Lamb to the Slaughter

281 Words2 Pages
Lost in Insanity In the short story, “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl it is clear that Mary Maloney is temporarily insane. First, Mary Maloney is so devastated that her perception of reality is lost. After Patrick spoke, “Her first instinct was not to believe any of it, to reject it all. It occurred to her that perhaps he hadn’t even spoken, that she herself had imagined the whole thing” (Dahl 13). Mary Maloney is not able to judge right from wrong as she is blocking out reality, which results in her being temporarily insane. Second, she does not have to feign her shock for her husband’s death. As Mary sees her husband lying lifeless, “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. It was easy. No acting was necessary” (13). Mary Maloney acts in the heat of the moment when she kills Patrick and becomes emotionally unstable as she sees his body on the ground when she returns home, which is contraire to what a coldblooded killer would do. Finally, Mary Maloney is not in control of her actions. Going down the stairs, “She couldn’t feel anything at all- except a slight nausea and a desire to vomit. Everything was automatic now” (13). The word automatic implies that Mary Maloney acts out of character and is not responsible for her actions, and therefore is lost in insanity. In conclusion, Mary Maloney is temporarily insane because she loses her perception of reality, does not feign her shock for Patrick’s death, and is not in control of her
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