and therefore act calmly.
2)This is a murder with no evidence because the policemen are eating the very thing they need to find in order to apprehend the person guilty of killing their fellow policeman, Patrick Maloney.so it can be called as a "perfect murder".
3) According to me, women aren't emotionally strong as men and they can't bear sudden shock. Here, as Mary Maloney was in the shock that her dear husband had been killed by someone the policemen didn't enquire her much and they didn't even suspect her for a second . This helped Mary here as she acted as if she was in trauma that her husband was killed and though she gained sympathy from the policemen.
4.1.When Mary entered the kitchen after returning from the grocery and remarked "Patrick!" and asked "How are you darling?" . Even though she knew that Patrick was dead yet she treated him as if he were alive.
2.In the end she begged the policemen to eat the meat and the policemen also knew that she cannot eat the whole meat alone but she really want them to eat it because she knew that it is the murder weapon but policemen didn't and if they eat it they will never be able to find the murder weapon.
5)When Patrick Maloney said that he was going to leave her as he loves someone else, she couldn't feel herself, she didn't have control over herself, and she harldly had any idea of what she is doing. The murder wasn't a pre planned one. Mary was temporarily insane and she is not responsible for her actions. The murder wasn't premeditated. She loved Patrick so much that she couldn't believe that he betrayed her. Thus this frustration made her hit him so hard that killed him. She felt guilty that she herself killed the person she loved.
Mary on trail for her husband's murder:
Under the facts of this case, victim Patrick Maloney was not killed by Mary Maloney as there are no evidence to prove that Mary killed Patrick
The facts concerned to this case are as follows:
1) Patrick Maloney came home in a tired and depressed state
2) Patrick had a strong drink that day. Usually Patrick doesn't have strong drinks.
3) Patrick and Maloney would go out for dinner every Thursday. But on that day , Patrick refused to go out for dinner with Maloney.
4) Mary Maloney went to grocery shop to buy vegetables that evening and when she returned she found her husband lying on the ground in a collapsed state.
5) Mr and Mrs. Maloney doesn't use club like things in their home and there no such thing in their home.
The point of discussion regarding the case is that, Patrick might have been threatened by someone that he refused to go out for dinner or he might have been pressured regarding any work in the office. He wasn't behaving normal that day. He was drunk more than what he usually drinks. He was in a stress. He didn't share his feelings to anyone.
The conclusion would be that the death trail on Mary Maloney should be discharged due to lack of evidence and prove her innocent.
6)Mary's confession would be that she killed Patrick by hitting him with lamb leg. She killed him because he was to leave her and marry someone else leaving Mary and their unborn child. She killed him instantaneously in anger and lack of control over her emotions. She didn't want him to leave her. She loved him.
1)The title "Lamb To The Slaughter" makes connections between innocence (lamb) and destruction (slaughter). In my point of view, it meant to be the fate of the story’s true lamb (the unborn child) and how its innocence will be “slaughtered” by its mother’s upbringing. It foreshadows terrible event and therefore induces the reader to read on!
ReplyDelete2)A murder that was never discovered or known about would be perfect.No witnesses. Little things will be her demise.I think she had to be bit careful while scattering the stuff around her husband so that the viewer can believe that patrick did that. The fingerprint analyst can easily catch her if her fingerprints in on any of the stuff around. She says Sam "I got a nice leg of lamb from the freezer.” But actually she had put the leg of the lamp before leaving to the store.Maloney had to be more clear of what she is doing and what she is saying. So, I can say it is not a perfect murder.
3)This story brings out suppositions people make based on preconceived notions of men’s + women’s nature. Their behaviour towards Mary after their suspicions are put to rest is based on preconceptions of a grieving widow, a weak wife in shock. They are so blinded by this that any action of hers is seen as normal (would a grieving woman, after coming home from the grocery store and seeing her dead husband’s body ask somebody to eat dinner?)
4)All remarks made by the police officers at the very end
“…it ought to be easy to find”
“… it’s right here on the premises”
“… right under our very noses”
None of the us expected the detectives would dispose of the murder weapon by consuming it (it is assumed that, not having found it, they would simply leave the house)These are some of the dramatic ironies.
5) Mary’s whole life revolved around her husband and she loved him very much. Allowing him to leave would have meant accepting that he no longer loved her, whereas by murdering him she could pretend that the conversation between them had never happened. In this way she could maintain her perfect life as the cherished wife, rather than dealing with his abandonment of her. And obviously the murder was not premediated. Becasue only after committing the act, Mary admits that she would be prepared to accept the penalty but fears the consequences for her child, and she is not temporarily insane. Because she covered up the murder and saved them both. It doesn't look like insanity. Some of the officers were the friends of patrick. So they may know that he is married and may know about his fancy. So they can easily doubt his wife to be the muderer. So she has to be punished
6)”I loved Patrick all with my life. I feel guilty to my act. Yet I want to live. Of course, I don’t deserve it. But our child deserves it. Even Patrick was ready make a new life he has atmost responsibility and care towards his child. Now this time, Patrick is not here. I want to live for the sake of our child. That will be the moral code for my guilt.”
-NITHISHKUMAR (2018103572)
1. The title of the story "Lamb to the Slaughter " is significant, as you can guess the irony in the story. Lamb to the Slaughter means killing the lamb, whereas in the story, the lamb is used to kill a human.
ReplyDelete2. Mary did a perfect murder as she potrayed herself completely innocent. She didn't hide the murder weapon, instead she cooked the weapon itself and served it to the policemen, making sure nobody doubts her
3. The male stereotype of women, ie a woman is dependent and weak person. Mary uses this to her advantage as, nobody would want to kill the person whom thier dependent upon.
4. a)The murder weapon was served to the policemen and they had no clue and ate it up.
b) Mary talks to the corpse of Patrick , " How are you darling? " Is itself an irony , as she was the one to kill him in the first place.
5.Mary is a normal young woman took the guts to kill her husband on hearing the news , that he is going to leave her. She loved him so much, however what she did was completely wrong. She was pregnant at that time, and she felt hopeless. The murder was not premeditated, as she loved her husband a lot. She was just caught away by the moment. She didn't regret killing him though. She has very cleverly tried her best to not get accused guilty for his murder. She is guilty of murder and has to be jailed for at least one year. Her child can be taken care by the government till then.
6." Now I confide in you , that I killed my loving husband, the only love of my life all by myself. One fine day he said he was going to leave me. I couldn't take it anymore. I only loved him like every other wife. Why would he leave me.. was the only question on my mind. I took a lamb's leg and killed him in one blow. I regret now, for I was left with nothing. I had to raise my baby all by my own, without any support. I was wrong, but he wasnt right too, leaving a young woman with her baby all alone.."
R.R.V.Aswin - 2018103518
1.The title ‘lamb to slaughter’ means an innocent lamb which is to be slaughtered without its knowledge ,the same way patrick was murdered in this story.
ReplyDelete2. There are two reasons why this is a 'perfect murder'.
a) She went to Sam's shop and acted as if she wanted to buy groceries and cook for her dead husband .
b) She did not leave any clue for the cops to find her and coming with the plan to cook the weapon she used.
3. Generally women are considered to be a weaker sex.It was this stereotype which helped Mary in manipulating the whole murder. She pretended to be in shock after her husband's murder and it was this emotional drama which made the policemen to not suspect her. They didn't even doubt her once as she was pregnant and felt that she couldn't have murdererd her husband who was a well trained policeman.
4. The first irony of the story is that a lamb's leg turns to be a weapon for murder. Another irony of the story is that the police who was supposed to find who the murderer was, destroys the only evidence.
5. A- She had a well-crafted, strong and thick alibi that no one whomsoever can suspect upon.She strategically engaged with the shopkeeper in a casual manner.This was her most smartest manoeuvre.
B- Her conduct and cooperation with the investigators was nothing less than perfection and she literally made a fool out of them.
C- Her conversations with the shopkeeper, the lamb in the oven and the pre-murderer story matched beautifully and there was no room for even the slightest element of doubt.
D- The policemen were unable to find the murder weapon which if they did could have been an important breakthrough in the case.
Overall, there wasn’t even a tiny single evidence against her and hence, there is no reason for her to be charged for the allegations.
6. Death bed confession would have been,
“I killed my husband as he was ready to leave me and our unborn child and marry someone.My love and affection for him made me not to accept the situation of leaving him and see him married with someone else.”
- Paargav Shanker Su (2018103048)
From:2018103524
ReplyDeleteQ1.The title "Lamp to Slaughter" means that someone does something without knowing something bad is going to happen and therefore act calmly without fighting against the situation.
Q2.The murder is a perfect murder because Mary has planned it well by making the cops believe that when she returned from Sam's shop her husband was found dead.She also destroyed the evidence (the leg of the lamp)by making a dish and serving to the cops.
Q3.It portrays females as weak,co-dependent and submissive
individuals.These very traits rendered Mary as someone who is feeble, susceptible and vulnerable in the eyes of society:a young , pregnant, police officer's wife.
Q4.1)Lamp to the slaughter-innocent creature that undergoes torture(verbal irony).
2)when Patrick said "don't make dinner for me .I am going out".Mary wants to make dinner for him though he said he's leaving her.
3)Murder weapon.
Q5.The reason is her dismay and shock at a man who she loved so dearly betraying her and her unborn baby to fend for themselves in the world. Of course she is guilty that is why she goes to so much trouble to establish an alibi and to dispose the murder weapon.
The murder was not premediated. If all the cops know that she is the murderer then they would arrest her.she was temporarily insane and not responsible for her actions.
Points to prove her innocence:
She was at the grocery shop
at the time of murder.
There is no murder weapon to prove that she killed Patrick.
Q6.Her death note would be she killed her husband because of unconditional love and affection towards him.she couldn't control her emotions.He betrayed her.she didn't want him to leave her and marry someone else.lack of control over her emotions made this happen.
1.The title of the story is important because it represents the essence of the story. I believe it is the title that catches the attention, The title "Lamb To The Slaughter" here signifies the deed committed by Mrs. Maloney. She thought of their unborn baby only after she hit him with the Lamb's Leg. This title is a Biblical reference where a person commits a deed unaware of the plots devised against him. Mrs. Malony is driven by the sudden disappointment and emotional breakdown to murder her husband.
ReplyDelete2. Though the murder was not planned and intentional the act she performed after the murder of her husband was very clever, when Malony realized that she had murdered her husband ,the first thing that she did was to plot a perfect plan so that the cops don’t doubt her as the murderer for this she erased the existence of the murder weapon (the lamb’s leg) she proved that she is also a singapenne as she served that murder weapon(lamb’s leg) to the cops and act casually in such a way that she is not at all connected to the murder hence it can be called as “PERFECT MURDER”.
3. After Mary murders her husband, then, she is able to escape suspicion partly because of her cleverness and partly because the policemen hold traditional, patriarchal views of women as caregivers incapable of violence or deceit.When Jack Noonan, a detective and friend of Patrick, asks Mary is she would prefer the company of her sister or of his own wife, he reinforces the stereotype of women, and thus of Mary, as caregivers. When he explains to Mary what happened to Patrick, he implicitly assumes the culprit is male, using masculine pronouns such as “him” and “he” to describe the murderer. The detectives consider “impossible” the idea that Mary has deceived them all as well as Sam, the grocer who unwittingly becomes her alibi.
