Power Of Words In Roald Dahl's 'The Landlady'

The Landlady to Remember

Dilraj Bilkhu 9-2

Roald Dahl’s peculiar story, “The Landlady” reveals that the way a word is phrased can contrast the emotions that come along with it. Billy Weaver, a seventeen-year old, came all the way from London to become a successful businessman. He had a plan and everything was going to go according to that until, he passed eyes with the peculiar landlady. Nothing was going to go accordingly to the plan now. The landlady was the web and Billy was the one who got caught in it. One very eye catching theme that the story portrays is how sometimes words can be more powerful than actions and you should never cave into the power of words.

In the very beginning, the details in the story show the power of words

The way Roald Dahl uses strong words like “peculiar, compelling, queer,” it adds to the theme of power of words. “And now a queer thing happened to him.” This line shows the sudden change of tone that the reader will experience. The power of words not only happens in the story, but the author uses it to help influence the reader. It helps build the emotion of the reader and what they feel about the future at the Bed and

That he has goals and he will fulfill them. Nothing can stop Billy Weaver from becoming who he wants to be. Then how did he get trapped in the landlady's web? A web in which the landlady’s deception, lies and control over people's mind spin together to catch new prey. He was strong and he knew what he wanted. Why did he walk inside the Bed and Breakfast? Why did he walk right into his end? All because of the power of words. The way words are said and used can have a powerful impact on one's mind and actions- just like the landlady had on Billy Weaver. The more depth and emotion a word has, the more