We don't have room here for me to cover them all, but I will get you started.
Internal conflict is best shown in Mary. She is at war with herself when she finds out her happy home is not happy and about to disappear all together. She solves this conflict by killing her husband. Then she has to figure out how to hide the evidence, also an internal conflict.
The external conflicts are Mary vs. her husband and Mary vs. the police. In both situations, Mary must defend herself against what she views as an attack. When her husband says he is leaving, she fights back by killing him. When the police arrive to investigate, she fights back by deceiving them.
A metaphor in this story is in the title itself. Mary is a lamb due for slaughter - her happiness is slaughtered by her husband, even though she is innocent. The lamb that she uses to kill her husband is a metaphor for herself.
The tension in this story comes from dramatic irony - we as readers know that Mary is guilty, and are concerned that the police will find out. We also know that the police are eating the murder weapon, even as they discuss what the murder weapon is - more tension and more irony.
No comments:
Post a Comment