ENG1DB Persuasive Paragraph Example #1
Topic Prompt:
Who is the mostsinister character in the short story, “Lamb to the Slaughter”, by Roald Dahl?
(Topic ‘Hook’)An unassuming woman sits quietly bent over her sewing in a warm, clean room, awaiting the arrival of her husband. Initially she is described as a devoted wife and an expectant mother, but what readers are unable to anticipate is that she is also a heartless villain who is capable of cold-blooded murder. (Thesis Statement) In the riveting short story, Lamb to the Slaughter, by Roald Dahl, Mary Malone, a deceitful housewife who gets away with her husband’s murder, is undeniably the most sinister character. (Point #1)First, Dahl openly defies readers’ expectations through his unique characterization of Mary Malone, as she is first depicted as an innocent, doting wife,a mere archetype of traditional womanhood and femininity, only to suddenly be revealedas an extremely vengeful and violent individual,capable of murdering her husband and covering up her horrible crime.(Proof #1)Characterization is effectively employed by Dahl as a key literary technique in order to highlight Mary Malone’s sinister nature, proven in the short story when the narrator describes her actions matter-of-factly, stating, “…Mary Malone simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head.” (Dahl 2). (Analysis #1) Through its blunt narration, this quotation effectively reflects Mary Malone’s callousness as she kills her husband without a second thought or a moment’s hesitation, therefore emphasizing her role as a genuinely sinister character within the story. (Point #2)Next, Roald Dahl also thoughtfully employs character development as a strategy within the text in order to shape and change Mary Malone from a seemingly innocent woman whose husband is abandoning her and her unborn child into that of a deranged killer who giggles gleefully at her own cunning plan to destroy the murder weapon. (Proof #2)This distinct and sinister character development is made apparent through a comparison between the moment when Mary’s husband first tells her that he is leaving her, and she is thrust into a state of helpless disbelief, to when she wittingly plots her deceitful cover-up, eventually relishing in her success with muffled giggles. When she initially receives the devastating news from her husband, Mary “…couldn’t feel her feet touching the floor. She couldn’t feel anything at all – except a slight nausea and a desire to vomit”, however, she hastily composes herself after she kills her husband described in the text when the narrator states, “She carried the meat into the kitchen, placed it in a pan, turned the oven on high, and shoved it inside. Then she washed her hands and ran upstairs to the bedroom. She sat down before the mirror, tidied her face, touched up her lips and face. She tried a smile. It came out rather peculiar. She tried again” (Dahl 2). (Analysis #2)As a result, Mary Malone changes from victim to assailant, which effectively reinforces her dark nature, andpositions her as a sinister force to be reckoned with in the story. (Concluding sentences with restated thesis in different words)Finally, as acclaimed fiction author, Patrick Williams, once said, “Often it is the characters who seem the most innocent at the beginning of a story that end up being the most frighteningby the end”, which is undeniably true of Mary Malone’s character in Roald Dahl’s, Lamb to the Slaughter(Williams WritersWords.com). Consequently, after a careful examination of Mary Malone’s characterization and character development within the text, it is indisputable that Dahl portrays her as a sinister character who shows no emotion in the story beyond her final menacing giggle, which ultimately adds to readers’ horror and the unsettling tone of the story.