Name: ______________________
Date: _________________
“Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl – 5 points
Pre-reading
1. What is a whodunnit? What would be the ingredients of the perfect murder?
Put the following ideas into order of importance. (Add ideas of your own if you want to.)
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
It should be easy to arrange.
It should leave no clues.
There should be no noise.
It should look like suicide.
It should take place in a lonely, isolated place.
It should be cheap.
No violence should be necessary.
It should look like an accident.
2. The following excerpts all come from the short story. They are jumbled up. Try to
arrange them in the correct order.
___ "For God's sake," he said, hearing her, but not turning round, "don't make supper for
me. I'm going out."
___ "Tired, darling?"
___ "Yes," he said. "I'm tired."
___ "It's the old story," he said. "Get the weapon and you've got the man."
___ "This is going to be a bit of a shock to you, I'm afraid," he said.
___ When the clock said ten minutes to five, she began to listen, and a few moments later,
punctually as always, she heard the tyres on the gravel outside…
___ "Personally, I think it's right here on the premises."
___ All the old love and longing for him welled up inside her, and she ran over to him, knelt
down beside him, and began to cry her heart out.
___ "Quick! Come quick! Patrick's dead!"
___ Soon, other men began to come into the house. First a doctor, then two detectives,
one of whom she knew by name.
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Part I: lines 1-120
Vocabulary
A. Write the word in front of its definition.
word
definition
: to make something go down
anxiet
y
to acquire
merely
to lower
anxiety
to frown
to fix
to fetch
bewildered
quantity
to rock
to drain
stride
: a long step
: to move from side to side
: a feeling of worry or fear
: to make something dry or empty
: to get or buy something
: a number or amount of something
: to show you are angry
: to bring
: only, just
: to prepare
: confused
B. Can you think up synonyms for these words? You may translate them first if
that helps.
blissful
luxuriate
placid
punctual
tranquil
translucent
C. Complete the sentences with the correct words from the word bank.
loosely
content
tiredness
laid aside
curiously
plenty of
presence
bent
intent
glow
1. Yesterday, the teacher caught me cheating on the test. ______________, she didn't
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
tell my parents about it.
When Mary heard her husband coming in, she ___________________ her sewing
and went to kiss him.
I don't need a new car. I'm _____________ with the one I have.
He apologized to her in the _________________ of the whole family.
The ____________ of the sky at sunset is beautiful.
Yesterday evening I was so exhausted that I collapsed on the sofa thinking, “What
could be the reason for such _______________”?
The boy _____________ down to tie up his shoelaces.
You don't need to prepare anything, there's already ________________ food.
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LOTS: Answer the following questions
1. Describe Mary Maloney, at the beginning of the story. What kind of wife does she
appear to be? (keywords only, we will discuss this)
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2. What do we learn about Mary Maloney in the second paragraph?
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3. Before Patrick breaks the news, what three clues are there that this particular evening
is going to be a break with routine?
1. ________________ 2. _______________ 3. __________________
4. What do the couple usually do on Thursday nights?
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5. What is it that finally makes Mary Maloney frightened?
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6. How does Mary Maloney feel about the news she hears from her husband, Patrick?
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HOTS: Answer the following questions in relation to the text.
1. What does the story’s first paragraph suggest about Mary's relationship with her
husband? (keywords only, we will discuss this)
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2. How does the writer build up the idea of a comfortable routine? What sort of
household do we imagine the Maloney home to be? How does Dahl evoke a homey
(US) or homely (UK) atmosphere?
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3. Why do you think Mary killed her husband?
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Literary Terms - Metaphor and Characterization
A. Metaphor
Remember that a metaphor describes one thing in terms of something else. For
example: The last English test we had was a nightmare.
What is Roald Dahl describing about Mary in line 11?
“There was a slow smiling air about her, and everything she did.”
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B. Characterization
Characterization is the literary term used to describe the way writers present their
characters. Writers usually do this in one or more of the following ways:  Through the character’s actions and speech
 Through what the characters say to each other
 Through the thoughts and feelings of the characters
 By the way the writer describes the character’s appearance
Use the above to help you answer the following questions.
1. In what way does Dahl present Mary Maloney’s character in Part I?
For example: “She took his coat and hung it in the closet.” Dahl presents Mary as a
devoted wife through her actions.
a. ___________________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________________
2. Look again at LOTS question #1. How is this characterization important?
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Part II: lines 124-185
Vocabulary
A. Write the word in front of its definition.
word
extraordinary
detective
murderer
peculiar
brightly
definition
: to practice
: strange
: happily
: to cover with paper
: unusual
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rehearse
wrap
: a person who tries to solve crimes
: killer
B. Here are the clues. Can you find the words they describe?
1. To refuse to accept (line 124) - ________________
2. Came into her mind (line 125) - _________________
3. The last meal of the day (line 129) - ________________
4. Opening and shutting your eyes quickly (line 157) - __________________
5. Very silly or unreasonable (line 157) - _____________________
C. How else could we say this? You may translate the words first if that helps.
instinct
club
Plot review… Put the events in the correct order.
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
Patrick tells Mary not to make supper for him.
Mary finds a leg of lamb in the cabinet.
Patrick breaks the news to Mary.
Patrick is dead.
Mary hits Patrick with the leg of lamb.
Mary goes down to the cellar
LOTS: Answer the following questions
1.
What is Patrick going to do for her?
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2.
Why does Mary go ahead to make supper after all?
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3.
What are Patrick's plans for the rest of the evening?
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4.
Mary is sitting in front of the mirror with makeup on. What does she do now?
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HOTS: Answer the following questions in relation to the text.
1. How does Mary react to her husband's news?
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2. Describe how Mary's character develops in Part II. What type of characterization does
Dahl use in this part?
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3. Do you think Mary planned to kill her husband with the leg of lamb? Why or why not?
Base your answer on the text.
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Part III: lines 188-330
Vocabulary
A. Find the word in the text that has the same meaning.
1. cried (line 268) - ________________
2. arrive quickly (line 270) - ________________
3. ‫( טביעות אצבע‬line 288) - __________________
4. dead body (line 307) - __________________
5. very unusually (line 308) - _________________
6. from time to time (line 323) - ________________
7. ‫( כלי נשק‬line 326) - ___________________
B. Complete the cloze with words from A above. You may need to change the
form of a word.
Yesterday, there was a murder in the house next door. I saw my neighbor
________________ outside her house, saying she found her husband's
______________ on the kitchen floor. The police took some
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____________________ and looked for the murder _______________ all around
the house.
C. Write the word in front of its definition.
word
to wrap
frantic
grief
to kneel
congealed
on the premises
definition
: cooled into a solid
: to get down on one's knees
: to cover with paper
: wild with fear or anxiety
: in or at where you are
: great sadness
LOTS: Answer the following questions
1.
Describe how Mary creates her alibi:
a. at her house after the murder:
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b. at the grocery shop:
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c. when she comes back:
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2.
How do the policemen treat her? Why?
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3.
Do the policemen know how Patrick was killed?
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4.
What primarily are they looking for?
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HOTS: Inferring
To infer is similar to guess. It’s how we understand something without having it clearly
stated – in other words “reading between the lines.”
1. What can we infer about Mary’s character up to now?
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2. What do you infer from Mary Maloney’s visit to the grocer's? Explain.
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3. What can be inferred about the policemen's feeling towards Mrs. Maloney? Do you
think they will suspect her?
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Part IV: lines 333-430
Vocabulary
A. Find the word in the text that has the same meaning.
1. wrench (line 335) - __________________
2. losing patience, fed up (line 349) - __________________
3. comforting (line 368) - __________________
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4. treatment of guests who visit us (line 390) - __________________
B. Complete the sentences with one of the words in the wordbox. You may need to
change the form of a word.
hesitating, thick, ought to be, belched, giggle
1. “I don't know why I'm so shy,” the child said ____________________ .
2. Many people think that if you ____________________ , you should say, “Excuse me”.
3. Often, what ____________________ done is not what happens.
4. He cut ____________________ slices of bread and spread them with butter and jam.
5. Although they succeeded in not laughing out loud, they could not help _____________ .
LOTS: Answer the following questions
1. Why do the policemen break the rules and have a drink?
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_______________________________________________________________
2. What does one of the policemen suddenly notice?
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3. What does Mary Maloney convince them to do? Why is this a smart move?
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4. What do the policemen think the murder weapon is?
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5. Where do they think they will find it?
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Literary Term - Irony
The policemen definitely had 'food for thought'.
A. Definition of Irony - “Irony occurs when reality is different from what seems to
be true. The effect is usually amusing.”
There are usually three kinds of irony in literary texts.

