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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 literary technique used to develop suspense in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?
(a) Literary allusion
(b) Foreshadowing
(c) Assonance
(d) Nonlinear plot

2. The plot structure of “Lamb to the Slaughter” depicts which qualities?
(a) It follows a nonlinear plot line
(b) It follows an anticlimactic plot line
(c) It follows a traditional plot line
(d) It follows a postmodern plot line

3. What does Mary buy at the store after she’s killed Patrick?
(a) Rice and cheese
(b) A newspaper and a book
(c) Potatoes and peas
(d) Candy and cigarettes

4. Who gets up at once after the congealed blood is found on Patrick’s head and hurries to the phone?
(a) Sergeant Noonan
(b) The fingerprint man
(c) Charlie
(d) O’Malley

5. By what name is Mary addressed by the store clerk?
(a) Mrs. M.
(b) Mrs. Maloney
(c) Mary
(d) Miss Mary

Short Answer Questions

1. “Lamb to the Slaughter” is included in what short story compilation?

2. What member of the investigative team departs after the body has been carried out on a stretcher?

3. As the search goes on, Mary knows that there are other policemen searching where?

4. Mary is said to watch Patrick as he relates his statement “with a kind of dazed” what?

5. What kind of air is described about Mary and “everything she did” in the beginning of “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

Short Essay Questions

1. What conversation between Mary and Sergeant Noonan leads to the destruction of the evidence in “Lamb to Slaughter”?

2. Whose point of view does the narrative of “Lamb to Slaughter” revolve around?

3. How would you characterize Mary’s mindset as she commits murder in “Lamb to Slaughter”?

4. What symbolism surrounds the murder weapon in “Lamb to Slaughter”?

5. How is the character of Patrick Maloney described in “Lamb to Slaughter”?

6. What is ironic about Mary’s answer to Sam regarding “meat” in “Lamb to Slaughter”?

7. Who is Sergeant Noonan in the story? When does he arrive in “Lamb to Slaughter”?

8. How is the theme of passivity in “Lamb to the Slaughter” illustrated through Mary’s character?

9. What role does Sergeant Noonan play in the ultimate plot twist of “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

10. How would you compare the style of “Lamb to the Slaughter” to other horror short stories?

(see the answer keys)

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