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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 murder weapon is used to kill Patrick in the story?

2. Mary explains that she hasn’t made any supper for what reason in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

3. What is described in the Thermos bucket in the opening of “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

4. What does Mary offer to get Patrick, but is turned down, after he arrives home in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

5. Patrick tells Mary that what he has to say will be what to her 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. At what point in the story is Mary’s sense of identity shattered? What does she do to regain her sense of identity?

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

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

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

6. Where in the story does the denouement take place? What happens in the denouement?

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

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

9. What central injustices mark the narrative of “Lamb to Slaughter”?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the dialect and language style of the short story. What have critics and literary experts written about Dahl’s language style in his writing? Do you think that given the language style, this story could be set elsewhere? How would the story appear if recreated with a contemporary Chicago dialect?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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?

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