SWEET REVENGE

THE PERFECT MURDER UNIT

PART 1
This short packet was created to insist students with understanding perspectives. During a
murder it is better to understand the killer motives first hand then through third person.
Students learn best through practice. This packet incorporates reading and writing to meet
the high demands of the Common Core. Overall this is a pre-reading packet for those
who will be starting Lamb to the Slaughter.

Step 1: Students complete the Anticipation Guide. Students can discuss in small groups
why they selecting those two as there top priorities.

Step 2: Lesson on 1st person Point of View. I did a very short T-chart for students to
differentiate third person and 1st person point of view. Students completed the 1st person
point of view using the notes in the packet.

Step 3: Students read the story and annotate the story as the 1st read. The 2nd read students
answer questions regarding specific paragraphs and details in the text.

Step 4: Students write their own perfect murder stories. The best one will be selected for
a read aloud on Halloween.

THE PERFECT MURDER UNIT

PART II
Step 5: Lamb to the Slaughter story, comprehension questions and task cards.

Step 6: Comparison and contrasting of Lamb to the Slaughter with the story in my packet
“The Sweet Revenge” in an essay format.

Full Name
Period
Date
The Perfect Murder Unit
Part I

Focus: 1ST Person Point of View

Anticipation Guide:
The Perfect Murder
 Solid Alibi
 Set up like an accident
 No DNA evidence at the scene
  No witnesses to identify the murderer

Select two that you feel are the most important to have when setting up the perfect murder.

1ST Person Point of View

 Uses the pronouns “I”, “Me”, “My” and “We” to tell the story.
 The reader knows exactly what’s going on as it happens from the main characters own
eyes.
 The reader knows the thoughts, feelings and motivation surrounding the narrator.

Sweet Revenge
1
Night embraced me ever so slowly. I knew not, how I did it so smoothly. Why me? How
did I become cold enough to carry out such a plan? I am a mother not a killer. But revenge lay
quietly on the tip of my tongue. I had no choice but to consume it. Become one with my fate. My
fate was to end his life on this night. He was alone in his home not a witness in sight. My smith
and western had a silencer so I know I would not be heard. This man whose house I am in knows
no pain like mines. But, when you kidnap two young girls without hesitation you deserve to feel
pain. I knew revenge was best served cold. So, I waited until he was sound asleep. I slid the door
open. Immediately he sat up and looked in my bloodshot eyes. I shot him straight in the temple. It
was a through and through shot that only took a second. The vibrations escaped my limb body.
Silence, pulse, silence, pulse, silence no pulse.
2
How dare me, me Ms. Jackson, mother of two-want peace of mind. Do I deserve peace
of mind? Did I deserve for my little girls to vanish on that Autumn Sunday? No! Deserve or not
does not matter in this world. Bad things happen to good people the old folks sat. But, I am
changing that. Bad things will happen to bad people who deserve bad things to chew them up and
spit them out. Am I sane you may ask? Am I sane you may wonder? The two are quite
intertwined like webs in my mind. We were normal my husband, my twin daughters and I. Our
lives were picture perfect. Then all at once I lost my daughters and was filing for a divorce. I shot
him once more at close range in the heart. If I could see my daughters one more time. Tears
flowed down my cheeks as the vibrations from the gun escaped me one last time.
3
My gloves still on, I let him flop down on the bed. I checked still no pulse. I slid him out
and orchestrated the scene to look like a robbery. Breaking News in the morning will call it a
robbery and I will call it payback. It was sweet revenge. My daughters were my angels. They
were pure, young and so easily fooled. This man lured them in using a fluffy white Maltese with
a wounded leg. He got them close and then pulled them into his truck. The babysitter was sound
asleep. I was at work and my husband was down the street. He missed them by a few minutes.
It’s his fault! It’s my fault! We were supposed to protect them and we failed. I shook the lifeless
body with all my strength. My alarm began ringing it was time to leave this awful place. Day is
approaching, running beside me.
4
I got in the car and drove away. I went to an abandoned barn and burned the car to get
rid of the remaining evidence. I switched cars and smiled at my dust. My passport tucked in my
hoodie pocket I head to Mexico. It is time for me to have a peaceful vacation. I can let the wind
sing as my hair flows to its tempo. All I could think was about the blood now on my hands. Then
I realized, sometimes people should not touch things that do not belong to them. They should not
take what is not theirs. If someone chooses to touch somebody that does not belong to him or her
they will get burned. That means the consequence could be their life. Now I am free. I can
breathe without weeping. I am as I always should be a flame. I am an untouchable flame.

Paragraph 1 Comprehension Questions

1. Which sentence foreshadows that the narrator felt guilty about her decision to kill the
man?
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2. What does the following sentences means?

But revenge lay quietly on the tip of my tongue. I had no choice but to consume it.

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3. What statement in the text supports that the narrator feels that her actions were fair?
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Paragraph 2-3 Comprehension Questions

4. What statement in the text shows the narrator felt proud about her decision?
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5. What conflict type is illustrated throughout the story so far? Cite textual evidence to
support your conclusion.
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6. Underline two examples of figurative language used in the text.
7. Plot out the story so far using the plot diagram organizer.

Paragraph 4 Comprehension Questions

8. What is the tone at the end of the story? Did the tone change or remain constant
throughout the story.
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9. How would the story be different if it was written in 3 rd person point of view?
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10. What is the life lesson that is being conveyed at the conclusion of the story?
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11. Do you believe the narrator committed the perfect crime? Why or Why not? Use details
from the text to support your answer.
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Extension
In a three-paragraph essay, describe the perfect crime. Include at least five
examples of figurative language to make the story more descriptive and exciting.
The story must be told in the 1st person.