Lamb to the Slaughter, by Roald Dahl, instantly grabs the reader's attention with its grotesque title, leading to someone's downfall or failure. The adage “lamb to the slaughter” generally refers to an innocent person who is ignorantly led to failure. This particular short story describes a betrayal in which a woman brutally kills her husband after he tells her he wants a divorce. She then persuades the police officers who rush to the scene to consume the evidence. This action and Patrick's actions show the theme of betrayal throughout the story which Roald Dahl depicts through the use of point of view, symbolism and dark humor. One of the most important styles Dahl uses to highlight the betrayal throughout the story is point of view. The point of view of the story is told in the third person, meaning the reader can only read the thoughts of one character. This character was Mary Maloney, the main character and wife of Patrick Maloney. Hearing only one character's perspective on events can make readers' opinions biased, meaning that the feelings they have towards the characters come from Mary Maloney's influence. Readers don't know what Patrick Maloney is thinking, so it is difficult for readers to sympathize with him at the beginning of the story when he tells Mary he wants a divorce (Dahl). As one critic stated, readers are unable to see into his mind, he is immediately marked as the antagonist (Bertonneau). Another critic thought that not knowing his motives made his actions inexcusable. Another point of view of the story could be that of a woman. A woman reading Lamb to the Slaughter would most likely side with Mary Maloney. Dahl begins the story by describing Mary's behavior before her husband's arrival. She is sitting... in the middle of a sheet... good written example of betrayal written with effective writing styles that draw the reader in and make for enjoyable reading. Works Cited Bertonneau, Thomas. “A preview of “The Lamb to the Slaughter.” » Short stories for students. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Information Resource Center. Internet. January 30, 2014. Dahl, Roald. “Lamb to the slaughter.” Lamb to the Slaughter and Other Stories. London: Penguin, 1995. N. pag. Print. Levi, Claudia. “Roald Dahl: Overview.” Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literary Resource Center. Internet. January 30, 2014. Piedmont-Marton, Elisabeth. “A preview of “The Lamb to the Slaughter.” » Short stories for students. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Information Resource Center. Internet. January 30, 2014.Warren, Alan. “Roald Dahl: Wicked, Wicked.” Discovering the authors. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Internet. January 30. 2014.