4. After being told about a proposed break-up, she grabs a frozen leg of lamb and “walks up behind her husband and without any pause she swings the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brings it down as hard as she can on the back of his head.” (1) This shows an example of situational irony, as it has to do with an event happening that is the opposite of what is expected. The readers would typically think that, after an experience like that, would just cry or ask for the reason behind the break-up. Obviously, that is not what happens
Mrs. Maloney even “begs the police to eat the leg of lamb saying, ‘It’d be a favor to me if you’d eat it up.’” (2) This shows an example of dramatic irony, as the audience knows that the lamb was murder weapon, but the characters don’t. The policemen think that she wants them to eat it because nobody else will eat it, but she really just wants them to eat it so that they will never be able to find the murder weapon. These are just two examples of irony
-2018103614
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Delete5 .Evidences:
Delete1. No weapon that fit the detectives description (heavy rounded object with no sharp edges, like a metal bat) was found in the house.
2. The suspect was not home during the crime. She was verified to be at the grocery store by the owner Sam.
3.Suspect seemed traumatized and shocked during the whole incident.
4. Victim was disturbed when he got home. This is proved by the fact that he still had his coat on.
5. Suspect was cooperative and did not seem in any kind of hurry.
As there is no concrete evidence that proves her as guilty all charges against Mary Maloney for the murder of her husband must be dropped .
6. "I don't have the heart to keep it anymore to myself. I shall confess now or else I will never die in peace. It was me who killed my husband. When he had told me about another woman that he loved and wanted divorce from me, I couldn't accept my fate and acted out of shock, fear and anger. I hit him with a leg of lamb and killed him. I destroyed the evidence and fed that lamb to the policemen who had come to investigate. "
Mary was very intelligent in manipulating the whole scene without leaving even the slightest clue that she was the murderer. She did everything instantly in spite of that utter shock. Well I think she truly loved her husband and had no intention of killing him. But she never was guilty of the crime she committed as she had manipulated the whole scene and was giggling when the lamb was eaten.
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ReplyDelete1. The title "Lamb to the Slaughter" implies both that Patrick Maloney is slaughtered like a lamb and the weapon used to kill him is also a Slaughtered lamb.
ReplyDelete2. This murder could be called the perfect murder because after murdering her husband Mary Malonie thinks calmly and cleverly. Finally she thinks of a good way to dispose of the murder weapon(by serving it to the detectives who came to solve the case) and prepares herself an alibi.Thus no one doubts her.
3. No one would doubt a woman for a murder involving violence such as hitting in the back of the head. Generally women are perceived as they'll use only poison to kill(If they need to).This type of stereotype takes away the doubt from Mary instantly.
4.The police convo while eating the lamb leg cooked by Mary.
"....it ought to be easy to find."
“Personally, I think the weapon is right here on the premises.”
“Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack?”
5.Patrick was going to leave Mary and he said that he'll see to it that she's taken care of and that he'll give her money. So In fear of losing her husband, Mary acted without thinking. Because she didn't want him to leave her.So she was caught up in the moment and did it. But since there is no evidence to support this claim she should be free.
6. "I think now I need to reveal something I have been hiding for very long. I m ashamed of myself. I killed my husband. It wasn't a murder by someone else. I loved him more than anything else. And when he told me about his affair and the divorce, I couldn't even feel myself. That moment was like death for me. I didn't want to kill him, but in that anger, everything happened. I destroyed all the evidences possible."
Mary had no intention of killing her husband. But neither was she feeling guilty of what she had done. She had no regret and was giggling when the police where eating the lamb.
-2018103527
1.I think that the title of the story is important because it's more relevant to the story and it means that the lamb is used to kill a person.
ReplyDelete2.The murder could be called perfect because the killer, Mary didn't get caught .
3.The general stereotype of men seeing women weak worked as Mary's favor .And as she was pregnant it was impossible for the police to suspect her.
4.While the detectives eat the lamb, they say that the weapon they are looking for is "Probably right under our very noses”which is a irony . Another instance is when Mary comes home after buying groceries she asks"How are you darling?"which is also a irony.
5.Mary couldn't take it when her husband said that the relationship between them is over.She loved him very much, so the murder wasn't premeditated.But after all it was a murder and it was murder of her own husband.Mary should be charged a 2 years in prison for killing her husband,provided her child should be taken care of by someone else.
6."I loved Patrick with all my life yet he wanted to marry someone else.I don't deserve to die .I am guilty but I need to take care of my child.He was ready to move on with a young woman child all alone. I don't think that killing him was wrong.In fact now I'm happy that I killed him."
-2018103060
1.The title "Lamb to the slaughter" was a well chosen one.It instills curiosity among the readers.The phrase actually means that an innocent lamb that is fed at home doesnt know about the danger it may face in the future.Similarly,in this context,the author uses metaphor to show Patrick's situation,when he said he wanted to leave his wife,he was completely unaware about what she would do.The title also tries to tell the readers about how a lamb leg can be used as a weapon which is something no murderer would think of.
ReplyDelete2.This murder could be called perfect murder because Mary used a frozen leg of lamb as a weapon to kill her husband,She was creative and she thought if she cooks the meat,there would be no evidence against her.She also managed to compose herself and conversed normally with the grocer as if she didnt know a thing about the murder.
3.Women are generally more emotional according to men,and they do not have the guts to commit a murder.And the policemen knew how much Mary loved Patrick and how loyal she was to him.She was also pregnant which was enough for them to rule her out as a suspect.
4.Mary cooked the lamb leg for supper and offered it to the policemen and on the other hand the latter were wondering what and where the weapon would be.
At the beginning of the story,Mary was portrayed as an innocent and loyal wife but later she ended up killing her own husband which the readers would never have expected.
5.Mary was such a loving wife,she loved her husband so much that when she heard such words from Patrick,She could not control herselves.The murder was not pre planned ,she didn’t intend to kill her husband but in a fit of rage she hit him with the lamb leg which culminated in murder.But still she should not be acquitted ,she must be punished .Everyone is equal before the law .
6."Just like any other couple,we too were living a beautiful life.I loved him to the moon and the back, i loved him more than my parents,he was the world to me,he was the reason for my life.When I got conceived,I was extremely happy and started to build dreams in my mind .And on that day,he said ,"Lets part our ways", my world turned upside down in a second.For the immeasurable love i gave him, That was what he returned .I didnt know what to do,i took the lamb leg and hit him on his head in one blow.yess!!I killed him.Mary Patrick killed her husband with her own hands.All these days i lived only for my son.Now as he is independent and capable of living his life on his own ,it is time for me to leave the world."
2018103575
Pragalya S
1."Lamb to the slaughter" is an apt title
ReplyDeleteand a clever one.Because,only reading title
one can't what the story will be which makes
the reader more interesting to know what
will happen in the story further.
2.I agreed that mary murdered her husband
through a heat of passion.Although I agree
it was in the heat of passion,I donot agree
that it was because of him discussing to her
because it was the divorce statement he made.
3.The cop do not suspect her because she really want
to kill her husband and her emotions after his
death was more natural and she was pregnant at that time.
4.Mary used a lamb's leg to kill her husband and served it
to the police man.It was the irony in the story.
5.Mary maloney was very kind,caring and self
possessive woman.But Mary's action of killing her
husband would not be justifiable at any way.Noone has
the right to take one life.Hence,she should be
guilty.
6."I killed my own husband with a frozen leg of
lamb because I couldn't accept him leaving me for
another woman"confessed Mary.
BY
2018103584
1:The title of the story defines the whole story.Thus this title have also conveyed it.If someone does something or goes somewhere like a lamb to the slaughter, they do it without knowing that something bad is going to happen and therefore act calmly and without fighting against the situation
ReplyDelete2:This murder could be called as a perfect murder though it was not planned,Mary have managed everything wisely and turned the things around her in a perfect manner.No one would doubt her if she cooked that frozen leg.She did it perfectly.
3:I would tell stereotype played an important role in this story.The detectives had the intention that as a woman she could not have done it.This helped Mary to destroy the evidence.
4.As the audience, we know what is going on.The characters do not. That would be the dramatic irony. We realize that they are eating the very thing they need to find in order to apprehend the person guilty of killing their fellow policeman, Patrick Maloney. They even comment that the murder weapon could be right "under their noses," which it is.
5.She should be found guilty for what she had done.Her love towards him cant be explained.Laws are equal for every person so she should be punished
6.Mary's bed confession would be she would not have killed him because her child wants a dad for financial support and to express his or her love towards him.She would feel for what he had done.
2018103545-Kanthakumaran
1. The title "Lamb to the slaughter" is important because it says that the
ReplyDeletelamb is used to kill Patrick and it is the evidence of killing him.It also means that slaughtered lamb is used for killing.
2. First of all it's not a murder.Out of shock Mrs.Patrick hit her husband with a lamb.And when she realised that she killed her husband she plotted to escape out of it.She served the evidence(i.e the lamb) to the fellow detectives of her husband.She also played a drama in Sam's shop as if she cares for her husband and shopped his favorites to cook their dinner and made the scene look like that the murder took place in her absence.
3. Her crying when she came to know that he was really dead and when they took his body made them think that she's very concerned about her husband.
Also the scenes in Sam's shop would add on to that.
4. One of the ironies is that the evidence of the murder being served to the detectives by the murderer.
Another irony is that she going to cook supper even being refused by Patrick several times.
5. Mary wasn't caught up in the moment and the mureder is aso notpremediated.As soon as she came to know that her loved one betrayed her,she couldn't even feel herself and she had just tried to hit him out of frustation for being betrayed by her loved one.She didn't try to kill her husband but it took place by accident.Also she doesn't want her child to take it's birth in a prison.So she would have plotted to escape from the case.Eventhough she has escaped,the guilt of killing Patrick would remain in her heart for a very long time.
6. This what Mary would say to her daughter in her death bed."Oh! My poor girl,I was the one who killed your father.I did it because he tried to leave me and you and go with another.I didn't want to lose him to anyone.I didn't hit him with the intention of killing him but he died.Also I thought of your future and played a drama as if I didn't kill him."
Textual evidence-What were the laws about murderers
with unborn children? Did they kill then both-mother and child?
-2018103512
1. The title of any story is important. The title is the first thing that the audience see and therefore it plays a huge role in captivating the attention of the audience. The title of this story is apt, “Lamb to the Slaughter” is a very intriguing title. In the story the lamb was used to slaughter Patrick. Generally, it is the lamb that is slaughtered and is used for making food but in this story the lamb was used to slaughter and then finally it was also eaten as supper.
ReplyDelete2. The murder can be called as a perfect murder because the murder weapon was complete destroyed. Mary was also smart to make fake evidences such as, she was at the grocer store at the time of the murder. Even though the murder was done at haste, the cover up was on point and therefore the murder was perfect.
