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Deception In The Landlady By Roald Dahl

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“The Landlady” by Roald Dahl is a story of great deception , ignorance and appearance vs. reality infused in great writing. The story incorporates many themes and ideas that the author purposely included. The story is about a young boy who was visiting England but when he get there and settles into a bed and breakfast, he is in for a wild surprise. One of the themes the story proposes is deception. The passage states, “ He went right up and peered through the glass into the room, and the first thing he saw was a bright fire burning in the hearth. On the carpet in front of the fire, a pretty little dachshund was curled up in front of the fire, nose tucked into belly… Animals were usually a good sign in a place like this, Billy told himself, and all in all, it looked like a pretty decent place to stay in.” In this excerpt you can clearly see all of the intriguing things that could present a comforting and home like atmosphere. However later in the story we realize that the fire might be warm but the landlady's heart was no where near that, leading to Billy deception of believing what he says. …show more content…

Reality. One person that conveys this theme the landlady herself. The passage states, “She was about 40 or 50 years old and at the moment she saw him she gave him a warm welcoming smile.” Here you can see how the woman was very warm and inviting and had a smile as though she was nice and sweet. This was an appearance that was not adding up with the reality of the story. Later in the story she not only changed from welcoming to creepy but she turned to evil in the fact that she killed Billy and stuffed him like everything else in her house. In conclusion the story “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl is a story meant to spook the reader through tone, but in the story many lessons and themes are apparent. Deception, Appearance vs reality and ignorance are just some of the themes that Roald Dahl incorporates in the story, “The

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