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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the officer who is asked by another in the kitchen, “What do you think?”

2. What does Mary ask Sergeant Noonan to give her as the investigation continues?

3. Who is the first police officer to examine Patrick’s body?

4. What does Mary attempt to do in the bedroom after killing Patrick?

5. How is the drink that Mary mixes for herself described in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What is black humor? When did black humor rise in popularity in literature and entertainment?

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

5. What ultimate irony is presented at the end of “Lamb to Slaughter”?

6. Where does the rising action take place in the narrative? What happens in the rising action of the story?

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

8. How is the concept of identity as seen in popular psychology depicted through the character of Mary in the novel?

9. How did “Lamb to Slaughter” fit in with the popular fiction of the era when it was published?

10. How is the setting described in the first paragraph of “Lamb to Slaughter”? What items are described in the room?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author’s development of suspense and tension in the rising action of “Lamb to the Slaughter.” What are the main risks that the protagonist faces in the story? How are these risks compounded in the rising action? How does Mary deal with them?

Essay Topic 2

Define “black comedy” and discuss how black comedy applies to the story “Lamb to the Slaughter.” What elements in the story are funny? Why are they funny? Do you think the author intends for the reader to find the story humorous or frightening?

Essay Topic 3

Define “conflict” in literature as well as the subcategories of conflict such as “internal conflict,” “external conflict,” and “relational conflict. What are the internal conflicts that Mary faces in the story? How are these resolved? What relational conflict is established between Mary and Patrick in the story? What is the resolution of this conflict?

(see the answer keys)

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