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

2. Mary is said to be the wife of what after killing her husband?

3. Mary notices a little muscle twitching where on Patrick’s face as he begins to talk to her?

4. Mary tells the police detectives that the meat for Patrick’s dinner is where when they question her?

5. What word from the short story refers to the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How is Mary’s love for Patrick indicated through imagery in the story?

4. How would you characterize Sergeant Noonan’s behavior toward Mary in “Lamb to Slaughter”?

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

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

7. What differences can be seen between the 1950s society in the short story and society today?

8. What do you think the outcome will be for Mary based on the ending of the story?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define situational, verbal, and dramatic irony and discuss examples of each in the narrative. How is Mary’s conversation with Sam the grocer ironic? Is this an example of dramatic or verbal irony? What type of irony is illustrated in the end of the story?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Mary’s “reinvention” of identity in “Lamb to the Slaughter.” How does Mary’s character transform after she returns from the cellar? How does it evolve as she rehearses in front of the mirror? What has happened to Mary’s sense of identity through the narrative?

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?

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