"When you're in love, love can make you do crazy things and can take you down a whirlwind road." In the short story "Lamb to the Slaughter", Detective Patrick Maloney is murdered by his devoted wife Mary Maloney, when she is unexpectedly told that her husband has been having an affair and is leaving her. Leaving Mary stunned, she acts without thinking as she impulsively kills him with a leg of lamb. This brings me to the question: Is Mary Maloney a sympathetic character? In the story “The Lamb to the Slaughter,” Mary Maloney is not a sympathetic character because she killed her husband without thinking, giggled as the detectives ate the murder weapon, and acted as if she was remorseful. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Lack of Sympathy: Impulsive Act and Manipulative Behavior of Mary Maloney In the story “Lamb to the Slaughter”, Mary Maloney was not a very sympathetic character because she killed her husband without thinking. After Patrick told his wife he was leaving, Mary "simply came up behind him and without any pause swung the frozen leg of lamb in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his neck." Mary was shocked by how her husband was cheating on her, so she had to react impulsively. This highlights the fact that Mary was not thinking logically when she decided to kill her husband. All in all, the action of killing her husband shows how unlikable a character Mary Maloney can be. Another reason Mary Maloney was not a sympathetic character was because she giggled as the detectives saw the murder weapon. As the investigation drew to a close, Mary offered the detectives "baked lamb." As the detectives eat the lamb, they all seem to agree that the murder weapon is "probably right under our noses." This is important because this is how Mary gets rid of the murder weapon. After investigators say "in the other room, Mary begins to giggle." This would suggest that Mary knew that if she convinced investigators to eat the lamb, her murder weapon would be gone. Mary knew that if the cops didn't find the gun they wouldn't be able to find the killer. For this reason, it is believed that Mary was an unlikable character because she giggled when the detectives ate the murder weapon. There are a few reasons why some might believe that Mary Maloney was a sympathetic character. First and foremost, Mary Maloney was a devoted housewife who devoted all her time to caring for her husband. She was carrying her husband's unborn child, so it was simply illegal for her husband to have an affair with her and even try to leave her. They could also say that she was sad and crying after killing her husband. However, she did not have to kill her husband. When Mary decided to kill her husband, she wasn't thinking about her and her baby's future. She wasn't thinking about what might happen to the baby if she went to prison or something. Patrick also told Mary that he would give her money that would help take care of her and the baby. Killing someone just because they didn't want to be with you anymore is as illegal as cheating. In short, Mary Maloney was not a sympathetic character because she killed her husband without thinking, giggled as the detectives ate the murder weapon, and acted as if she was remorseful. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay List of Dahl References,.