Lamb To The Slaughter

      As a writer, I love looking back on old works for inspiration. The other day, however, I may have stumbled too far back. I came across an essay I wrote in seventh grade, and 12-year-old me had a lot to say, apparently. I had been assigned to write about Lamb to the Slaughter, a short story I had read in English class. 

Reading it now is objectively a little funny. The punctuation is questionable. I repeat words for emphasis. I make some extremely confident claims. I literally write, “wait for it…society!” And I somehow managed to work “How obnoxious and self-centered can this guy get!” into an academic essay.

Underneath that, however, I can recognize my current self in this girl. Someone who’s passionate and who generally cares. 

She wasn’t overthinking what she was writing or trying to figure out what would impress her teacher; she was asking questions, challenging the characters, and being herself 

For that reason, I’m choosing to leave this essay exactly as it is.

  Society's Standards

Imagine living in a world in which your only identity is your gender. In which people see you as one thing, and nothing more. In which people tell you what you are supposed to do, what you are supposed to be, because of your gender. What do you do? I know what you’re going to say, you’re going to say “stop imagining!” But in this, you can’t stop imagining. This is real. Stereotyping happens commonly in the world we live in! I know it might be surprising to hear, but bias comes in many ways, shapes, and forms. People can insult you, categorize you, and tell you what to be, based on gender. It isn’t only gender though, it also affects sexuality, race, ethnicity, nationality, body, and much more! A lot of privileged people judge us based on these things, and discriminate against many innocent people because of unrelated characteristics. We shouldn’t let it get to us though. In the short story, Lamb to the Slaughter, society’s standards about gender roles influence the characters’ perspective, and how they view the world. This plays a big part in the characters’ actions and the decisions they make. 

Because Mrs. Maloney is a female, and society expects females to only be wives and mothers, Mary Maloney feels like she has to obtain the image of the perfect housewife. Mary Maloney has always had to be selfless because she was a woman, if people even think a part of her isn't selfless, she will be known as “disagreeable,” while nobody would say anything to a male. Mary Maloney cares very, very, very, much about being a wife, but her perspective shifts pretty early in the story, when Mr. Maloney says that he has to leave her. Because she is focused on being a housewife, she is crushed when Mr. Maloney says that he is leaving her, for that was her whole world. This is probably what led her to killing him, because he pretty much blew up everything she knew. Right after Mr. Maloney tells her he has to leave, Mary Maloney says that she can’t feel anything, almost like Mr. Maloney took all of her emotions. “She couldn't feel anything except a slight nausea and a desire to vomit.”(Pg. 5) I’m starting to realize how much being a woman affected Mrs. Maloney. Because the only part of her identity was being a wife, it was a bigger deal when he left her. Another example of how being a woman affects her everyday life a lot, is how she constantly has to be selfless. Even after she kills her husband, she thinks about what that will mean for her unborn baby. “She knew what the penalty would be. That was fine. On the other hand, what about the baby? What were the laws about murderers with unborn children? Mrs. Maloney didn’t know and she certainly wasn’t prepared to find out.”(Pg. 6) When Mrs. Maloney says that “It made no difference” it immediately made me think of her entire world being destroyed. She’s saying her living without her husband and her being killed have no difference, which truly shows just how affected she was by her husband wanting to leave her. An idea this gives me, is that maybe she isn’t as upset by her husband dying, as she is by the fact that her husband was going to leave her. She seemed rather upset when he told her he had to leave, but seemed sort of unfazed when she killed him. Maybe it was like a defense mechanism, she’d rather have her husband dead than have wanted to leave her. 

Because Mr. Maloney is a male, he has more to his identity than being a husband. He is able to have a job, a political opinion, his own money. Because society keeps telling him he can do all these things and be all these things, he starts to think that the only thing he has to care about is himself, and the things that affect him. He starts to see the world as a place where he can go through life only caring about things that are beneficial to himself. He isn’t forced to be selfless like Mrs. Maloney is, so he thinks he can go through life doing selfish things and making selfish decisions without receiving any backlash which, let's face it, was true for that time! And a lot of people still believe that to this day! One example supporting my idea about his perspective is when he tells her that he has to leave her. Mr. Maloney doesn’t seem very sorry in the text, and seems to just feel aggravated and not want to put up with her sorrows. “I hope you won’t make a fuss. It wouldn’t be good for the job.”(Pg. 4) Even after he made a major impact on Mrs. Maloney’s life, one that will affect her for years on, he is still thinking about himself! How obnoxious and self centered can this guy get! Another detail that I noticed is when he is trying to “comfort” her...in his own way. “Of course I'll give you money!”(Pg. 4) This detail relates to another detail, one with a similar message. “I know it’s sort of a bad time…”(Pg. 4) These two pieces of evidence are both implicitly saying the same thing; he thinks he can just throw some money in her face, offer his “condolences”, and walk away without ever being affected by Mrs. Maloney and his unborn child again! It’s inhuman! He probably thinks he can do all these things because he is a male! (though he can do those things because he is a male.) But, to be fair, that’s not the only reason. The real reason is...wait for it...society! Society tells us what’s good, what’s bad, and what certain people should be. But it’s not entirely society's fault! After all, we are the ones who choose to believe the messages! It can start with an untrue belief and turn into a recurring misconception! Society has a strong hold over us, because we are constantly affected by our peers.

These two perspectives are very similar in some ways, and very different in others. They are both caused by misconceptions about gender, But both have very different results because of the same reason. They have the same cause but a different effect. One thing I've been wondering is what would happen if the genders were switched? If the female left the male? What I think would happen is the female might not have left the male, because it’s hard to start over when a huge part of your identity is missing. Think about it, you have spent a huge part of your life being a wife, and that being your one job. Now, you have to find a house, food, and a way to pay for it all! It’s so much easier for a male to leave a female and not be affected. Even if she did break up with the male, it would affect the male, but not as much as it affected the female, because he would have more to his identity, more to himself then being a husband. This story is a great representation of what a big impact society's beliefs can have on us. It can really teach us to make sure that untrue misconceptions don’t change the way we think, our actions, and how we view the world. Society may never change its beliefs, but as long as we don’t let it bother us, and keep on living our lives, we may be able to be who we want to be, without stereotypes in the way.  

Reading this back, I see plenty (and I’m sure you do too) that I would change. I would make my argument more nuanced, reread for repetition, and definitely tell myself that there’s never a need for three “verys” in a row. I don’t want to change this essay, however, because it’s a record that preserves who I was. This essay shows my journey as a writer. While I may not have had the talent at 12, I had the love, and that’s what matters.