The Landlady
The Landlady
In ‘The Landlady’, by Roald Dahl, the main character, Billy Weaver, fails to realise that something sinister is happening all the time around him. With Dahl’s highly effective use of techniques such as characterisation and imagery, he gives the reader several clues that Billy is heading towards this own downfall, but does not realise this.
The short story is set in Bath where Billy goes to on a business trip. Once Billy arrives he immediately seeks accommodation and is told about the Bell and Dragon. On the way here Billy comes across a B&B at the corner of his eye and makes up his mind to stay here. Throughout the rest of the story, Roald Dahl uses effective techniques to illustrate that the landlady is up to something and that something sinister is going to happen to Billy.
We are introduced to the character of Billy Weaver and quickly see a young seventeen young man with inexperience in the world. Roald Dahl presents this through Billy’s personality and reactions throughout the story;
‘To be perfectly honest, he was a tiny bit frightened of them’
Here we are introduced to the sense that something sinister is about to happen as we feel as though Billy will be drawn in and cannot help himself. When we read on, the author continues to describe Billy’s innocence. As the story builds up towards the end, Dahl’s words start to become more obvious and you suddenly realise that Billy is in danger. Dahl continues to use imagery to show the sense of Billy been drawn in by the sign of the B&B when he writes;
‘Each word was like a large black eye staring at him through the glass’
This imagery is effective as it personifies the sign making it seem alive with danger, actively seeking a victim which young Billy will soon become. This is continued in the authors word choice, ‘compelling, holding and forcing,’ this list of incredibly violent verbs creates a sense of intimidation. As the reader we see that Billy is powerless and has been
In ‘The Landlady’, by Roald Dahl, the main character, Billy Weaver, fails to realise that something sinister is happening all the time around him. With Dahl’s highly effective use of techniques such as characterisation and imagery, he gives the reader several clues that Billy is heading towards this own downfall, but does not realise this.
The short story is set in Bath where Billy goes to on a business trip. Once Billy arrives he immediately seeks accommodation and is told about the Bell and Dragon. On the way here Billy comes across a B&B at the corner of his eye and makes up his mind to stay here. Throughout the rest of the story, Roald Dahl uses effective techniques to illustrate that the landlady is up to something and that something sinister is going to happen to Billy.
We are introduced to the character of Billy Weaver and quickly see a young seventeen young man with inexperience in the world. Roald Dahl presents this through Billy’s personality and reactions throughout the story;
‘To be perfectly honest, he was a tiny bit frightened of them’
Here we are introduced to the sense that something sinister is about to happen as we feel as though Billy will be drawn in and cannot help himself. When we read on, the author continues to describe Billy’s innocence. As the story builds up towards the end, Dahl’s words start to become more obvious and you suddenly realise that Billy is in danger. Dahl continues to use imagery to show the sense of Billy been drawn in by the sign of the B&B when he writes;
‘Each word was like a large black eye staring at him through the glass’
This imagery is effective as it personifies the sign making it seem alive with danger, actively seeking a victim which young Billy will soon become. This is continued in the authors word choice, ‘compelling, holding and forcing,’ this list of incredibly violent verbs creates a sense of intimidation. As the reader we see that Billy is powerless and has been