The Landlady

By Raold Dahl

Write a story using the following words

• Facades• Congenial• Conjured• Rapacious• Dithering• Dotty• Tantalizing• emanate

Vocabulary DrawChoose 5 words from the story

#1 Vocabulary Word Ex. Conspicuous

#2 The definition of the word. Ex: adj. noticeable

#3 Use the word in a sentence using context clues. Minimum 10 words per. Sentence Ex.: The robber looked conspicuous wearing a ski mask in line at the bank.

#4 Simple picture depicting the word.

facades

facades: noun fronts of buildings

original context: “the handsome white facades were cracked and blotchy

• from neglect”

congenial congenial adjective agreeable; pleasant

•“ a pub would be more congenial.. There would be beer and darts” (63).

rapaciousrapacious adj. greedy

“The name itself conjured up images of watery cabbage, rapacious landladies, …”

tantalizing

tantalizing adjective teasing by remaining unavailable

or by withholding something desired by someone; tempting.

“There was nothing more tantalizing than a thing like this that lingers just

outside the borders on one’s memory”

tantalize

emanate

emanate verb come forth

“He caught a whiff of a peculiar smell

that seemed to emanate directly from her person”

conjured

conjured- called to mind

dithering

dithering about-confused or nervous manner

dotty

Dotty: adj. crazy

Foreshadowing

• A hint or clues of what is to come. Used to build anticipation, add suspense, engage the reader and prepare the reader for what may come next

• Foreshadowing can be subtle, like storm clouds on the horizon suggesting that danger is coming,

or more direct,

such as Romeo and Juliet talking about wanting to die rather than live without each other

foreshadowing

• A hint or clues of what is to come

• The setting is described as, “…deadly cold and the wind was like a flat blade of ice on his cheeks”(62).

• This hints…• “ the air was cold and the wind was like ice on

his cheeks”(62).

The death of Bambi's mother in Bambi.Meaning: The death of Bambi's mother is foreshadowed by her conversation about the threat of Man encroaching upon the forest.

Her death is the catalyst that propels the story forward and drives Bambi, determined and self-confident, to survive into adulthood.

idiom

a saying that can’t be literally understood.

Theme comparisons

• Read this passage from The Twits by Roald Dahl and compare and contrast the theme, development, word choice, character development, and/or structure, etc. with that of The Landlady.

The Twits – Roald Dahl

"If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until it looks so ugly you can hardly bear to look at it." How do you outwit a Twit? Mr. and Mrs. Twit are the smelliest, ugliest people in the world. They hate everything -- except playing mean jokes on each other, catching innocent birds to put in their Bird Pies, and making their caged monkeys, the Muggle-Wumps, stand on their heads all day. But the Muggle-Wumps have had enough. They don't just want out, they want revenge.

Answer:

Roald Dahl is a master, a coinsurer of words. When you look at both passages which describe his characters, you notice this element of careful word choice and how it helps to build a picture in the reader’s mind. Both in The Landlady and The Twit, he describes the characters as eerily peculiar and strange.

How does Roald Dahl in “The Landlady” hint a Billy Weaver’s

death?

Turn the question into a statement: Roald Dahl in “The Landlady” hints at Billy Weaver’s death through his use of foreshadowing.

#2 Concrete Detail

Concrete Detail = Quote or Example from the story Give background information to give the quote some context. “….”

For example, the setting is described as…

For example, when the landlady opens the door, she…

Wrong!

• For example, “The air was deadly cold and the wind was like a flat blade of ice on his cheeks”(62).

• You did not give a context to this quote.

• What is the background?

Much Better

• For example, the author describes the weather as “deadly cold” and the wind as “a flat blade of ice”(62).

• Now commentary: Images of murder creep into the reader’s mind thus foreshadowing the tragic end.

Concrete Detail Example

Raold Dahl describes the setting as

“ deadly cold and the wind was like a flat blade of ice on his cheeks” (62).

How to blend quotes

• The landlady asks Billy to sign the book and adds“…and we don’t want to go breaking any laws at this stage in the proceedings” (65).

Sentence 3 & 4 +=Commentary

• Your opinion, insight or analysis about the concrete detail. Begin the sentence with: This shows, This demonstrates, This foreshadows,

• Avoid I think, I…

• One more sentence of commentary.

More concrete detail #5

In addition, : Concrete Detail (Quote or Example from the story) Give background information or the context)

• In addition, the landlady explains to Billy, “But I’m always ready…on the off chance that an acceptable young gentleman will come along”(65). This shows

• 6. Commentary (Your opinion, analysis about the concrete detail.

• This shows, This demonstrates, This foreshadows, Avoid I think, I…

• 7. One more sentence of commentary.

Final Concrete Detail

• 8. Lastly, : Concrete Detail (Quote or Example from the story) Give background information.

• The landlady asks Billy to sign the book and adds “…and we don’t want to go breaking any laws at this stage in the proceedings” (65).

• This shows

• This foreshadows

• This illustrates, illuminates, demonstrates…

• 9. Commentary (Your opinion, analysis about the concrete detail. This shows, This demonstrates, This foreshadows, Avoid I think, I…

• 10. One more sentence of commentary.

Conclusion

• A finished feeling for the paragraph.

• “BED AND BREAKFAST, BED AND BREAKFAST. Each word was like a large black eye staring at him…forcing him to stay” (63).

• Commentary: Write two sentences of your evaluation or analysis of the above quote. Avoid “I think…”

• This shows:

• “But this dame was like a jack-in-the-box. He pressed the bell-and out she popped!”(64). This shows

• The landlady explains, “But I’m always ready…on the off chance that an acceptable young gentleman will come along”(65). This shows

• The landlady asks Billy to sign the book and adds “…and we don’t want to go breaking any laws at this stage in the proceedings” (65).

• This foreshadows

• Billy suddenly recalls where he has heard Christopher Mulholland’s name and asks,

• “wasn’t that the name of the Eton schoolboy who was on a walking tour through the West Country and then all of a sudden…”

• “Milk?” she said.• This suggests

• After Billy realizes the dachshund is stuffed, the landlady explains,“I stuff all my little pets myself when they pass away. Will you have another cup of tea?”(69).

• This shows

• “Mr. Temple, of course, was a little older…There wasn’t a blemish on his body”(68).

• This shows

Verbal Irony

• Verbal irony involves a contrast between what is said or written and what is really meant.

• Ex. Baseball player strikes out and you call him “slugger”.

• Ex. My friends old, slow horse is called lightning. (misnomer)

• Ex. Billy thinks I’m such a lucky fellow

Situational irony

• Situational irony occurs when what happens is very different than what is expected.

• Ex. The fire station burns down.

Dramatic irony

• Dramatic irony occurs when the audience or the reader knows something the character does not know.

• Ex. The Diary of Anne Frank

• Ex. The shower scene in Psycho