3. The fact that she didn't eat anything the whole night after the murder, made her seem innocent. Moreover, she was a homemaker and she was pregnant and hence was dependent on her husband’s salary. This all makes it seem that there is no reason for her to kill her husband. Women are usually seen as weak and dependent on their husbands for living, this ended up being an advantage for her
4. The first irony is when the murder weapon is served as supper to the policemen. “Probably right under our very noses”, well indeed it was right under their noses. The other irony is that, Patrick wanted to put an end to his relation ship with his wife, well in the end it was his wife who put an end to Patrick’s life.
5. The murder was definitely not premeditated, she got caught in the moment and her spontaneous reactions got to her head. But however, I strongly say that Mary has to be punished for her actions. The solution to any problem is never killing. No matter what the problem might have been between Mary and her husband, the right way to solve it should have been to talk about it and not to take her husband’s life. Every crime and murder in the world always has a strong backstory and reason to it, but however no matter what the reason, the cost of a life is way too much for it to be killed. Mary is an extremely loving and caring wife but however the news of her husband wanting to part ways shook her to the core. As a result of which, she murdered her husband. Justice has to play its role and this case should be treated like every other and Mary should be punished, however considering the fact that Mary is pregnant the punishments could be less severe.
6. “First of all, I would like to thank my husband for the support he has provided to me. I have been filled with guilt through out my life cause, yes, I am the murderer of my husband. It was a cold-blooded murder and I had also created fake evidences to protect myself. However, it wasn’t a planned murder, it was my instant reaction and I had no control over myself. I was shattered when I got to know that my husband was going to part ways with me. Even thought my husband had a very average job and was earning less, I had never complained and I had always been happy with him and with what we had. But when he told me he wanted to part ways, It shook me to the core, I was a soon to be mother and I couldn’t digest my husband’s reluctance. Hence, I killed him, yes it was completely in the moment and it was only after that that I realized what I had done. If I had a chance to go back in time, I would have handled the situation very differently, murder is not the answer to any problem and it definitely was not the answer to mine. Living a life filled with guilt was the most difficult thing to do. Therefore, I’d like to at least die in peace and that’s why I’m sharing my deepest secret with you.”
-2018103063
1)The title is important because it gives us a glimpse of the overall story and here it represents the sudden killing of Patrick by his wife Mary.
ReplyDelete2)This murder could be called as perfect murder because she cleverly planned on not to get caught by having the grocer as an alibi and by getting rid of the only evidence(lamb's leg).She planned the situation in such a way that she never gets caught.
3)The male stereotype of women worked to Mary's advantage because Patrick was unaware of the intentions of his wife to kill him and he could have possibly thought that women are not harmful so he didn't expect the situation to go that way and Mary took adavntage of this situation to kill him.
4)Despite hearing about the divorce,she was ready to cook dinner for her husband but her main intention was to kill him with it.
serving the lamb's leg to the detectives while they were talking about finding the evidence.
5)The murder is not premeditated since she did not expect her husband to ask for a divorce.She just allowed her feelings to take over the situation and dealt it by killing her husband.She is still guilty for killing her husband and must be punished appropriately at the right time.
6)CONFESSION: It was just like any other day and i waiting for him to arrive. But it was quite unusual at first. He was unusually calm and answered after a few pauses. I knew he was thinking about something that would be hard for me to digest.I insisted on serving the dinner for him but he was never really in the mood to eat dinner.Suddenly the words came from his mouth which was too difficult for my heart to accept it. I concealed a part of my disppointment by going to the kitchen and my old memories flooded my brain .I thought this was the beginning of a perfect life ,with a new child . But it turned out to be the exact opposite . Not something that I expected even in my dreams. Suddenly anger took over and I couldn't control myself from this indirect betrayal by leaving me alone with an unborn child.I picked the lamb's leg while those thoughts were running in my head and I don't know what made me hit him at that instant.Even this became hard for me to accept.but i knew i had to act fast to cover up the murder so i didn't listen to my thoughts and i did what i did to protect myself and my baby.
----2018103581----
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteLamb to Slaughter .
ReplyDeleteQ1. The title of a story has to give the reader a precise idea about the content or the story following it . Here, the title "Lamb to the Slaughter" satisfies this need . This tilte indicates that a lamb has been involved or has been used to perform a slaughter . When a reader reads the story , it can be understood that a slaughtered lamb (a lamb leg )has been used to slaughter a person (Patrick) . This idea has been indicated in the title itself which is appreciable .
Q2. According to me , the murder which was committed by Mary is a result of mixed emotions. She wasn't able to digest what Patrick had done to her . When she went to the kitchen and took the lamb to prepare supper , she wasn't able to control herself and so used it to hit patrick on the head . She was frightened that patrick could be dead . As the story indicates , Mary is the wife of patrick who is a detective or a policeman . So , she was aware about the aftermath of a murder . Also , after the murder , Mary started to think about her baby . As she didn't want herself and her baby to get into trouble, she put the lamb leg in the oven , practiced how to talk with the grocer normally and went to 5he grocery shop in order to create an evidence that she was a victim . The spontaneous and fast decisions which she took after the murder which really helped her to escape from the murder makes it a perfect murder .
Q3 . It is an acceptable fact that Male stereotype about women has helped Mary hide from the murder a lot . It is evident that Jack and also other detectives had an assumption that women were caring, loving , emotionally and physically weak . They would have thought that women weren't that strong to commit a murder . Seeing Mary , they should have thought that she wasn't any different from other women . But , they weren't aware that women had more capabilities than men .
Q 4 . Ironies in the story .
1. Usually , policemen are people who are trusted in the society . It's a common opinion that policeman follow the rules and protect the people . But , in this story , Patrick is a police officer who has cheated Mary which is a situational irony .
2. When there is murder, police is the one who comes to inspect , clear the area and to protect. It's an irony that the same police officers and the detectives come to investigate for the death of patrick who is himself a police officer.
3. Similarly, the job of police and detectives is to find the evidences and to make a conclusion from the obtained evidences . But , in this story , it is the police and the detectives who clear up the evidence by eating the lamb .
DeleteQ 5 . Report .
Police officer Patrick Maloney has been murders at his home . He has been planning to divorce his pregnant wife Mary and to move on with another woman . Its is surely a sad and a heart breaking news for Mary as she is six months pregnant . It is notable fact that Mary has been a cring and loving wife but patrick wasn't wise enough to understand this . The act of Mary killing Patrick is out of sudden shock and sadness . She initially went to make supper for Patrick. But , when she saw the lamb leg, out of rage and uncontrollable emotions , she used it to hit Patrick on his head . Seeing all the evidences collected, it is evident that Mary is a victim . Though she is a victim , she can't take a person's life for this . Hence this murder must be treated like other murders and she must be punished .
Q 6 . Like a normal Thursday, Mary was waiting for Patrick to come from work . When he came , she wanted to talk with him and wanted to comfort him in all ways . When patrick told his interest and told he wanted to go away from her , she became heart broken , felt sad and was having mixed feelings . She , in a confused state ,went to the kitchen . When she saw the lamb leg , out of rage and emotions , she used it to hit Patrick. As a wife of a detective , she knew how to manage the enquiring officers . In order to protect herself and also her baby , she wanted to pose herself as a victims. So , she cooked the lamb leg , went to the grocer's shop which would make her seem like a victim . The officers, due to the stereotype they had towards women , believed her .
1.The title "LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER" has a deep meaning and conveys a strong message to the story reader. It also conveys that the leg of the lamb is used for Patrick's death.It also means that innocent and helpless, without realizing the danger.
ReplyDelete2.It is not planned murder but it is a "perfect murder". There is no evidence to say that she is guilt.she even cooks and serves lamb to the detectives and no one doubts her that she is guilt.she did the murder perfectly.
3.The male stereotype of women in "Lamb to the Slaughter" portrays females as weak, depend on others.Even the detectives think that the female can't do murder.This helps her to escape from the case easily.
4.She serves the lamb to the detectives this the dramatic irony in the story.She only knows that the lamb is used for killing but the detectives don't know.
5.When Patrick said that he is loving someone and he is going to live with her,she couldn't feel herself well, and she hardly had any idea of what she is doing.Mary loves her husband so much and she did not want him to divorce with her.The murder wasn't a planned one.Mary was temporarily insane and she is not responsible for her actions. The murder wasn't premeditated.Thus this frustration made her hit him so hard that killed him. She felt guilty that she herself killed the person she loved.
6.Mary's confession would be she killed her beloved husband when he decided to leave her.she killed him because she doesn't want to live
with other girl .she went out of control and killed him.she didn't hit with the intention.
BY
2018103015
1)The title "Lamb to the slaughter" means doing something unaware of the impending danger. It denotes a lamb that goes to the slaughter, innocently and helplessly, without realizing the danger.Here Mr.Patrick maloney is portrayed as the lamb.It is very much important because the story could be very interesting when it is portrayed in the murderer's perspective,he is able to justify his action and can explain what forced him to do such thing. The reader could get to know the whole story only when it is heard from the murdered's viewpoint.
ReplyDelete2.The muder could be a "perfect murder" since the weapon used for the murder is cleaverly used for the supper. Hence there will be no more evidence to find out the culprit.
3.Mary was a pregnant lady and her husband Patrick was a police. Most of the men, think that women are weaker than men. Here the policemen must have also believed that stereotype, and though that a pregnant lady wouldn't be able to kill a police(Patrick). They had never suspected Mary to be the murder, inspite of the fact that it was only Patrick and her staying in the house. This stereotype of men proved to be a great advantage to Mary.
4)The irony in the story is that Mary has called the police and the detectives are in her house. As they are eating the leg of lamb, one of the officers says in relation to the murder weapon that it is “probably right under our very noses".And Mary giggles at that situational irony of it all.
5.)In the beginning of the story, Mary Maloney adores her husband. She didn't expect such a treachery from her husband. She couldn't bear the betrayal."All her love turned into rage to kill her husband". The attack is not preplanned.
It is an emotional murder ,She is not guilt of the murder as she has reasons to deny her guilt.
To prove that Mary is not the murderer , I would have authentified it in the following way:
* First, Mary went to the grocery shop at the time of the murder.She wasn't in the house.
* Patrick came home late and tired, he may be pressured in his office. He had a strong drink as it may poisoned him.
* The clubs with which Patrick was killed was not found on the premises.
* Mary is a pregnant woman and she is innocent.
6.Mary's death bed confession:
"This is the thing that I kept concealed throughout my life. I killed by beloved husband . I loved him more than anything in the world. But he desired to leave me and my unborn baby.I confess it but I didn't feel guilty."
-2018103623
2018103563
ReplyDelete1)The title Lamb to the Slaughter, means ignorance and innocence, this phrase is also mentioned in Bible. Generally, the phrase refers to a person who goes unconcernedly and innocently into a life-threatening or dangerous situation.The story is said from Mary's point of view. It helps her to gain sympathy from the investigators and in their point of view she is a pity woman who lost her husband at the time of her pregnancy and it helps her to prove innocent if it is portrayed either in investigators or Patrick view she may be found guilty.
2)This murder must be a perfect murder, since the murder weapon used - the lamb leg is itself cooked and fed to the cops. Though it was not a well planned murder ,she was able to manage the situation and make clear "fake evidences" to save her.
