View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Mary is awaiting her husband’s arrival from where in the opening of “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

2. Mary calls the police officer’s dear friends of whom in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

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

4. Before Mary commits the crime of murder, she exhibits the qualities of what archetype or stereotype in the story?

5. Author Roald Dahl was born in what year?

Short Essay Questions

1. How can the influence of television culture be seen in “Lamb to Slaughter”?

2. Why do you think the author chooses not to detail Patrick’s story to the reader?

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

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

5. How does the author portray women and men differently in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

6. What is the motivation for the crime committed in “Lamb to Slaughter”? How is this motivation established in the beginning of the story?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define “narrative point of view” and discuss the point of view of “Lamb to the Slaughter.” Is the story related in the past, present or future tense? Is the story told from a first, second, or third person point of view? How limited is the narrator’s perspective? Why do you think the author chose this narrative style?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the character of Sam in the story. What role does Sam play in Mary’s plot? How important is Sam’s character to the narrative? How frequently do you think Mary sees Sam? Is he a good witness as to her character?

Essay Topic 3

Identity in “Lamb to the Slaughter”

a. How does author Dahl explore the theme of identity through the character of Mary in the story? How does Mary’s identity become threatened and what does she do as a result?

b. How does the theme of identity relate differently to the men and women in the story?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 923 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample