Structure

The short story “The Lamb” by Andrea Carter has a non-linear, non-chronological plot structure. Most of the events in the story are presented as the narrator’s flashbacks, as she revisits several places in her home town, remembering what happened 32 years ago.

The short story begins in medias res, as we are instantly told about something being repressed for years: “It has been put away for so long, there are times when I wonder if it really happened. Other memories have accumulated and a skin has formed, but that skin is easily pricked and the shame seeps through.” (ll. 1-2). This opening catches our attention and hints at the narrator’s guilt which will only be fully revealed in the ending.

The main events of the story are revealed to us as part of a flashback (ll. 54-103). ...