Verbal Irony – when someone says something but means the opposite.
For example: When someone says “It’s a fine day for a picnic,” and it’s
pouring with rain.

Situational Irony – when a situation is the opposite of what we would
expect. For example: The shoemaker’s children go barefoot.

Dramatic Irony – when the audience/reader is aware of something the
character is not.
(Definitions from Literature for 5 points ECB 2010)
B. Look at the two pictures below. What types of irony do these pictures
represent?
T
C. Irony in “Lamb to the Slaughter”
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1. Give two examples of each type of irony.
Verbal:
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Situational:
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Dramatic:
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2. Is the title of the story ironic? If so, state the type and explain the irony.
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3. Who do you think the lamb is? Explain why.
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Analysis and Interpretation: Answer the following questions.
1. Why do you think Patrick wants to end his marriage? Explain.
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2. What do you infer from Mary’s final giggle and what do you think it adds to the
story? Explain.
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3. Do you think Mary will ever be caught? Explain why or why not.
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4. Why is this story humorous even though it is about a murder?
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Bridging Text and Context
Here are two quotes attributed to Roald Dahl. Relate each one to the story. Each answer
should be 80-100 words.
QUOTE #1: "Watch with glittery eyes the whole world around you because the
greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places."
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QUOTE #2: “I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers, to become
comfortable with a book, not daunted. Books shouldn't be daunting, they should be
funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific
advantage.”
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Post- Reading Activity
There is a choice of five tasks.
In the end, he didn’t know 'what hit him'.
1.Mary Maloney is overcome by guilt. Write her letter of confession. (at least 80 words)
2. Construct a puppet or draw a picture of Mary Maloney, Patrick Maloney, or Jack
Noonan. Discuss your puppet or picture. (at least 80 words)
3. The police decide to try (have a trial) Mary Maloney for the murder of her husband. Act
out all or part of the court case. Possible participants: lawyer for the prosecution, lawyer
for the defense, Mary Maloney, witnesses. (at least 3 minutes per participant) You can also
have a journalist who reports on the proceedings either via a written article or oral news
report. (at least 80 words or 3 minutes)
4. The police have to write case reports of all incidents. Write the case report for this
murder. (at least 80 words)
5. Make a movie of a scene from the story. Include an explanation of why you chose this
scene. (at least 3 spoken minutes per participant)
Your post-reading task is due on _____________________________________.
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