The Landlady Character Analysis

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.

Horror, what is it, according to literary historian J.A. Cuddon, it is “a piece of fiction in prose of variable length…which shocks or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing.” This sets the guidelines for how the generic horror piece is written, as long as it can scare the reader in one sense or the other, or cause them to loath a certain part or character, then it can be called horror. The horror today has roots stemming from old folklore and religious traditions which had elements that dealt with death, the afterlife, and the demonic, along with the things or thing that embody a person. Horror during the 18th century was called gothic horror and this particular type of horror was invented in the

'The Landlady' is a short story about a young lad called Billy travelling to Bath on a business trip. He arrives in Bath in the evening and looks for accommodation. Bath was an unfamiliar place to Billy so he was unsure of the area. Billy was guided by a porter who recommended the 'Bell and Dragon' because it was close by, but Billy never went. Although the landlady offered cheap prices and cosy surroundings, she changes her attitude towards Billy as the story unfolds. He then realises that this landlady doesn't appear to be all that she seems to be. He begins to become concerned during his stay but never manages to uncover the landlady's secret before she murders the young lad.

Everyone who matures has a family and that family shapes that person into who they come to be. The main character, Esperanza from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, is an excellent example of that; Esperanza is an insecure young Latina girl who is shaped by her family as she grows up. In the novel, Esperanza has the perspective of life from the experience of living in poverty. Esperanza dreams of a perfect home with amazing flowers and enough rooms that everyone in her family would each have one. However, she moves to the house on Mango Street, and reality is so different from what she has dreamt of. She receives a tiny run-down house with bricks that are broken down in numerous places around the house. Throughout the

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.

There are many real life horror stories that drew a lot of attention. There are many movies, books and even songs about those real life time horror events.

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.

When comparing Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” with W.W. Jacobs’ “The Monkey’s Paw”, I find the ‘The Tale Tell Heart” to best represent the horror genre because of the use of the point of view of a crazy person. The narrator’s way of telling the story lets you infer that something bad will happen. The story is so suspenseful because the narrator is a madman who cannot be trusted. The way the author frequently repeats words increases the suspense, makes it sound scarier and more mysterious. In the article “What is a horror genre?” written by Sharon A. Russell, she tells us that our knowledge of a genre creates suspense because we can anticipate what is going to happen (Russell 37). When the narrator mentions that he suffers from a disease

What is a horror? What does it mean to be terrified? The definition of a horror fiction is "fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the reader." Since the 1960s, any work of fiction with a morbid, gruesome, surreal, or exceptionally suspenseful or frightening theme has come to be called "horror" (Wikipedia) . "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a great example of a story on the basic level of a gothic horror, in which the element of fear is evoked in its highest form. There are many different elements, such as setting, feelings, themes, and characters, that play an essential role in suggesting this.

Dialogue such as ‘ His skin was just like a baby’s’ and ‘ I stuff all my little pets myself when they pass away.’ have all foreshadow and indicates landlady’s creepy personality. This is another unique style for characterization. By reading the dialogue, you can be more familiar with the character.

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.

When they first arrive at the colonial house the narrator is happy about the house. It it the most beautiful house as it “stand[s] well back from the road, quite three miles from the village” and it makes her “think of English places that you read about, for there are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little housed for the hardeners and people” (88). She arrives at the house and deems it to be just like the haunted houses society reads about at the time. The house is in some legal troubles over who rightly owns the house, which is why they were able to get the house so cheap. While the narrator wanted to take a room downstairs with a view of the gardens, her husband places her in a room upstairs. She describes the room upstairs as “a big, airy room, the whole floor nearly, with windows that look all ways, and

Within “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl, the theme is that being naive can make one unaware of dangerous situations. Billy Weaver was looking for a decently priced hotel to stay at. However, an old lady offered to take him in for a night at her bed and breakfast. So, the lady welcomed Billy and insisted that he drink a cup of tea that happened to be posioned. Then, Billy slowly sipped the poisonous tea while he questioned the lady. Finally, Billy’s innocence led him to the high risk situation of consuming the toxic tea.

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.

The main characters of The Shack are Mack, Nan, Elousia (God), Jesus, and Sarayu. Mackenzie Allan Phillips is the main protagonist however, his friends and family call him Mack. He is a father of five children and husband to Nan. He has built a wall around him ever since Missy was killed and has found himself in the “Great Sadness”. He has backslid in his faith and his love for Nan isn’t as strong as it used to be before the “Great Sadness”. Nan is the glue that holds the family together she is very faithful to the Lord which she calls “Papa”. She is very strong and helps the family through this hard time. Elousia which means the Creator God who is truly real and the ground of all being or Papa who is portrayed by an African American Woman is the housekeeper and cook of the shack. She helps Mack out of the “Great Sadness” and shows him she isn’t at all like Mack thought she was. Jesus who is portrayed by a Middle Eastern carpenter is very relatable for Mack and helps him to understand about Papa, himself, and Sarayu. Sarayu which means wind is the Holy Spirit and the gardener at the shack. She helps Mack to find joy in this situation.