Building Suspense
When author's choose to build suspense by slowing down the action and making readers wait.
What are delays?
Dahl creates suspense when Mary rehearses this over and over before going to the store.
What is her alibi (or story)?
Suspense begins when Mr. Steward tells Norma and Arthur that pressing the button will do this.
What is cause someone they don’t know to die (and they’ll receive $50,000)?
The sound that grows louder and louder after the murder symbolizes the narrator’s guilt.
What is the beating of the old man’s heart?
This story's setting is during this tense moment, which increases the suspense.
What is a civil war (or political rebellion)?
Suspense grows in a story when writers include this type of struggle.
The biggest twist in the story happens when Mary uses this unusual object as a weapon.
What is a frozen leg of lamb?
The author builds suspense by keeping this key detail a mystery until the end.
What is who will die when the button is pressed?
The narrator says he loves the old man but kills him because of this physical feature.
What is his “vulture eye”?
The barber’s internal conflict is deciding whether to do this while shaving Captain Torres.
What is kill him or let him live?
Writers use fear of the unknown to increase suspense in the story by...
What is hiding information to create mystery?
The final moment of irony occurs when the detectives do this while discussing the murder weapon.
What is eat the leg of lamb?
Norma's internal conflict in the story is between...
What is her temptation for money VS. her sense of right and wrong (or her conscience)/her husband's wishes?
When the narrator confesses in front of the police, we reach the part of the story plot.
What is the climax?
This type of irony is shown when Captain Torres reveals he already knew the barber’s secret.
What is situational irony?
What is foreshadowing?
This literary device is used when the reader knows Mary killed her husband, but the police do not.
What is dramatic irony?
The main external conflict is between
What are the two main characters who disagree about pressing the button: Norma and her husband, Arthur Lewis?
When the narrator tells the story from his own point of view, Poe is using this type of narration.
What is first-person point of view?
By choosing not to kill Torres, the barber shows he values this more than revenge.
What is his honor (or his professional ethics / conscience)?
Dramatic irony is a suspense building tactic used by writers. It is when...
What is when we can see the danger coming but the characters do not?
The story’s title, “Lamb to the Slaughter,” is an example of this literary device because it has a double meaning.
What is a pun (or double entendre)?
This type of irony occurs when Norma thinks she’s killing a stranger, but the victim turns out to be her husband.
What is situational irony?
Poe uses short sentences and repetition to make the reader feel this emotion.
What is anxiety (or tension, fear, or panic)?
The story’s title, “Lather and Nothing Else,” suggests that the barber ultimately chooses this.
What is to remain only a barber (and not a murderer)?