Suspense In The Landlady By Roald Dahl

The author uses different methods to portray suspense, “the uncertainty or anxiety that an author makes the reader feel so that the reader wonders about what will happen next in the story, novel, or other work of literature”. The story,”The Landlady,” written by Roald Dahl, portrays suspense by making the protagonist, Billy Weaver, encounter many strange and suspicious events with the landlady when he stays at her bed and breakfast. Dahl effectively builds suspense throughout the selection by applying numerous writing techniques such as foreshadowing and imagery.

Suspense is a detail that many horror writer use to catch the attention of many readers and keep them holding on till the end. Just as W.F. Harvey does when creating suspense in his story August Heat. Mr. Harvey used three methods to create his suspense for his story, foreshadowing, withholding information, and reversal. With these three methods he is able to make the reader feel like, “ We may even hold our breath without realizing it as we read on eagerly to find out how the story ends”(Source 1).

Suspense is when the author makes the reader, or audience excited or scared for what might happen in the story, or even what will happen to the character next in the story. Suspense might even be something you see or hear that will make you have questions about what will happen next. If there is a cliffhanger at the end of a story, it will leave you with questions wondering what will happen to the characters next. The mood, tone, setting, emotions of character, sound and sight might affect how the story is suspenseful. We all enjoy watching suspenseful movies and reading stories, because they are exciting. It leaves us with questions that the author won't have the answers to in the end, so the author gives us as the audience, the chance to make up their own ending to the story or movie. The author will give you clues throughout the story, to help you fill in questions you might have in the end. This makes it more exciting for the reader and the audience because we get to engage with the characters in the book or movie. The tv series, Stranger Things, is about 4 kids who have to fight off monsters in a little town in Indiana. This TV show is a great example of suspense, and it shows it effectively because, of Foreshadowing, Dilemma, and Dramatic Irony presented throughout the show. With just using those four examples, Stranger Things is a great example of suspense.

The spooky outdoor setting is made to prepare the reader for the appearance of a cozy indoors, whereas the landlady’s scary features on the inside are covered up by her warm but deceitful personality. She tricks unsuspecting young men with her generous and very motherly personality.

Ever wonder what’s going to happen next in a story? Suspense is that literary element and it’s used in almost all cases of writing. Some authors use a lot of it to build up their stories, others, not so much. Ray Bradbury, an American author and screenwriter was one of those authors who used suspense to build up the tension and develop the plot of his stories. From beginning to end, genre to genre, suspense can be found all over his work. “A Sound of Thunder”, “The Veldt”, and “The Pedestrian” are just three examples of Bradbury’s work where he uses suspense all over the text to keep the reader on the edge of their seat and wondering what’s going to happen next.

The Landlady is mystery story written by Roald Dahl and incorporates lots of foreshadowing. The first foreshadowing I found was when Bill pressed the doorbell and in a second, the Landlady popped out of the door - according to the Landlady text, lines 113- 118. This seems weird because normally you have to wait half- minute before the door opens (lines 119-120) but this seems like she is waiting next to door so someone would show up. Next, one foreshadowing you may have missed was when the Landlady interrupted what Billy was saying and was trying to change the topic, according to lines 363- 373, “Now wait a minute,” he said. “Wait just a minute. Mulholland ... Christopher Mulholland ... wasn’t that the name of the Eton schoolboy who was on a walking-tour through the West Country, and then all of a sudden ...”- Billy Milk?” she said. “And sugar?”- Landlady. She was trying to change the conversation which is pretty weird the reader will start suspecting if the Landlady is hiding something. Furthermore, according to lines 423-424, the Landlady says, "You have the most beautiful

Landlady is a short story by Roald Dahl. The story is about the youthful man, Billy Weaver, who went to the a little city called Bath to carry out his job. Sadly, he gets into the wrong place and that gets him into trouble. The topic refers to a widespread thought or message that keeps running all through out a story. Now we locate various subjects in the story, The Landlady, by Roald Dahl.

As the first paragraph is introduced, Roald Dahl develops an image of Mrs. Patrick Maloney as an idle housewife. Description of the living room reflects

A snarling wolf can be as nice as a loving grandmother, and a cute bunny might actually be a demon in disguise, but you never know until you get to know them. The Landlady, written by Roald Dahl, is a short horror story of a young man named Billy Weaver going to the town of Bath for a business trip. While looking for a place to stay, he finds a seemingly kind, old lady who offers cheap bed and breakfast. While treating Billy to tea at night, the landlady poisons Billy and goes to make him one of her taxidermied collections. Dahl uses foreshadowing, characterization, and irony to examine how innocence can change the way things seem.

“‘Watch out!” screamed Maggie. Suddenly the road took a sharp turn, and a huge oak tree loomed in my headlights”(Shusterman 39). When Neal Shusterman uses suspense it’s usually in a way that would probably end badly. He loves to try and hook the reader with suspense, so then the readers would want to keep reading that same book. As evidence in Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman and “The Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser, suspense can be effectively created through the use of imagery.

Poe and Dahl both create the effect of suspense. The feeling of being uncertain of what may happen next. In "Lamb to the slaughter" Dahl illustrates suspense when Mary Maloney knocks her husband over the head (pg. 4) after she's introduced as a sweet, loving, woman. After she kills

What makes a good feeling of suspense in a story? In many stories, it is the use of dialogue or description, and stories like The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher and The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury are no exception. In The Hitchhiker a man is traveling cross country when a strange man keeps appearing, asking for a ride, while in The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury is about a man who walks every night in the world of 2053, but The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher is overall more suspenseful than The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury because of Fletcher´s use of description, dialogue and imagery. The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury uses dialogue as a technique to create the feeling of suspense.

After living in her world of darkness, Eleanor accepts Dr. Montague’s invitation to research the paranormal perception of Hill House for a summer. Although Eleanor’s feeling is conflicted by the death of her mother, she is extremely contented with the fact that she is freed from her prisoned life. It is time for self-discovery. As she drives up to Hill House, she would joyfully imagine a different her with a different family, in which she would meet many great people and would be enjoying her simple life. Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House incorporates the idea of family into a haunted house. Hill House targets characters who have great desires and weak points. Eleanor, who fits into the description of whom Hill House would target,

Even though the gruesome, ghastly and demonic story known as “The Landlady” ends in a disturbing way, it portrays many characteristics about the protagonist, Billy. There are numerous ways to characterize Billy, a 17-year-old kid on his first business trip in the strange city of Bath, England. Billy begins his journey to a hotel known as the Bell and Dragon but stumbles to a halt when he sees a seemingly cozy bed and breakfast that catches his eye. For a few pages everything seems great; unfortunately for Billy, he has some flaws which ultimately lead to his shocking death at the hands of a demented landlady. These are curiosity, a tendency to miss important clues, and gullibility.

Roald Dahl uses various writing techniques in the horror short story, “The Landlady,” to build suspense, or the uncertainty or anxiety that a reader will feel about what may happen next in a story, novel, or drama. In this short story, the protagonist, Billy Weaver, a young, handsome seventeen-year-old, traveled from London to Bath, due to work, and looks for accommodation. Eventually, he came across a quaint bed and breakfast owned by a landlady who appeared to be generous. The landlady portrayed herself as a kind, innocent soul, but her intentions spoke otherwise. As the tale continued, Billy realizes that things are not what they initially appeared to be at the bed and breakfast. Through the use of foreshadowing and characterization, the author, Roald Dahl, of the horror short story, “The Landlady,” effectively builds suspense for the reader in the thread of the plot.