Lamb to the Slaughter

Characters

Create a ‘Wanted’ poster for either Mary Maloney or her husband Patrick.

Your poster should include:Their name + at least 5 adjectives to sum up their personality (can turn into aliases)

A mugshot picture

Any discernable/distinguishable characteristics

Their crime

‘Witness reports’ – key quotes

Some form of reward and/or warning

Characterisation

Characterisation is the process by which the author reveals the personality of a character.

Characterisation is revealed through direct characterisation and indirect characterisation.

Direct Characterisation tells the audience what the personality of the character is.

Example: “The patient boy and the quiet girl were both well mannered and did not disobey their mother.”Explanation: The author is directly telling the audience the personality of these two children. The boy is “patient” and the girl is “quiet”.

Characterisation

Indirect Characterisation shows things that reveal the personality of the character. There are five different methods of indirect characterisation= S.T.E.A.L!Speech What does the character say? How

does the character speak?

Thoughts What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts and feelings?

Effect of character on others/How others feel about the character

How do other characters feel or behave in reaction to this character?

Actions What does this character do? How does this character behave?

Looks What does this character look like? How does this character dress? Etc.

Method of Characterization

Examples from the text What the examples reveal about the character’s character

Speech

Thoughts

Effect on others—how others behave in reaction to the characterActions

Looks

ThemesDescribe and explain each of these themes in the text,

giving specific examples/details to support your answer:

Survival / Coping mechanisms

Appearance versus reality – When a character appears to be something they are not (e.g. Mary appears to be nice, but actually she is a murderer). Often shown through dramatic irony (when the audience knows something that the other characters do not).

Loss – Losing something or someone important to you. In the story types of loss include: loss of innocence, loss of life/love/husband, loss of sanity, potential loss of freedom/baby

Features/Techniques

Key features of short stories include:‘Slice of life’

Twist endings

Left to draw your own conclusions

Some of the key techniques used in this story include:

Dialogue

Stream of consciousness / Third person limited narrative POV

Short sentences

Find at least 3 examples of each of these techniques in the text.