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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 color is Patrick’s second drink that he makes for himself described as?
(a) Black
(b) Dark amber
(c) Light crimson
(d) Light brown

2. Patrick tells Mary after he’s finished his story, “So there it is. And I know it’s kind of” what?
(a) A bad time to be telling you
(b) Inconvenient
(c) Angering
(d) A shock for you

3. What is Mary doing as she enters her home from the store?
(a) Laughing and giggling
(b) Frowning and praying
(c) Humming and smiling
(d) Crying and thinking

4. “Lamb to the Slaughter” was adapted for an episode of what television show?
(a) Saturday Night Live
(b) The Twilight Zone
(c) Unsolved Mysteries
(d) Alfred Hitchcock Presents

5. What word from the story means a punishment imposed or incurred for a violation of law?
(a) Evidence
(b) Penalty
(c) Motive
(d) Judgment

Short Answer Questions

1. How are Patrick’s legs described when Mary sees his body after returning from the store?

2. Sergeant Noonan asks Mary if she would like to go somewhere else and suggests going to whose house in the story?

3. How is Mary said to greet the store clerk when she arrives after killing Patrick?

4. From what narrative tense is “Lamb to the Slaughter” related?

5. The narrator states that Mary “loved to” do what “in the presence of this man” (Patrick) in the beginning of “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

Short Essay Questions

1. What actions does Mary plot on her way home from the store? How do these actions play out?

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

3. After the murder has been committed, what is Mary’s central objective in “Lamb to Slaughter”?

4. When does Mary appear the most emotionally vulnerable in the story? Is this emotion true or a performance?

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

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

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

8. How is Mary’s discussion with Sam regarding “dessert” an example of verbal irony?

9. How does the author establish and develop tension through using sound in the beginning of the story?

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

(see the answer keys)

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