3)In general it is believed that women can neither harm their family nor her husband because they have a heart of mother with full of kindness and generosity so they can't harm anyone. Like this the investigators in the story also didn't suspect on Mary for her husband's death because she is a caring wife of Mr. Patrick.
4) 1.The DRAMATIC IRONY in the story is the investigators didn't realize that they are eating the very thing they need to find in order to apprehend the person guilty of killing their fellow policeman, Patrick Maloney. They even comment that the murder weapon could be right "under their noses," which it is.
2. The VERBAL IRONY is found in the title of the story. The phrase "Lamb to the Slaughter" suggests an innocent creature about to undergo torture and death. Mary could represent such a creature, and she would have met a similar fate if she had been found guilty of killing her husband.
5) Mary don't want to lose her husband because she loves him very much when he says "IT'S OVER" her heart breaks and after hearing her husband wants to divorce her and wants to start a another life with someone she can't able to bear this and she lost herself. In fear of losing her love she hit him with a lamb's leg, when she can't have a control on herself.So it isn't a preplanned murder . She is in a temporary insane so she isn't responsible for the action done when she isn't herself .
Mary Maloney on trail:
The evidence from the story to prove her innocence
1.Mary Maloney is a wife who loves her husband unconditionally who takes care of all the needs of her husband.
2.On the day of murder Patrick was stressed and had a hard wine which he never takes and also he called off their plan for supper that night all this seems unusual for Mary.
3.At the time of murder she isn't at the house she is at the glocery shop and buying vegetables to prepare supper.
4.On seeing her husband's body after returning from the grocery shop she was shocked, panicked and called the police immediately and also she cooperated with their investigation.
It all implies that Mary Maloney is innocent and she has no part in her husband's death.
6) Mary's confession would be like that she killed her husband Patrick in the fear of losing him. Everything in her life has changed in those few seconds all this occurred as an act of love and affection towards her husband. But she loved him very much.
Lamb to the slaughter:
ReplyDelete1. The title “lamb to slaughter” means that someone without the knowledge that something bad is going to happen them as a consequence of their action, acts innocently in the situation.
Here the murder victim (Patrick) who is going to leave his wife
(Mary) which is an uncomfortable thing to do, has no idea of the consequence end up as a lamb(dead) .
Also the murderer (Mary) out of shock murders his husband ,not knowing whats coming.
Or maybe the title is a dark humor implying what actually happens as the lamb is used for the slaughter of Patrick.
2. The murder is a “Perfect murder” because of many cases. First the murder has no evidence. The murderer is the wife of the murder’s victim. Also the wife is pregnant which makes her more of a victim.
The profession of the victim is also as important. Being a police detective he may have many enemies ,so the real murderer which is his wife makes her less of a suspect. The important thing is the whole murder is a result of shock and love and unplanned. As a detective’s wife she may heard many killer stories which helped her escape from her murder.
Thus we may call it a perfect murder.
3. Mary is a pregnant women who loves his husband a lot and also dependant on him financially which stereotypically kind of makes her a part of the victim from the murder as she must live on her own as widow ,raising her unborn child in the society. Also she is the wife of the victim ,so men used to think that a wife is not capable of killing their husband . This stereotypical thinking of men on women worked to Mary’s advantage of killing his husband Patrick.
4. i) The dark humorous irony in this story is that the murder weapon itself is cooked by the murderer and served to the detectives inspecting the murder and one of them saying that the weapon is “right under their nose” which technically is under their nose.
Deleteii) The reaction of Mary after coming from the grocery shop calling “Patrick!” , “How are you, darling?” is kind of irony that the fact she murdered her own husband but acting normal as if she knows nothing of the situation.
5. The following is a detailed report of MARITICIDE of the death of Mr.Patrick Maloney by her wife Mary.
Victim: Mr.Patrick Maloney.
Suspect: Mrs.Mary Maloney.
Case: Mary Maloney may have killed his husband leading to mariticide (killing one’s husband).
Facts to be noted:
There is no murder weapon as the policemen ate it.
The victim is not present in the crime scene as she had Sam, the shop keeper as a perfect alibi.
The victim is intoxicated more than usual on that day.
These facts holds more good in favour of Mary to get released.
But if we investigate much further the secret affair of Patrick comes to light giving a perfect motive to Mary to kill his husband.
Justification:
Mary is a caring and loving wife of Patrick evident from “She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man”. She was expecting a baby in a few months. During these time revealing that he has an affair so he wanted an divorce is a shocking news to her making her emotionally unstable that she was unable to process the reality that she started to make supper instead she killed her with the meat. It was clearly an act of shock and it was not premeditated. She was temporarily insane reminding that she killed him with a meat she was supposed to make supper with it which is evident from “The violence of the crash, the noise, the small table overturning, helped bring her ‘out of he shock’…” and so she cannot be held for her actions. Although she killed a person which is against law but under humanitarian grounds she must be held in an asylum with regular therapy instead of jail.
6. “Before I go i must open up my heart and confess the most devastating thing I have done in my life. On one night ,I was waiting for my husband Patrick to return from work. When he returned he confessed about his relationship with another women. I was shocked and out of love I killed him. Yes I did it. I killed my husband, the love of my life. I was afraid and scared. I will be more dead if he leaves me and my child. I made a mistake in my life. Now I am going to meet him. If our love failed in this mere world we will continue our love in eternal heaven”
By 2018103578
PREETH
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1.The title of any story is very significant as it drags the reader's attention towards reading the story.The title of this story indicates the irony that unlike the usual fact where a lamb is slaughtered for food,a slaughtered lamb is used as a weapon to kill a person.
ReplyDelete2.The murder could be called a perfect murder as she plans out everything so very well after the murder and doesn't give any suspicion to the cops that she might have committed the murder.She cooks the lamb and serves it to the cops,thus destroying the only evidence that could turn against her.
3.Male stereotying of women where a woman is considered as week and dependent on her husband has been an advantage for her.The fact that she loved her husband so much and she was pregnant convinced the policemen that she could not be the culprit.Also she didn't eat anything the night she committed the murder.
4. The cops were discussing that the weapon used for killing might be right under their noses and they might not be noticing it.They were eating up the slaughtered lamb which was the weapon used to kill Patrick.
2.Mary talks to dead Patrick after returning from the shop.It is an irony as she was the one who killed him and she is the one who is asking him,"How are you darling?".
5.Mary is an affectionate woman who loved her husband so much.She loved him so much that she couldn't accept the fact that her husband is going to leave her.She gets out of senses due to the unexpected shock and kills her husband by hitting him hard with a lamb's leg.Clearly it is not a premeditated murder because she loved him so much and they were in good terms.She just acted at the moment without thinking and realizing that she is killing the love of her life.Though she had reasons for her act , it is not justifiable ,as killing a person is against the law and nobody has the right to take away the life of a person.So she must be punished.She can be given 14 months of imprisonment after her delivery .Her baby should be taken care of properly in the meanwhile by the government.
6."This is gonna be the last moment of my life and I have something to confess to you.It's me....me...who killed your father.I killed the love of my life.I loved him so much that I couldn't take the fact that he is going to ditch me.The worse part is that I couldn't even know the reason for his decision.I didn't know how my unconditional love wasn't enough to make him stay with me .I shouldn't have killed him..I didn't know what I was doing..I was totally out of my senses..Sorry dear for killing your father..I thought of surrendering to the cops..But then I thought of you...I didn't want you to be an orphan... that's why I didn't confess this to anybody.Now since this the last moment of my life I'm confessing this to you and I'm going to die without any guilt.
Q1) The title of the story explains the nature of what's going to happen, it tells us how Patrick is going to be killed the same way a lamb going into the slaughter house is.
ReplyDeleteQ2) The murder could be called a perfect murder because there was no evidence left after the murder. No one suspected Mary of being the murderer and the weapon was eaten by the police themselves.
Q3) When the policemen came to the house to investigate, they didn't suspect Mary of being the murderer because they assumed a pregnant woman wouldn't be able to murder her husband and this let her go by unsuspected.
Q4) 1.Mary served the lamb, which was the evidence to the police officers who were looking for the evidence
2.It is ironic that the murderer called the police and acted like the victim
Q5)The murder was not exactly premeditated but she wasn't just caught up in the moment because she walked to the kitchen then grabbed the piece of meat, then attacked him. It is true that she wasn't in a proper state of mind but she should still be responsible for what she did and should be charged for the murder
Q6)Mary's deathbed confession would be something like this:"I have something important to say. I've kept this secret for a long time, since before my child was born.I was actually the one who murdered my husband. I was never suspected but I have lived with the secret for too long. I had to tell someone before I died.Thanks for hearing me out."
1. The title of the story is the main part of the story which will be a one or two word description about the story. Here '' Lamb to the Slaughter" is a biblical phrase which has many meanings, one among them is an innocent creature heading into a bad situation. Here it means that lamb has been used to slaughter. Also we can compare Patrick who knows he is going to walk into some bad situation to the lamb here.
ReplyDelete2. It is a perfect murder. Though she might not have planned for it. She handled it in a very clever way. She went to the shop and bought some things. She acted as if nothing happened to her husband. When she returned from the shop, she acted as if she was really shocked to see her dead husband. She also cooked the murder weapon and served it to the police who came to inspect the scene.
3. Mary was a pregnant women. A woman who is carrying a child inside her(who is going to give life to one) would never take the life of any other person. Also a pregnant women is very much kind and caring. These are some of the male stereotypes of women that worked to Mary's advantage.
4. Usually the Police search for any murder weapons or objects used for murder. Here, they are the ones who clears the murder weapon by eating them. Also the policemen comment that the murder weapon might be right under their noses while they were eating, while Marygiggles at th other room. This is a situational irony. The title also provides an irony, if we compare Mary to the lamb. Here Mary is the one who does the slaughter instead of getting slaughtered.
5. Mary is a kind woman. When her lovable husband said that he wanted to leave, she could not bear it. She did not want him to leave. She was in shock, she definitely was temporarily insane. Something had got into her. If she had known that her blow on his head using the frozen lamb leg would kill him, she would not have used it to hit him. She never cried for the loss of his husband because she had an unborn baby to care of. I would say that the murder was not premeditated. She was not responsible for her actions.
6. " I can bear it no more. I know who killed my husband. I was at the scene of the incident. I know what was used to kill my husband. Infact I was the one who killed my husband. I was in shock when he told me that he was about to part ways with me. I could not take it. I out of control beat him with the frozen leg of a lamb and killed him. I had no intentions in killing him. But it happened. I was pregnant. All i could think was what would happen to the unborn child. So i decided to remove and clean any existence of witnesses. There was never a day in my life that I prayed to God to change that one terrible day. I could never over come that terrible day. This has been my secret that i have not told you. I wish that you would forgive me" This would have been her death bed confession about the incident to that child she was pregnant with at the time of the incident.
Roll no:2018103596
ReplyDeleteName:S.Soumya
1.Title is the very first thing the readers notice in a story.
The title can be interpreted in many waysThroughout the course of the story ,the reader gains insight into how both mary and her husband are"slaughtered" though in different senses.The phrase is biblical ,referring to an innocent lamb unknowingly being led to the slaughterhouse.Hence, the title of the story is relevant and apt to it's plot.
