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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is a prominent literary element in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?
(a) Onomatopoeia
(b) Symbolism
(c) Literary allusion
(d) Repetitive verse

2. Mary overhears the police detective telling another that the store clerk said Mary’s behavior was what?
(a) Slightly paranoid
(b) Overly giddy
(c) Very strange
(d) Quite normal

3. What refers to the defense by an accused person of having been elsewhere at the time an alleged offense was committed?
(a) Sentence
(b) Alibi
(c) Motive
(d) Prosecution

4. To whom does Mary call out when she returns from the store?
(a) Ben
(b) Jack
(c) Patrick
(d) Sam

5. Where does Mary exit the home after killing Patrick?
(a) Through the cellar door
(b) Through the front window
(c) Through the back door
(d) Through the front door

Short Answer Questions

1. How is the drink that Mary mixes for Patrick described after he arrives home in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

2. What dessert does Mary purchase at the store?

3. Patrick is described as sitting how in a chair in the beginning of “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

4. All of Mary’s movements are said to be what, after Patrick has told her his story in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

5. When Mary leaves to go to the store, it’s not yet what time?

Short Essay Questions

1. In examining “Lamb to Slaughter” from an anthropological view of identity, what do you think Dahl’s statement is about mankind?

2. How would you characterize the tone and mood of “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

3. What is foreshadowed by Patrick’s action of downing of his drink in the story?

4. What foreshadowing can be seen in the curtains as described in the first paragraph of “Lamb to Slaughter”?

5. Whom does Mary call after “discovering” the body? What happens next in the story?

6. How do Mary’s actions after the murder resemble those of an actor preparing for a role?

7. How is “climax” defined? Where in “Lamb to the Slaughter” does the climax occur?

8. What is significant about O’Malley’s name in “Lamb to Slaughter”?

9. What elements of the setting of “Lamb to the Slaughter” indicate the time period for the story?

10. Who is Sam? What role does he play in “Lamb to Slaughter”?

(see the answer keys)

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