Analysis Of Land Lady By Roald Dahl

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Women are often portrayed as fragile and vulnerable in literature which affects the way that the “Land Lady by Roald Dahl” is interpreted. In order to create suspense early on in the story Roald Dahl has set the time at 9pm which can be interpreted as a time when darkness takes over light, especially when we consider that dark represents evil, the mood changes from optimistic and adventurous to an atmosphere of suspense. Dahl continues to use the weather as a simile in order to relate to the sinister subject at hand by stating that ...”The wind was like a flat blade of ice on his cheeks”…. This shows that the wind was sharp and “deadly cold”, “flat blade” is associated with knives which is related to the danger of being cut or wounded.
“He didn’t know anyone who lived here”
This quotation shows that Billy is alone in a strange “new” city. It outlines his vulnerable position, where he has no-one to turn to. This also shows that Billy’s mood was uneasy, due to having to be careful in an isolated area.
Billy recalls a friend telling him that “bath was a splendid city”. The past tense is used in the quote to outline the past tense. This is further outlined in a later paragraph when Billy notices that “the houses were all identical “and that “the paint was peeling form the woodwork”. This yet again outlines why Bath ‘used’ to be a splendid city.
It is at this point when Billy notices as sign in the window that read…” BED AND BREAKFAST, BED AND BREAKFAST, BED AND BREAKFAST”. Roald Dahl used and alliteration to represent the sign as something supernatural and the font used indicates that it was almost as if the sing was shouting out at Billy. Inside the house Billy glimpses at the pleasant, friendly surrounding whilst looking thr...

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...house when Billy finally enters his room and he sees that The sheets have been turned back and that there was …”a hot water bottle placed between them to air them out”… This makes us think back to something that the landlady said …”she’s always ready”… We begin to wonder what the nature of her true intentions is.
The Landlady hasn't been given a proper name, making her seem more mysterious. She is a middle-aged woman who lives alone and owns a bed and breakfast. She is 'slightly dotty' and her appearance is as charming as ever. However, the Landlady seems to fit this description right up until the end of the story. Only the clues that the last two guests were upstairs, the way she knew every little detail of how they looked but couldn't remember their names and the fact that she was a taxidermist tells you that she isn't the harmless woman we are led to believe.

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