2. The reasons for calling this a perfect murder might be as follows.
* Because mary didn't leave any clues after committing the murder.She acted super cool .
*She erased the murder weapon (lamb's leg) .
*She went to Sam's shop for buying groceries
3.Generally women are considered weak and feeble.Adding to this Mary was pregnant which made her appear more innocent.The fact that she didn't eat anything the whole night after the death of her husband added to her innocence. Hence ,the cops didn't suspect her.
4.*The author uses dramatic irony when Mrs.Maloney asks the police to eat the murder weapon."It'd be a favor to me if you'd eat it up".This creates dramatic irony because the murder is herself handing over the weapon to the police.
*The author uses dramatic irony when he has Mrs.Maloney refer to patrick in last tense ,when she knows that he is already dead."Patrick's decided he's tired and doesn't want to eat out tonight",Mrs.Maloney tells sam.This creates irony because mary knows that patrick is dead but sam doesn't.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete5.Mrs.Mary Maloney is a caring ,loving and a kind women.She is the wife of Mr.Patrick.The decision made by patrick to part away from mary was a shock to her("Listen,I have got something to tell,..This is going to be a bit of shock to you...I hope you won't blame me too much"). Patrick took this decision without consulting mary and without her consent.This hit her hard.(Her first instinct was not to believe any of it..)Mrs.maloney didn't have any grudge on her husband and the murder wasn't preplanned.It was not premeditated but was impulsive.Mary couldn't digest the decision of her husband. Her decision of killing her husband was impulsive.(She couldn't feel anything except a slight nausea...).Whatever may be the situation killing somebody is not the right thing to do.A murder is always a mistake.Hence she must be punished with jail sentence for 2 years .
Delete6.Hey dear diary,
Could you guess what hurts the most??May be losing someone who is near and dear to you. But what could be worse?? It is being betrayed by that very special person. Patrick was the love of my life .He was the man of my dreams.I loved him from the bottom of my heart and so did he.We lived a happy and contented life until that deadly day.I couldn't figure out even now what made him take that decision??Why would he choose somebody else over me?Am I not that worthy or maybe not that beautiful??I couldn't figure out. I could still hear those words ,those last words which came from his mouth.I couldn't forget them. Why would somebody kill the love of their life??The reason was his decision.Those words"This is going to be a bit of shock to you....Of course I'll give you money.."still keep running in my head.I loved him so much but those words made me go blind.I acted impulsively ,I initially didn't believe his words,but as they were true I was helpless.I was broken the moment I heard those words.(Her first instinct was not to believe any of it...and that she imagined the whole thing herself). I just went down to take supplies for the dinner. As I went up I couldn't control myself as my emotions overtook me.Before I could regain my emotions,I have already killed him with the leg of the lamb.(She carried it upstairs... mrs maloney walked behind him ..she swung the frozen leg of lamb ...and hit it hard as she could on the back of his head).Yes I killed him ,I killed my man.I regret my decision.Yes I was wrong bit he too was wrong.I didn't really mean to kill him,but I was not left with any other option.My emotions overtook my ability to think,I became an emotional fool and acted impulsively.From that day I live with a heavy heart and this secret with me.I wish that atleast in the heaven I meet my man again and cherish our time together.
ReplyDeleteG.BHANU NIKHIL
REG NO:2018103536
1Q.
The title of the story is very important.title plays an important role in any story as it creates intention to go through story.”lamb to slaughter” ,the title is very simple but meaning behind it says a lot.the lamb is used to slaughter Patrick maloney.the slaughtered lamb is used as a weapon to slaughter Patrick.
2Q.
There are many reasons why this could be called a perfect murder.one of them is,when the Patrick fell down on floor mary Maloney just gone to shop to buy potatoes in ordered to create a story that was not true and another one is that there is only one proof that proves mary Maloney killed Patrick but mary served as a food such that it leads to not to have any proof.
3Q.
The fact that mary was a pregnant,who lost her only hope,made her look “innocent”(stereo-typically).the fact that she didn’t eat anything the whole night after the murder,which added innocence to her face.
4Q.
The lamb that was used as a weapon to kill Patrick served to the men who came for investigation.but they failed to realize that lamb is only the weapon that was used to kill Patrick.
5Q.
Mary Maloney is a normal,kind and strong woman.she loves her husband.she always tries to take care of her husband.but Patrick planed to end his marriage life.so mary lost control which makes her to kill Patrick.actually murder was not preplaned.mary was temporarily insane and she is not at all responsible for her actions at that time.she felt guilty that she herself killed the person she loved most.at the same time no one has right to kill anyone.so she has to be punished for five years.
6Q.
I and Patrick were a beautiful couple.we are from normal middle class family and we would go out on dinner every Thursday night.but that night Patrick said me that he is going to leave me when I was pregnant with my six month old baby at that time.he said that he will look after her and support me financially.but I was not happy about that.i don’t want him to go with some one.yes killed him.but that was not my intention to kill him.at the same time I don’t have any other option.i don’t like to let him live with some one.
2018103509
ReplyDelete1.The title is meaningful and apt ."Lamb to the Slaughter" is told from the point of view of Mary Maloney. This choice to tell the story from the point of view of the murderer is an interesting choice and one that largely defines this story. The reader knows only what she knows.
2.Because Mary covers her crime by doing these things provides an alibi, practices speaking to seem normal, convinces herself that finding the body is a surprise, gets the police on her side, destroys evidence of the weapon.
3. After Mary kills Patrick, a male stereotype of women as gentle and non-threatening prevents the police detectives from viewing her as a potential suspect. We see direct evidence of this stereotype in the way the detectives treat Mary. They speak to her "gently," and are "exceptionally nice" to her. Their tone is patronizing when they explain Patrick has been killed by a blow to the head.
4.i)The verbal irony is found in the title of the story. The phrase "Lamb to the Slaughter" suggests an innocent creature about to undergo torture and death. Mary Maloney could represent such a creature, and she would have met a similar fate if she had been found guilty of killing her husband.
ii) As the audience, we know what is going on.The characters do not. That would be the dramatic irony. We realize that they are eating the very thing they need to find in order to apprehend the person guilty of killing their fellow policeman, Patrick Maloney. They even comment that the murder weapon could be right "under their noses," which it is.
5.Mary is innocent and kind. And this murder is surely not a planned or premeditated one.Any women could not bare the pain of their loved ones leaving them.She can be given less punishment based on humanitarian grounds, as she's pregnant.
6."I don't have the heart to keep it anymore to myself. I shall confess now or else I will never die in peace. It was me who killed my husband. When he had told me about another woman that he loved and wanted divorce from me, I couldn't accept my fate and acted out of shock, fear and anger. I hit him with a leg of lamb and killed him. I destroyed the evidence and fed that lamb to the policemen who had come to investigate. "
She killed him because he was to leave her with their unborn child.She didn't want him to leave her. She loved him that much.She cant accept a life without him.
2018103508
1)The title 'Lamb to the slaughter' is important because it gives us a hint about the theme of the story.' Lamb to the slaughter' means doing something without knowing the upcoming consequences and then act calmly to overcome the situation. Here Patrick
ReplyDeleteis killed by his wife Mary after he announced that he is going to leave her. As Mary is provoked by the statement that he is going to leave, she hits him with the frozen leg of lamb . Mary's desire to confess is overridden by her fear that her unborn child will die during her execution. In short, Mary kills him without knowing the consequences and then acts calmly to protect her unborn child.
2) This murder can be called as perfect murder because there is no evidence which proves that Mary is the murderer.
After she realizes that she killed her husband, she goes to Sam's shop and acts as if she is going to cook for her dead husband and buys some things to cook. Also she cooks the murder weapon(frozen leg of lamb), and serves it to the cops, thus destroying the evidence. So, there is no way to prove that Mary is the murderer. Thereby making it a 'perfect murder'.
3) Here the fact that Mary was pregnant and the fact that she loved her husband deeply and as the cops already knew her made them not to suspect her as the murderer of her husband. Because of the stereotype that a pregnant woman is so weak and calm, the cops lost the murderer.
4) The title ' Lamb to the slaughter' is itself an irony. Then the fact that the murder weapon which is the frozen leg of the lamb is served to the cops when one of the cop says "Probably right under our very noses. What do you think, Jack?” is an irony.
5) Mary Maloney is suspected as the muderer of her late husband, Patrick Maloney, a police officer by profession. Mary Maloney attacked her own husband as she was shocked to hear that Patrick Maloney wanted to lead a separate life. The murder was not premediated. However, by law she should be punished for her offence by sending her to the prison. Considering the fact that she is still pregnant, she should be sent to the prison after the birth of the baby. Also the court should take responsibility of the child until the murderer comes out.
6) Mary Maloney's death note:
" I still can't believe that I killed my own husband with my hands. I didn't intend to do it. But I was so shocked when I heard that he wants to lead a separate life. I couldn't tolerate it and hit him out of rage.Sorry.But I can't live without him and so I will take my own life. "
From 2018103024
DeleteRoll no:2018103006
ReplyDeleteAkash Kirthik G
1. The title itself is ambiguous. Lambs to slaughter may either mean the lamb's leg waiting to be eaten or Mary's husband, who was slaughtered. So, the title is apt for both ways.
2. Mary not only successfully killed her husband, but also had an alibi. It must be noted that Mary outfoxed the detectives, who solve similar cases for a living. She also fed the lamb's leg to them, effectively destroying the weapon used for murder. All these in a way that didn't raise any suspicions. Hence, the murder is a 'Perfect murder'.
3. Mary was heavily pregnant. Also, men are generally perceived physically stronger than women and nobody would believe if a pregnant woman killed a man. One may assume a pregnant wife won't kill her husband as her child would have been fatherless.
4. i) Its humans who kill lambs. But in the story a lamb's leg was used to kill a human. Looks like the lamb got its revenge !
ii)One of the detectives said to the other, "The murder weapon could be right under our noses", although he had no idea that the murder weapon was in fact in their plate and they were literally eating the evidence.
5. Being caught up in the moment is not a sensible explanation for murder. Mary may have killed Patrick in a temporary fit of rage , but a murder is a murder. If Mary got away without any severe consequences, few women may attempt to do the same thing to their husband. Think of it this way. Would the law forgive Patrick, if he had killed his wife? The answer is no. In a world where women struggle for 'equal rights', its not fair to exonerate a woman, just because she is pregnant. The right thing would be to get Mary convicted for homicide, and tried as guilty.
6. " Child, please don't hate me for this. It was I who killed your father ! It was all in a feeling of helplessness. I wasn't in the right mentality to think the situation through. The thought that Patrick would leave me for some other woman, struck me like a lightning. The next thing I knew, Patrick laid dead on the floor being hit by frozen lamb leg. Promise me on thing ! Never ever let anger take over you and cloud your mind. Don't ever do the mistake that I did ! " , confessed Mary to her child, right before her death.
