POSITON
PAPER
TITLE OF SHORT
STORY : THE LANDLADY BY ROALD DAHL
The
Landlady by Roald Dahl is a story of a
psychopathic woman who has exorbitant
addiction in killing persons and living things of her choice which later to be mummified. She
lives alone in a luxurious house where
she enjoys so much in waiting for
tenants of her choice to come into her house as guests to become her company- at least, to
her opinion. The psychopath landlady in this short story is a person with murderous
impulsion which using psychic and mystic
ability to lure persons of her choice to enter her trap which has no any chance
to escape.
I
strongly believe that the landlady possess the power of psychic and mystic to
trap his victims. That is why nobody could resist the temptation that she put
on even to the most intelligent and
brisk person like Billy Weaver. Even the word that she writes emulated with
mysteriously attractive to a person of her choice to come and stay. As told in
the story, Billy is a person who dislikes staying in a boarding-house for it for
him a place of scary and make him discomfort
caused by its smell. He rather likes staying in a pub where he can get drink
and socialize with people easily. However, he himself feels so strange when he
is so lured and forced to come and stay to the boarding house which belong to
the landlady.
BED AND BREAKFAST, BED AND BREAKFAST, BED AND
BREAKFAST. Each word was like a large black eye staring at him through the
glass, holding him, compelling him, forcing him to stay where he was and not to
walk away from that house, and the next thing he knew, he was actually moving
across from the window to the front door of the house, climbing the steps that
led up to it, and reaching for the bell..(excerpt from text)
Another
physical of the outside of the house that captivating Billy are the yellow
chrysanthemums and a pretty little
dachshund. He does not realize that the dachshund is actually a dead pet
mummified by the landlady. The landlady has the power to control Billy’s mind
not to notice the truth about the dachshund. Billy’s attention is directly
brought to see the inner side of the house. Billy is so attracted to the green
curtain of the house which is actually just a familiar colour to everyone. He
also attracted to the furniture of the house, the parrot and the room given to
him. In conclusion, everything become very beautiful, attractive and
comfortable to Billy that inviting him to stay in the landlady house. Just
imagine the mystic power she put on Billy when he suddenly turn into like
staying in her boarding house which he dislikes so much before.
Beside the mysterious attraction of
the physical of the house, she also appears to Billy as a charming, cheerful
and generous landlady. She charges Billy for only Five and sixpence a
night, including breakfast with comfortable room to stay. She said to Billy
that she had already prepared Billy his comfortable room. She also offers Billy
a supper since he reaches her house late in the evening. Her warmly welcoming
is very strong proof to him that he is a lucky tenant who can stay in a
tranquil and comfortable house with very low rate of payment. As a man, Billy
finds the landlady’s external looks is quiet attractive; with “gentle blue eyes and pink cheek.” She
is also an affectionate such as calling him an endearment, “dear”, which makes
him drawn to her. Even though he thinks that the old lady a bit “dotty” ,with
the perfect hospitality and treatment given by the her, Billy never put any
suspicious thing about her. Hence, he does think there is no necessary to think
much of who is the landlady as long as he has a comfortable place to stay in
with very less payment. In the other hand the landlady never allows Billy to think of any negative thing
about her. She makes sure that Billy drawn to her all times. She starts chatting with him. She
allows him asks many questions which she answers nicely and makes Billy feels
comfortable an satisfied. She makes Billy feels no stranger to stay in her
house. However is it, There is certain question that she needs to answer
carefully. When Billy asks her about the names of the tenants used to rent her
house, she quiet careful in answering his questions. She tries to twists
Billy’s mind not to recall on why the names of the tenants who rented the house
before so familiar to him. To do this, she lets Billy notices the mummified
parrot. She also lets Billy notice of the strange things about the house and the things happened which of course under
her control. He finally realizes that the parrot and dachshund are dead pets
animal. Instead of asking why the landlady mummifies them or protest the action
as being cruel, he becomes proud of her for her mummification product looks
lively. He starts adoring her for that. The cruelty concealed for he is under
the spell of the mystical landlady.
Sometimes, Billy’s curiosity manage
to overpower the spell that landlady cast on him. He starts thinking of the people who were lost and not found
which announced in a newspaper. He tells the landlady of his mind and of
course, she denies his thought. She starts telling Billy the story of the two
men. In Billy shocks, he found that the bodies of the two men still save in the
landlady room-fourth room. Only then Billy realizes that he is actually in a
danger. He might think of wanted to run away from the house. He now can
associate the lost two men and mummified
animals that he finds in the house. He also now understands why she said before
that she was choosy. Only the chosen one
could be attracted to come and stay to her house. It is planned that her next
guest is he. The landlady said that the two men were exactly like him. They
were young, handsome with baby’s skin and even educated. It is obviously shown
that she uses her magical power to attract people to come to the house.
they were incredibly handsome, both
of them, I can promise you that. They were tall and young and handsome, my
dear, just exactly like you.”(extract from the text)
He might ask himself on why he did not realize
it from the beginning- the excessive treatment and hospitality, the cheap rate
of the house, the mummification and deceptive beauty of the house. He might
think that he is such a stupid guy who would allow himself to be
trapped by the deceitful landlady and might plan to run away from the house. In
the other hand, the landlady, who can read people mind keep on doing calm. She
seems to be very well- prepared to cope on
thing that might happen. She has known from the beginning that Billy would
finally aware that he is in her trap. For that, she put earlier stuff that could
make Billy becomes illusive or even to poison him. In the story, when their
conversation goes on, Billy smell something that he hardly able to identify. He
was also served tea that with the bitter almond flavour. The tea could be a
poison as a preparation in case of Billy tries to escape from her. She knows
that she will not allow Billy’s escape. Her murderous psychopath will not allow
any failure. She should be able to capture her victim as she wanted to be, and
she is so successful.
In conclusion, the landlady in the
short story The Landlady by Roald Dahl is a murderous woman who prey people and
animal she likes using her powerful psychic and mystic that she possess. Mr.
Mulholland, Mr. Temple and Billy are her victims. They are the chosen ones. She
likes them so she casts them her mystic power to come to her as victims.
