Compare and Contrast Essay

The book and movie “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl is about a young man called Billy Weaver who is looking for a bed and breakfast to stay for the night. He comes across a low priced hotel with a peculiar landlady who knows how to make an eerie night for her customers. The book and movie have two key differences and one important similarity. The setting in both the book and movie are different, changing the mood. The resolution is different which gives the reader/viewer an opposing view. Billy’s choice in the beginning of the story and movie gives the same plot. If any of these ideas had been the same between the movie and book, or had been changed, there would be contrasting thoughts from the reader/viewer.

In the book “The Landlady”, the story starts out in the cold at night time. ”… it was about nine o’clock in the evening and the moon was coming up out of a clear sky over the houses opposite of the station entrance. But the air was deadly cold and the wind was like a flat blade of ice on his cheeks.” When the book starts out with cold wind in the night it is to give an eerie feel. This aspect differs from the movie. In the movie of “The Landlady”, the setting starts out much different than it does in the book. It starts in about the middle of a temperate day. The movie starts out when Billy is first on the train, but then gets off at his stop. Though there are gray clouds, there is much light. You can tell it is about midday because of this. Billy is wearing a coat which might tell you that its cold outside, but other than that, there are no signs to show the temperature. This aspect of the setting is important because its different than the book. In the book it’s dark and cold to give the spooky feel but because the movie does...

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...d sixpence.) Because this is such a cheap price Billy decides that he will stay at the bed and breakfast. This detail is important because if the price had been any greater Billy might’ve not stayed which would change the plot of the story like it may in the book.

If the setting, resolution, and plot had changed between the book and movie, the mood and tone would come off different. The book and movie “The Landlady” have 2 key differences and 1 important similarity that change a viewer’s mood. These make the movie and book dissimilar and alike.

Works Cited

"The Landlady (complete) by Roald Dahl." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

"The Landlady Roald Dahl Billy Weaver Hadtraveled down from London on the Slow Afternoon Train." The Landlady Roald Dahl Billy Weaver Hadtraveled down from London on the Slow Afternoon Train. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.