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ReplyDelete1.The title of the story is so important because it is the first line, readers see in the story. Therefore it must be odd and attractive to grab the reader's attention. Here the title is apt to the story. We can find irony in the title "lamb to the slaughter ". It suggests an innocent creature which is about to undergo death. Here Mary represents that creature and she is going to meet the same fate if she is found guilty for killing her husband.
ReplyDelete2. This is called a perfect murder as there are no shreds of evidence to prove Mary as guilty. Mary used her knowledge as a policemen wife, to dispose the murderer weapon. So it cannot be found or linked to her in any way. She found a perfect way through cooking the Weapon and serve it to the investigators.
3. All men think women as weak, dependent and submissive individuals. These stereotypes about women saved Mary. Also, no one thinks, a pregnant woman kills her husband. And also she was completely dependent on her husband as her provider. These stereotypes saved Mary from her guilt.
4. First irony,
In hindu religion, lamb is considered to be a sacrificial animal. They slaughter it and present to god as an act of atonement. But here the lamb saved Mary from the slaughter of what could have been a death sentence or life in jail.
Second irony,
Mary hits her husband with the frozen leg of lamb. She cooks it and feeds it to the policemen who come to investigation scene. They are eating the very thing they need to find to arrest Mary for killing her husband. They even comment that the weapon could be right under the nose which it is. This would be the best irony.
5. mary loved her husband very much. She could do anything for him. She was a very caring wife. But when she heard that Patrick gonna leave her. She lost her mind and hit him with the leg of the frozen lamb. Though, she done this unwontedly, she is guilty. No one has the right to take other's life. She needs to be punished, not like giving her death sentence. At least five years of imprisonment must be given to her after giving birth to her baby.
6."I lived a happy life with my husband till he broke out that he gonna leave me alone. I could not digest it. I could not leave him. Becoz of my possessiveness, I hit him with the leg of the lamb. I was so afraid. It all happened in fraction of seconds. I not wantedly hit him. I thought of surrendering to police. Later, I thought about my baby. So i disposed that leg of lamb by cooking it and served to the investigators and cleared all the evidences. But now I feel guilty for that act. "
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1.Lamb to the slaughter refers to someone who falls unknowingly into life threatening trap. Metaphorically it refers to the two characters Mary and Patrick who go into the situation like lambs to the slaughter. Patrick who is the victim has no idea what is going to happen to him. The second one is Mary who has no idea what is coming to her.
ReplyDelete2.It is called a perfect murder. A murder is said to be perfect when you have no more evidence to prove that the murderer has committed it. Mary has cooked up the entire story. There are no evidences to prove that she has committed the crime. The murder weapon couldn't be identified by the police.
3.For ages women are defined by the characteristics of gentleness, caring and tolerance. The author has optimised the traditional role of women as child bearers and domestic servants. She fulfils the wifely duties as caregiver. So it is practically impossible to imagine a woman with all these characteristics to perform a murder.
4.“ I know that Patrick would never forgive me, God bless his soul “ is an irony
The reason why Patrick will not forgive Mary is because she killed him, not because of some trivial issues which the readers know but not the police.
" Right under our noses"
The murder weapon is actually under their noses but the police have no idea about it"
5.Patrick wanted to leave Mary but she is unwilling to believe her husband's rejection. It is too tough to convince a heart that’s been loyal to the soul. Her thoughts were clouded by the love for him. She was suddenly caught by the thoughts of the unborn child. The murder was totally an unintentional action out of exasperation. She then tried to cover her tracks. As per the story the murder was due to undying and eternal love for Patrick. So she is not responsible for her actions. It was just an instantaneous response to betrayal from a loyal one.
Evidences:
The police suspect the weapon to be a big spanner or a metal vase. Generally pregnant women are feeble . So it clearly states that she is not the murderer.
Mary was at the grocery shop at the time of the murder
There are no witnesses
Mary lived her husband and there is no personal vengeance for her to kill her husband.
So Mary is not found to be guilty.
6.“ The biggest mistake of my life ...is the day I killed him. I thought I would be happy. When I lost him my life crumbled into pieces. The infinite love blinded me leaving a very traumatic time. With each day passing by, I feel guilty. I will keep loving you because love doesn’t die when a person does . Forgive me”
Mary
2018103590
G.Aparna
ReplyDelete2018103515
1.The title of the story is "Lamb to the slaughter".Here the wife had murdered the husband with the leg of the lamb.The lamb was slaughtered earlier and now it has been used to slaughter.
2.The murderer is the wife of a detective. So she must have some knowledge about investigations and she knows how the cops think. As one of the cops said if we find the murder weapon we can find the murderer. Mary knew this and she cleverly destroyed the weapon. She has absolutely left no traces of the murder.
3. Mary is six months pregnant and is unemployed. So the male chauvinistic minds naturally don't suspect her. So it was easy for her to fool the cops.
4.-----The cops comment that the murder weapon could be right "under their noses".
-------A slaughtered creature is used to slaughter another creature.
5.The wife was expecting her husband to come home. Both of them had had a long day.The unemployed housewife who did not have any particular identity suddenly received the shock of her life.She just heard from the love of her life that she is getting dumped.She felt disrespected and was full of agony. So in the heat of the moment she might have hit his head and he would have died on the spot.
Another aspect: Mary could have also been cheating on Patrick and he would have come to know about this. When he confronted her she might have got angry and killed him.
Either way the woman killed her husband. So she must be charged guilty. Social services would take care of the baby.
6.Mary is now in her deathbed. She says this to her child " I was once married to a guy named Patrick Maloney. He was a detective. One evening when I was pregnant he came home after work and told me that he was going to leave me but he would make arrangements to take care of my baby.At that time I realized that he treated me like crap.I felt so ashamed and angry at myself and at him. So I killed him in the spur of the moment. I somehow managed to escape form the cops. The case remains unsolved for all these years. It was after that I realized that I should never marry again. I then had you and I began working multiple jobs. I was young and attractive and I could have married someone rich and you could have had a much better and comfortable life. It was because of me you suffered all your life and was fatherless.If I had accepted the money your father gave me, our lives would have been better. But I didn't. I'm sorry son! Sorry for making your life miserable.
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ReplyDeleteQn 1). The title of the story is important because it tempts the readers to read the story.The title " a lamb to the slaughter" has several meanings. In literal sense it means that a frozen leg of a lamb was used to murder Patrick. The phrase actually refers to someone who is going to be in a dangerous situation without knowing about it. And here Patrick is referred to as a lamb and he didn't expect that he would be murdered.
ReplyDeleteQn 2). This murder could be called as a perfect murder because there are no evidences to prove that Mary is the killer. After she realized that her husband was dead , she tried to be calm and cheerful and bought some peas and meat from Sam.She also told Sam that she was going to prepare supper for Pattrick. She also cooked the frozen lamb's leg thus destroying the evidence.Hence I conclude that the murder was planned.
Qn 3)Mary was pregnant and since the policemen and detectives were familiar to Mary,they knew how much Mary loved her husband. She also added that she didn't eat anything the last night when the murder happened.These facts made the detectives believe that Mary was innocent.
Qn 4)The first irony in the story is that a lamb's leg turns a murder weapon. The leg of a silent and harmless creature, turns a murder weapon. Another irony in the story is that the police who must find the murderer, destroy the evidence and sympathize towards the murderer.
Qn 5)Mary is a caring and loving wife.She is possessive.The fact that Pattrick wanted to part ways with her made her feel miserable.She also didn't have any long term grudge with her husband.So the murder wasn't premeditated. She has committed the murder out of anxiety.She could have controlled the emotions.Killing a person doesn't go with law for whatever reason it may be.No one has the right to kill other person.So she must be punished after she gives birth to the child.
Qn 6) Death Note:
My time has come I don't want to think that your father was killed by some criminal. I killed him and I've lived with that guilt all my life. He was about to leave us and what I did was only my instincts and I always loved him more than my life. I won't you won't forgive me for this for giving you a life without your father. But even in my last my breath I regret that only moment when I swung my arm. I could have killed myself the very day but all my life after that I've lived just for you. Forgive me. Love you.
Niranjan K
2018103569
1.right from the ages, the lamb is portrayed as a gentle and
ReplyDeletesoft natured animal which is associated with religious sacrifice.
in this story, both mary and her husband patrick take on roles of
a lamb as the latter sacrifices his wife for some reason and the former
sacrifices her beloved husband patrick by killing him with a frozen leg of
lamb.the title "lamb to the slaughter" signifies the transformation of the
lamb's leg from a piece of sacrificing object into a violent tool and also
the transformation of mary into a lovable wife into a violent killer.
2.this murder could be called a perfect murder because all the evidence or traces
was perfectly destructed. mary maloney went to the nearest grocer pretending like
she wanted to cook something for her husband inorder to create evidence that the
murder happened when she went for buying vegetable. she also destroyed the weopon by
serving it to the police officers
3. the male stereotype perfectly works for mary's story because female is always seen as
submissive, lovable and innocent creature. mary maloney perfectly potrayed herself as an
innocent wife who lost her husband and is widowed after his death. this will obviously create
a soft corner for the officers hence they will never doubt mary.
4. i) “Patrick!” she called. “How are you, darling?” - the irony is that she was the one
who killed patrick.
ii)“Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack?”
And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle.
5.First, she not only killed her husband, but her husband happened to be a police officer.
That alone is a huge deal as per the law of the state. No one has he right to take the
judgement in his/her hands irrespectable of what state of mind the murderer is.
since mary maloney is pregnant, and widowed, the court might consider giving special care
for her but she cannot escape from the punishment, hence she is sentenced for 2 years imprisonment.
6.my husband was always a serious person. but i loved him like no one can in this world.
he was my everything. he was handsomeand hard working and giving man. Not only was he committed to his job but he
was working for verylong hours that would drive me insane. yet with lots of happiness
and excitement i wait for him everyday. once he said that he was going to leave me, my time frozen
right there because i was heart broken. because i know that the life after his was going to be a
nightmare for me. it was not that i was scared to live alone as a single mother, but the
thought of not living with my husband made me to take away his life and now am standing here
as one guilty human who is not able to kill myself because of the life that is yet to be born
in 6 more months. the decision i took is going to kill me everyday but i know that the
life patrick has given to me through this baby going to give me the purpose to be alive.
love you always...
2018103018
k. charumathy
1.The title "Lamb to the slaughter" literally means a lamb going to the slaughterhouse without knowing what will happen to it. Similarly Patrick Maloney too is like a lamb here. It is also important in the sense that the lamb's leg is used as a murder weapon.
ReplyDelete2.Perfect murder is the one where the murderer leaves no trace to help the police carry on with the investigation. Here too the murderer hides behind the blanket that she is the victim's wife. And the other important thing in the identification of murder is the weapon which is concealed in a very safe place.
3.Mary hides behind the general thought that women are frail and feeble. In the story, it is depicted that Mary is a lovable woman who is very fond of her husband and her innocence deceives the policemen .
Moreover, Mary is a pregnant woman which naturally drives suspicion out of her.These traits have been very advantageous to her. And pretty sure she succeeds in it.
4.The whole story contains lot of ironies. Mary kills her husband in anger and suddenly composes herself and rehearses to say hello to the shopkeeper. Patrick being known for a good detective, didn't want the detectives who investigate his own case to eat up the main clue.
