Lamb to the Slaughter, by Roald Dahl, immediately attracts the reader's attention with its grotesque title, causing someone to fall or fail. The saying “lamb to the slaughter” usually refers to an innocent person who has been ignorantly led to his own failure. This particular tale describes a betrayal in which a woman brutally kills her husband after he tells her he wants a divorce. He then convinces the police who rushed to the scene to consume the evidence. This action and Patrick's actions show the theme of betrayal throughout the story which Roald Dahl portrays through the use of point of view, symbolism, and dark humor. One of the most important styles Dahl uses to highlight betrayal throughout the story is point of view. The story's point of view is told in third person, meaning the reader can only read one character's thoughts. That character was Mary Maloney, the protagonist and wife of Patrick Maloney. Hearing just one character's view of events can make readers' opinions skewed, 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's hard for readers to sympathize with him at the beginning of the story when he tells Mary he wants a divorce (Dahl). As one critic said, readers are unable to see into his mind, he is immediately marked as the antagonist (Bertonneau). Another critic believed that not knowing his motives made his actions unforgivable. An additional point of view of the story could come from 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 husbands' arrival. She sits... in the center of the paper... an example of betrayal written with effective writing styles that draws the reader in and is an enjoyable read. Works Cited Bertonneau, Thomas. "An overview of “Lamb to the Slaughter”." Short stories for students. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center. Network. January 30, 2014.Dahl, Roald. "Lamb to the slaughter." Lamb to the Slaughter and Other Stories. London: Penguin, 1995. Page no. Print.Levi, Claudia. "Roald Dahl: Overview." Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resource Center. Network. 30 January 2014.Piedmont-Marton, Elisabeth. "An overview of “Lamb to the Slaughter”." Short stories for students. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center. Network. January 30, 2014.Warren, Alan. "Roald Dahl: Ugly, Ugly." Discovering the authors. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Network. January 30. 2014.