Lamb to the Slaughter

by Roald Dahl

Lamb to the Slaughter: Setting 1 key example

Definition of Setting

Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:

“Lamb to the Slaughter” is set in the mid-20th century, most likely somewhere in the United Kingdom (where Dahl was from and where many of his stories were set). Most of the story takes place inside the Maloney home, apart from one scene at a nearby grocery store. Dahl opens the story with the following passage that sets the scene in the Maloney home:

The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight—hers and the one by the empty chair opposite. On the sideboard behind her, two tall glasses, soda water, whisky. Fresh ice cubes in the Thermos bucket. Mary Maloney was waiting for her husband to come home from work.