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The Landlady Suspense Analysis

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Clearly, there are many astonishing strange and mysterious stories out there, but not all of them are miraculous enough to be considered a true mysterious story. Specifically, in the story “The Landlady,” when Billy was looking for a place to stay, the bed and breakfast galvanized him. When he entered, the landlady was what he thought was nice, even though she was seemed really weird to the reader. Billy never noticed the weird actions the landlady made and when the landlady finally got the chance, she killed him. Roald Dahl used many elements in the story to create suspense and make readers wonder what would happen to Billy next. Undoubtedly, if teachers had to pick one strange and mysterious book for next year, it should definitely be “The Landlady” because it creates suspense through foreshadowing, atmosphere, and point of view. Primarily, the clues hinted to Billy and the reader created suspense and made readers make inferences. After Billy entered the house, he noticed that were no people in the house except …show more content…

When Billy first sees the bed and breakfast, it seems as that it was a nice and cozy place. It made him think what could be better than a safe and comfy house. After Billy looks through the windows of the bed and breakfast, he notices that there is “a bright fire burning in the hearth. On the carpet in front of the fire, a pretty little dachshund was curled up asleep with its nose tucked into its belly. The room itself, so far as he could see in the half darkness, was filled with pleasant furniture” (Dahl 1). The sight Billy saw made feel more impervious. Since, it was closer and comfier than the bell and dragon, Billy decided to go in. Unfortunately, as the readers find out more about the landlady, they discovered that the atmosphere of the bed and breakfast was all a lie. It made them wonder if the comfy house was all a

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The first thing is the sign on the door, which for some reason Billy finds incredibly enticing and it draws him into the bed and breakfast. He notices the lettering “ It said BED AND BREAKFAST” (107) this is an important thing, as it is what draws Billy into her trap. She is very welcoming to Billy, like in the first scene when he walks up to the bed and breakfast and rings the doorbell. This is followed by an almost instantaneous reaction of the landlady opening the door and she says “Please come in” (108)in a very friendly manner.

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The Landlady by Roald Dahl is a short story about a young man, called Billy Weaver, who is on a business trip in a little English town called Bath. Unfortunately, he arrives at the wrong place and that might involve getting him into trouble. In Roald Dahl’s short story ‘The Landlady, the author uses foreshadowing, characterisation, and irony to convey the idea that one should not take things as they seem. First of all, the author uses many examples of foreshadowing in the Landlady.

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