5. Mary killed her husband as she couldnt accept losing him. Given the situation, she blindly did that without her consciousness. Nothing was preplanned. Though she did it in a rage, she is completely responsible for her action. The one thing to notice was that she would have accepted the penalty, if it wasn’t for her child. It I were a lawyer I would suggest that Mary is not guilty at all. For all we know, there is literally no evidence to prove Mary's guilty. Patrick seemed unusual that day and drank too much of whiskey. Mary went to the shop, for which there is clear evidence from the shopkeeper saying she was all normal and happy.There were no different answers from Mary, she told everything clearly to the Police. Patrick, being a good detective, gained lot of enemies. One of them could’ve killed him and escaped. There is no murder weapon and third person’s fingerprint found. All these make Mary Maloney an innocent.
6.“ Is Love Blind? Yes, actually mine is, blind enough to kill my own love. My whole love for him got shattered when I came to know he’s leaving. He wanted to go, so I sent him up. It all happened without my consciousness. I hid all this for my child. Now I have confessed, no more secrets, I can die peacefully. Never overthink or overlove”
S.R.Vivekananden
2018103626
1.The title "Lamb to the Slaughter" is important because the lamb leg is used as the murder weapon by Mary to kill her husband. It is also a play on the phrase "Lamb to the Slaughter" as here, a lamb is not getting killed, it is being used to kill.
ReplyDelete2.This murder can be considered as the "perfect murder" for a few reasons. Firstly, the murder weapon was completely disposed of. Mary had completely gotten rid of the murder weapon, and nobody had suspected her. Secondly, since she was the wife of the victim, absolutely nobody suspected her, and she got away completely scot free.
3.As most men think of women as caring, gentle, and sort of dependent, the police did not suspect Mary at all. Add to this the fact that Mary was pregnant, and there was no way at all that the police would suspect her.
4.The police commented that the murder weapon could be "right under their noses" while they ate it. It was literally "under their noses".
The title of the story is also pretty ironic as when you think of the phrase "Lamb to the Slaughter" it seems as if a lamb is being killed but here the lamb is doing the killing.
5.It seems as if Mary was caught up in the moment here and killed her husband without giving it a second thought. She seemed to become temporarily insane, but she is still to blame for her actions, as after killing her husband she cleverly got rid of the murder weapon and covered her tracks, instead of confessing. Just because she received the bad news that she was being cheated on, just not justify a murder. Two wrongs do not make a right.
6.As Mary is on her deathbed, she might feel a hint of regret for the events that took place, but seeing as how she seems to be an independent woman who easily covered up her tracks without giving it a second thought, I think she might actually be happy with herself and how she handled the situation. Even if she does admit the events that took place to her child, I feel that she will not regret what happened very much, as she would have been able to sort out her life afterwards, seeing as how she was independent and capable.
"I'm the one who actually killed my first husband. At first, I was scared and did not know what to do, but after the initial shock disappeared, I was able to get my life back on track, and now I do not regret what I did very much.
-Naveen M(2018103045)
1. Generally, the title of a story predicts the main theme or genre of the story. Its the same case here.the phrase "lamb to the slaughter " is used to describe a situation where someone is acting normally unaware that something bad is going to happen in a similar way where a lamb goes to slaughter. In the story, it suits very well to the situation where Patrick was killed suddenly himself being unaware of the situation.
ReplyDelete2. Though it was a sudden act of emotion, the actions followed by the incident prove this fact. Knowing the consequences of the murder, Mary prepared herself as if nothing has happened, went to the grocery store and bought vegetables as usual, which adds the grocerer to her side. Also, she knew very well that the weapon(leg of lamb) was the only clue to find out the truth .So to somehow hide the weapon, she cooked it and made the detectives to eat it.
Thus , though she did it unknowingly, but she was clever enough to cover it up.thus it can be definitely quoted as a perfect murder.
3. First thing is her pregnancy. A pregnant women won't kill her husband(stereotypically). A women(that too a pregnant women) is assumed to be weak cannot hit a man with enough force that would kill him . moreover her acting added up to these points and helped her to escape from doubt.
4. i)“Personally, I think it’s right here on the premises.”
“Probably right under our very noses."
Mary cook's the weapon and serves it to the police men.the irony here is --They search for the weapon , which is already in their hand.Also Mary's reaction to this was ironic to her character described before.
ii) After the murder she went to the grocery store and returned calling her husband's name who was lying dead (killed by her).
Knowingly calling a dead man's name as if she doesn't know even when no one's there is the irony here.
5.In the Patrick’s Murder case one of the
Suspect is Mary Maloney, wife of the victim.But in the Crime Scene nothing supisoious was found. The victim was still wearing his coat indicating he had just returned home which was also reported by the grocerer. Two glasses of wine indicates that he was conversing with his wife till she left for the grocery shop and that was the time of murder.The suspect was not home during the crime. moreover
No weapon( or a heavy metal object ) was found in the house.
Mary was pregnant and weak , and cannot lift a weight object and a man with a force that would kill him.
Our suspect Mary's actions in the whole evening seemed to be normal.she was very depressed and answered all the questions (not seem in any kind of hurry.)
All the collected information collected was against Mary Maloney's suspection.So, she must not be the murderer and must be falsely doubted. All the above points clearly justifies this fact.
6."There is no other day I didn't think of that incident. How could people betray their own loved ones. I couldn't believe it at the first time I heard it but I soon processed the truth. I can't digest it . it was a sudden reaction . I killed my Patrick. Though I managed to cover it up , but I still feel a little regret at a corner of my heart. He must not have done it and..me..I must not have done it.l too.
Here , in my final letter I confess my mistake .......
"
1.The title lamb to slaughter can mean two things in this case.As in just like a lamb which is being slaughtered , what happened to patrick also was completely unexpected(his death).Or, since the murder weapon used was a lamb's leg, the title does suit the story.
ReplyDelete2.This murder is a perfect example of a perfect murder.The murder weapon was disposed of completely and no one even suspected her of killing as she was looked as one of the victims in this case.So tracing it back to her would be nearly impossible and hence it is a perfect murder.
3.The case of the police not suspecting Mary isn't all too surprising as in general, we have this perception and idea that women would not be capable of this as they are caring and gentle.Also,the hit that patrick received was so strong that they immediately ruled out the possibility that a woman could do it.
4.Personally, I think it’s right here on the premises.”
“Probably right under our very noses."
When they said this, the murder weapon was literally under their noses as they were feasting on it.
5.Mary appears to be temporarily insane.
After she kills him, she doesn't even react appropriately to the situation.She immediately tries to do what a killer would do.She tries to establish an alibi and wants to cover up the entire murder and wash her hands clean.Now if it was an act of the moment,she should have reacted as a wife and not as a killer cause for heaven's sake she had just killed her husband!This also does not look like a pre planned murder as she was in a good mood throughout the evening and also if it were pre planned,she would have found a better murder weapon.
6."Do I regret what I did? NO.If I had a chance I would do it again. I was the perfect wife. I know I deserved better.I was not treated properly and was under appreciated. All I asked was for some love and instead what did I get?Nothing.I do feel sad that I killed my husband.But if I had the opportunity to go back in time and fix it, it would be a strong pass from me"
2018103620
1."Lamb to Slaughter"-this is a perfect title for this story because, this line means that if someone does something,they do it without knowing that something bad is going to happen and hence they act calmly. This is what actually happens in the story (lamb going to slaughter ) ,here the lamb is compared to Mary and slaughter refers to killing of her husband. Since it fits correctly to the concept of the story, this title is important.
ReplyDelete2.This murder could be called as perfect murder because, this murder has no evidence left. As mentioned by the policemen "get the weapon and you've got the man", but the weapon(meat) is being eaten by them. The only evidence has gone. Mary unconsciously did a smart work by picking a frozen meat as a weapon. No one could find who was the real murderer. As Mary turned the weapon into a food, and acted naturally and smartly, this is a perfect murder.Also Mary tactfully used Sam as an alibi to create an evidence that she was outside when the tragic incident happened. So spontaneously Mary changed this murder into a perfectly planned murder.
3. The stereotypes which we actually believe blindly,prevented the policemen to think rationally. Mary's innocent acting too made them believe that there is no chance that she would've done that. The Policemen thought this innocent pregnant woman couldn't have done the murder, that too not her own husband. The policemen was wrong about the murderer and also about the weapon used. They thought women could not be that violent to hit anyone with that kind of strong weapon. They did a big mistake by considering these false stereotypes which helped Mary Maloney saving herself.
4. -> In the middle of the story,when the policemen came after Mrs.Maloney's call, they began investigating. At that time the true murderer, Mary, asked, "Is he dead...I'm afraid he is..". This creates an irony. Mary was the one who killed Patrick but asks the policemen whether he is dead or not. It is like she is ensuring whether he is dead and if he's not she is going to be in trouble.
->Second irony is that the policemen were talking about what kind of weapon is being used..whether a big spanner,big club or a sledgehammer...when it is being eaten by them. They erased the only evidence to find the murderer instead of preserving it thereby saving Mary.They still can't find the weapon when it is being served by the murderer herself...dinner served.
5. Mary was really a caring and innocent wife . But driven by her emotions, Mary used the frozen Lamb to hit him. It was clearly stated that,"She swung the big frozen leg of lamb..". At that time if it was a small thing, it would've been just a hit rather than a murder. If she had surrendered herself, the punishment would've been reduced. But she tried to hide it. Anyhow it is considered as a murder,even though it was an unplanned and accidental murder. Punishment for murder is imprisonment for 10 years. But since it was also an accident, it can be reduced to 6 years only after giving birth to the child and when the child has reached at least the age of two. (considering the health of the child and mother too).
6. "I, Mary Maloney,hereby feel guilty of my mindless actions for killing my own husband. I loved him so much but as he told he was about to leave me, I was driven by my emotions and because of my self-centered thought I did that big mistake. Only after I killed him, I thought of my baby and that's why I tried to hide. I should've thought of my baby earlier and should've accepted his offer(money) and used that to raise my child. Now because of me, my child couldn't see his/her father and also I couldn't able to raise my baby in a proper way. All I need to say to my child is...I'm sorry.."
<2018103605>
--Subheksha Kumar S
Delete1)The title "Lamb to the slaughter "means innocent is being killed . Generally, the phrase refers to a person who unknowingly goes into a dangerous situation. The title is perfect to the story as the patrick also didn't expect that he would be murdered
ReplyDelete2)when she murdered her husband,she went to Sam's shop to buy groceries to cook lamb for her husband so that no one can doubt her and the weapon she used was served to the cops which left with no evidence so, it is a perfect murder
3)Women emotionally are not as strong as men.Love,affection and scarifice are the qualities that represent women .They can do anything for their loved one's.Because of those qualities of women policemen didn't enquire her much and they didn't even suspect her for a second as they knows that how much she loved and cared him
4)When Mary was returning from the grocery store, she prepared herself and started to pretend she was in shock seeing her husband but it was her who killed him.
Secondly,when the cops were discussing to find the weapon which they were eating as their food unknowingly.
