The Landlady by Roald Dahl

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The Landlady
by Roald Dahl
Tentative Activities

Learning Objectives:

1. Reacting to a variety fo advertisments for room and board.
2. Interpreting British expressions.
3. Reading and responding to a story.
4. Studying the illustrations accompanying the story.
5. Noting the use of suspense adn realism.
6. Describing a setting.
7. Writing a final scene for the story.
8. Reading other stories by the author.

Prereading Activity #1- Creating a Context

Imagine that you are looking for a place to stay.
Which of the ads would you respond to?
What are your reasons for choosing some ads and rejecting others?

Room and board available for one non-smoker, non-drinker, must like cats. Box 246

Room and board for two young persons, breakfast only, no visitors after 9 p.m. 555-3149

Room and board for singles only, must be clean and neat, good means. Box 149

Room and board for one quiet person, must be willing to help with meals; laundry services, telephone available, own fridge in room. Box 57

Room and board for ladies or gentlemen, no drinkers or smokers, no pets; quiet neighborhood. 555-0936

Room and board in exchange for baby-sitting, must apply in person. Phone first. 555-8787

Room and board, cheap, nice room, good meals. Apply in person, 834 Smith Road.

Prereading Activity #2 - Vocabulary

1. compelling
2. congenial
3. crysanthemums
4. dithering
5. facade
6. rapacious
7. swanky

Developing the Context (page 106 - 107)

1. Why has Billy Weaver come to Bath?
2. What is the atmosphere on the streets he is walking along?
3. Why does he think he would prefer to spend the night in a pub rather than a boarding house?
4. What is strange about the story so far?

Critical Thinking - Inferences

1. What happened to Christopher Mulholland and Gregory Temple?
2. What do you think will happen to Billy?
3. Do you think he realizes what will happen to him?

Personal Response - Opinions (post-reading)

1. Do you like this kind of "cliff-hanger"ending? Why or why not?
2. Did you find the story frightening ofrfunny or both?

Plot Organization

Rewrite the following sentences in the correct sequence.
Billy saw the sign in the window.
He signed the guest book.
He notices that the bird and the dog were stuffed.
He sipped tea with the landlady.
he was invited into the boarding-house.

Understanding the Story

1. What advantages did Billy think The Bell and Dragon would have over the boarding-house?
2. What stereotyped ideas of landladies came to Billy's mind?
3. "And now a queer thing happened to him." What happened? Do you think Billy came under some sort of a spell at this time? Why?
4. What clues can you find early in this story that foreshadow the peculiar situation Billy is in?

Making Sense in Your Mind

1. Apart from it being the law, why do you suppose the landlady wanted Billy to sign the guest-book?
2. What do you suppose she does with these young men after she has filled and stuffed them? DOes she brush their hair, clean their clothes, talk to them? Or what?
3. Do you think the story is believeable? Is is possible to stuff a man as an anumal or a bird can bew stuffed? Explain why or why not.
4. How do you explain the fact that we can read and enjoy a story about a person who's about to be murdered and stuffed? What does your explanation tell you about human nature?
5. "No my dear. Only you." Imagine yourself in Billy's place. How would you feel? What would you do?

Viewing - Story Illustrations

1. Do you like the illustrations? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think the illustrator used this particular style?
3. What mood do you think the illustrations convey?

Supporting Inferences and Conclusions

Find evidence from the story which supports each of the following conclusions. The first one has been done for you as an example.a) Billy was inexperiences and unsophisticated
He was only seventeen.
He thought briskness was the key to success in business.
b) Billy was drawn to the boarding-house almost against his will.
c) The landlady was almost too nice and friendly to be true.
d) The landlady had taken a careful look at Billy before he came in.
e) The landlady had a smell that meant she did something besides just cooking and cleaning.

On the piece of paper that you are given, state the question at the top of the page, quote the part of the story that supports it at the bottom, being sure to place it in quotation marks and place the appropriate page number in parentheses, and illustrate it in the center of the page.

Suspense and Realism

Billy is like a fly who has flown into a spinder's web, though neither he nor the reader is aware of it at first. But the tension increases rapidly; we know something is going to happen, probably something terrible, but we don't know what. This tension in a story is called suspense.
1. What movies have you seen recently that had you on the edge of your seat?
2. Can you think of other stories that you have read that are suspenseful?
3. Are the setting, characters and story event so of The Landlady realistic? Discuss each of these elements of the story.
4. Would you agree that "The Landlady" Begins realistically, then takes bizarre twists and becomes unbelieveable?
5. Does this technique make for an interesting story? Why or why not?

Collaborative Writing

Work with a partner in completing the following task
1. Why do you think Roald Dahl ended the story where he did?
2. What would have happened in the story if:
* Billy caught on to the landlady's scheme just in time?
* Billy turned out to be a wanted criminal himself?
* Billy was actually an undercover detective?
Write your own version of the next scene in the story to share with the class.

Author Profile - Roald Dahl

Read the author profile on page 113 in In Context III.
1. What do you think of the assessment made by Dahl's teacher?
2. What suggestions are there in the piece that Dahl is a natural story writer?