5)Mary loved and cared his husband.butWhen she came to know that he was going to leave her as he loves someone else, she lost control over her emotions and she had no idea of what she is doing.The murder wasn't a pre planned one. Her instant idea made her to kill her husband .she was caught up in the moment.Eventhough Patrick did bad to her,she shouldn't take the law into her hands so,she is guilty. she has to be punished for her sin.
6) Mary's death confession to her son/daughter:
I never want to let you know the culprit of your father. But the time has came to tell u the truth.It was me who killed your father But it was me who killed your father.Your father didn't love me and decided to leave me which made me to kill him.I felt fear of losing u if I told about my guilty that's why I didn't say to till now. Hope you will understand your mother feelings.
-2018103627
LAMB TO SLAUGHTER
ReplyDeleteFROM 2018103039,
1) The title of story is important because it only draws the attention of reader.The title indirectly conveys the main theme of story.Here the title of story is “Lamb to the Slaughter”.Its direct meaning is a lamb is innocent and it follows without knowing that it is going to be slaughtered.But the author indirectly mentions Patric as lamb because he is unaware of going to be killed by his wife.The title has another meaning that the lamb that is slaughtered is used to slaughter Patric.
2) This murder is a ‘perfect murder’ because after killing her husband, Mary cleverly thought how to escape from this murder.She kept the frozen lamb-leg in owen. She went to Vegetable shop and bought some potatoes and peas from Sam,the owner of shop.She spoke some words with Sam.
After police came,she cleverly acted by crying. She cleverly made the weapon(the lamb-leg) as supper to the detectives.
3) The police didn’t suspect Mary because she is pregnant women.Naturally pregnant woman will not do any harmful to her loveful husband.Mary created sympathy on police men by keeping her face innocent and keep on crying.
4) a)The weapon used to kill Patric is the frozen lamb-leg.Here Mary(the killer) serves lamb(the weapon) to detectives which they searched is infront of us.
b)The lamb which is used to kill her husband is used to escape from murder(by serving as food to detectives).
5) Mary is very good wife..She loved her husband verymuch.Because she is waiting for her husband to return from his office. She served soup to her husband after reurning from office .But the way Patric speaks and does makes Mary angry.The way he speaks indirectly says that he is going to divorce Mary.This makes Mary to kill her husband.The murder is not premeditated because she has true love on her husband until he says he is going to leave her. After killing her husband to save her child she planned to act a drama as her husband is killed bysomeone.In every country,no one has right to kill.If mary reduced her temper,it would not be happened.
6)I and Patric are good couple.I loved him very much as no one in the world loved him.One day after returning from office he said he is going to leave me alone.He didn’t fell that I am pregnant.He thought that I am like a toy and can be thrown out whenever he don’t want.This makes me angry.He should not leave me eventhough I am alive.When I reached full temper,I killed him with a frozen lamb.I thought I should live for my child.
Kavia.M (2018103036)
ReplyDelete1. The title of the story is also the irony of the story. The lamb that is to be slaughtered doesn't know whats going to have and thus behaves in a calm and casual manner. In this story both Mary and Patrick resemble the lamb to be slaughtered. Without expecting the upcoming tragedy , they were conversing as usual.
2. The murder is a perfect murder as the weapon could not traced out in the future . The truth does not reveal unless the murderer opens the mouth. The murderer didn't leave any evidence due to panic and she built up the fort strongly around her.
3. The male stereotype point of view on woman as caring , innocent , emotionally weak didn't let the cops suspect Mary. Their pity on a pregnant lady with her husband suddenly died added for Mary to escape. The stereotype that a woman is too weak to attempt a murder is an advantage to Mary.
4. a)A dedicated wife kills her loved one due to moment of madness
B) It's Patrick who deserves the lamb leg- the love of his wife (Patrick deserves the anger of Mary but not death as he stimulate the murder.)
C) The evidence is too close to notice.
5. Mary as every woman loved her husband , cared and lived for him. She didn't actually want to kill her husband but she was caught by the moment of anger due to mood swings during pregnancy. There is no point in the question why she killed her husband as she didn't want to do so.It is not a planned murder but a planed escape that too for her child.The murder should be investigated in all aspects apart from assumptions and stereotypes. She should be left after penalty considering for her child.
6. Mary's death bed confession:
I and Patrick were lovely couple . We lived a happy life until I started disliking his job and reported it to him. He wants to leave me and my child for his job. I was ready to do anything for him but he in the other side not ready to accept. I really didn't want to kill him but the action due to anger killed him. Yes , I am the murderer. As soon as I realize that i lost him, i didn't what to loose my child too . I didn't want my child to be an orphan without me. I made up my mind to accept his death and planned to escape from the punishment. Every night the guilt kills me but the next morning made me live for my child.
1.The title of any story is important because it sets the mood of the reader whether we are going to read a thriller/Fantasy etc kind of story and provides an hidden hint apart from the story. Here "Lamb to the Slaughter" is the best title because Lamb means a young sheep and Slaughter means Killing of animals for food.Or we can say like this from a story point of view a lamb leg is used to a kill a animal(Patrick).
ReplyDelete2. This is called a perfect murder because as soon as Mary kills Patrick she was first shocked then she devise a plan to escape that she wants to project herself as she didn't present in the home at the time of murder. For that she relaxed herself and practices language accent & body language to be spoken at the shopkeeper to make look casual and innocent. When she went to the Shopkeeper she wantedly bring him in a conversation to register herself in his mind as casual and innocent. Then she came to her home reacted naturally as she didn't knew nothing and acted as shocked and disturbed during interrogation, and she intelligently made the police officers to cook the weapon (Lamb) and eat by themselves so that by this main evidence is destroyed.
3. The male stereotype of women had a vast influence on this because some of the officers who were investigating the case we're Patrick friends so they knew about Mary & Patrick relationship how strong, loving,caring each other.
• she is pregnant so she can't move fastly as before moreover officers thought that she can't swing the weapon as fast to kill him.
• officers had a initial doubt that she might kill him because she is the first person to witness this incident. They clarified their doubt based on the shopkeeper statement as she was cool,natural innocent.
4.The irony is that The officers were searching for the weapon that is used to kill all around the house but actually they found the weapon and holding it, also thinking about the weapon where the killer placed the weapon.
officers thought after injury that the weapon might a large steel spanner type of metal but actually the weapon is frozen leg of a lamb.
Mary Maloney is such a loving , caring women who can do anything for her husband but in the end she herself killed Patrick so brutally with cruelness.
5. Mary was already disturbed because Patrick said that he would leave her. Even though she brings supper for him. he rudely says “Don’t make supper for me. I’m going out.” She got angry immediately and hit him with a lamb. This is the reason the murder was not premeditated as she was caring and loving her at that time also when Patrick said that. She was caught in that moment because of Patrick rude behavior and her disturbed mind state. she temporarily insane, therefore not responsible for her actions.
If officers found the evidence that Mary killed Patrick then she should be sentenced to jail for 1year.
Some points to be considered for trial based on text
He had taken lot of drinks which are stronger which tells he is in depression.
Mary is not present on crime spot when incident is happen as per the statement of Shopkeeper.
The weapon used for murder couldn't be found on crime spot.
So Mary didn't kill Patrick.
6.When Patrick said that he will leave her Mary didn't believe him but when Patrick says something facing the window that "For God’s sake, he said, hearing her, but not turning round. “Don’t make supper for me. I’m going out.”
At this point she thought he didn't liked her and had a random thoughts questioning Patrick's character that he might be having affair with someone else. So she killed him immediately. But she felt guilty for it because even though she had doubts on him / he had doubts on her she could clarified it by talking to him and solves the problem if he had any. Then they could live happily. She realized Patrick importance only after he dead. Then she faced a lot of struggles.
-2018103560
1.The title of the story is important since it gives the story line. Lamb to the slaughter- a lamb's leg as a weapon to kill. Usually one kills lamb to fullfil our tummy .here the last kills her husband with lamb's leg emotionally. So the title is significant.
ReplyDelete2. Signs like using a lamb's leg as a weapon and serving the same to cops as if to have no evidence and pretending as if she went out and making a situation like she got shocked like she saw him dead for the first time and constant crying make the murder perfect.
3. The cops(patric colleagues) didnt even suspect his wife once due to the sympathy carried over by them to her. They thought a pregnant woman has no dare to such a brave thing.
4. 1--> the weapon served to police who
Eat it by making no evidence
2--> patric had an idea to end his life but the situation killed his own life by his own beloved wife itself.
5. Mary killed her husband under some strong impulses. As she is pregnant she can't escape from the crime which deserves prison time may be after her child's birth. It's not justifiable by saying it as an accident and as husband appealed for divorce.
6. At mary's death confession, she might have stated as follows:
"My life is what how I wish it to be.
I know that I served as a good wife to my husband.he gave me a child. Now due to his professional stress, how can he leave us?? Is it fair?? It's unfair. I impose the same to him by slaughter."
Q1)The title is very important...Since Lambs have been used for thousands of years as a symbol of innocence, meekness, and purity. The phrase “like a lamb to a slaughter” represents something innocent happily making its way towards a negative situation in which it will most likely get hurt.
ReplyDeleteQ2)She prepares the leg of lamb that she used as a weapon and places it in the oven to somewhat destroy the evidence. Then she considers an alibi. After practicing a cheerful mask and some innocuous remarks to make in conversation, she visits the grocer and chats blandly with him about what to make for Patrick's dinner.
Q3)the police are the "blundering detectives." Mary uses her "little woman" image as a protective covering...
Q4)*)As the audience, we know what is going on.The characters do not. That would be the dramatic irony. We realize that they are eating the very thing they need to find in order to apprehend the person guilty of killing their fellow policeman, Patrick Maloney. They even comment that the murder weapon could be right "under their noses," which it is.
*) Meanwhile, in the other room, Mary Maloney giggles at the situational irony of it all. The lamb, after all, saved her from the slaughter of what could have been a death sentence, or life in jail as a pregnant woman.
Q5)
Mary Maloney should not get away with killing her husband in lamb to the slaughter... Murder is never an acceptable thing to do. We are allowed to kill in self-defense or in war. We are not allowed to kill just because someone provokes us. When we look at things in this way, there is really no defense for Mary. She has murdered her husband and should be caught and punished in order for justice to be serve.
Q6)He told me he had another family with 2 child..so,I killed him.I made sure to be extra nice by making conversation with the grocer..
->2018103072<-
Shyam (2018103066)
ReplyDelete1.She basically slaughtered her own husband with a frozen leg lamb which makes the title so ironic .This justifies the importance and meaning of this title
2.The wife's acting was on par while she was dealing with the police.She acted as if she had nothing to do with the murder.She even serves lamb (the very same weapon she had used to kill her husband)to the police erasing the evidences completely.
3.Mary was pregnent and she looked and acted innocent.This basically lead to the stereotypical thought that a woman at this stage wont commit such a crime .
4.-A loving wife kills her husband due to
madness
-She serves the lamb to the police which was the weapon she had used to kill her husband
5. Even though mary did not intentionally kill her husband ,she deserves some kind of punishment because whatever the reason maybe 'a murder is a murder' full stop.