“The Landlady” Discussion Questions

1. Early in the story, Dahl describes the Bed and Breakfast. What words and imagery are
used to describe the Bed and Breakfast? What inference does Billy make about the
Bed and Breakfast based on the look of the place?

Early in the story, the man named Billy was looking for a place to stay in Bath
since it was already a quiet night during his arrival. Before the story talks about Bed
and Breakfast, it states the words Bell and Dragon first. But what are these words all
about? Well, the Bell and Dragon is the name of a certain hotel that Billy must have
stayed for the night. The same goes for Bread and Breakfast. It is also a cheap hotel
that Billy came across while looking for the Bell and Dragons. The words and imagery
used to describe the Bed and Breakfast are stating what it looks like inside just as what
Billy saw outside the window, and these include the vase of yellow chrysanthemums
standing just underneath the notice, green curtains hanging down on either side of the
window, a bright fire burning in the hearth, On the carpet in front of the fire, a pretty
little dachshund was curled up asleep with its nose tucked into its belly, a baby-grand
piano and a big sofa and several plump armchairs; and in one corner is a large parrot in
a cage. After Billy observed the inside of the house, he concluded that it was such a
cozy and comfortable place to stay for the night. Maybe it was because of the
comforting ambiance the inside of the house gives, or maybe because of the name
itself. Therefore, what came across Billy’s mind was that it was such a comfortable
place for him to stay.

2. Dahl emphasizes the speed at which the Landlady answers the door. What
might this foreshadow about the Landlady?

The speed at which the landlady answers the door foreshadows how the
landlady was already expecting someone like Bill as another guest in her cheap hotel. It
seems like she was predicting Bill’s arrival and was looking at him who was standing
outside, waiting for him to knock on the door. She was amazed by how handsome Billy
is and has been wanting to add him as one of her collections, so she immediately
opened the door before Billy could knock on it as if she was observing him from the
 inside of the house since he came to look at what was inside.

3. When should Billy have been suspicious of the Landlady? When would you have
been suspicious?

Billy became suspicious of the landlady when he came to sign up in the

logbook. There were only two people written on the book so far and both were men.
He was confused as to why there were only a few guests in the hotel before him. And
he was even more confused when he read through their names because they seemed
familiar to him. However, he couldn’t remember where and when he heard such
names. As I was reading through the story, I became suspicious right at the moment
where Dahl stated in the story how there are no other guests in the house except Bill.
I have then concluded in my mind that maybe the house was not famous at all, and
maybe because the landlady said that she was picky in choosing her guest that’s why
she couldn’t have many guests to stay in the house. However, my suspicion grew
bigger after reading that there were only two guests in the house before Bill. and
When Bill stated that their names sounded familiar then I came up with a conclusion
that maybe they were at the news declared as missing people.

4. Why does Dahl include the following text: “There were no other hats or coats in the
hall. There were no umbrellas, no walking sticks‐nothing.”?

Dahl included those texts to inform the readers that there were no other guests
in the house, and the only people inside were Bill and the landlady. Right through the
following texts, the suspicion was already emphasized, enough for Bill as well as the
reader to become suspicious of the landlady and the house. Well, for me, I was able to
see through it but turned a blind eye because of my what if’s. What if the house is not
famous? What if nobody likes the landlady? What if it was just as what it is?

5. When Billy is in the living room, what first alerts you that something may be wrong?

When Billy is in the living room, I was alerted when I read that there were no
other entries on the guest-book except the three of them, Mulholland, Temple and
Billy. If it was a guest house, why weren't there so many guests? My suspicion was also
 alerted when Billy thought about how he was familiar with the two names written in
the guestbook. Also, the dachshund was suspicious. It’s a dog, and of course a dog
would be alerted when there’s a guest in the house because their curiosity will hit their
head. They would either wag their tail if they’re friendly or bark if they don't like the
guest, and if not, they should’ve raised their head out of curiosity. But the dachshund
stayed unalerted at all. It just keeps on sleeping as if it wasn’t breathing in the first
place.

6. As Billy is remembering the connection between the two boys, what effect did the
interruptions from the Landlady have on the story?

Just as when Billy had begun remembering the connection of the two people,
the landlady interrupted him so he would be distracted and wouldn't be able to
analyze his thoughts completely. It was written in the story how the landlady keeps
distracting Billy by offering him tea a couple of times. First is when she gave him the
tea, second is when she told Billy to give it a taste, and third is when she asked him if
he wanted more sugar on it. Whenever Billy wanted to talk about the two men in the
list, and was trying hard to remember how their names sounded familiar to him, the
landlady would talk about so he could be distracted and wouldn't be able to remember
what he was thinking in the corner of his mind, so Billy would forget what he was
thinking, and to have a little bit of time to victimized Billy without making him become
suspicious enough to react and leave the house.

7. What can the reader infer, using evidence from the text, about the two boys that are
missing? Does this help us figure out what happens to Billy?

Using evidence from the text, the reader can infer that the two missing boys
must have been murdered by the landlady. Not just that, they also must have been
stuffed by her just as what she did to the dachshund and the parrot in her living room
since she was a talented taxidermist just what she said in the story. She was also
intimidated by looks, and she likes how Billy looks and will victimize him sooner, the
same goes with the two missing boys, she likes how they look and have been amazed
by their skin, teeth, and their whole body, that's why she murdered them and keep
 them with her for as long as she likes. As one of the readers, I figured out what
happened to Billy because of the many pieces of evidence that could prove that Billy
was murdered and was stuffed just as what she did to the boys who were once guests
in the house.

8. What other evidence from the story suggests a possible, fetal demise for Billy?

Some evidence would be the "stuffed" animals in the living room. From how
Billy observed what was inside to when he entered the room, the dachshund wasn't
moving a little bit, and the parrot wasn't releasing some noisy birdy sound. It was as if
they were just some stuffed animals displayed in the living room to add up a
comforting and cozy ambiance towards the house. Another is the suspicious smell of
the tea the landlady served. Billy couldn't come up with a proper identification of how
the tea tasted. And that's when I realized that maybe it was poison. Just by looking at
how the lady was desperate to make Billy drink the tea is already very suspicious.
There is so much evidence that could prove that Billy will be murder soon enough, and
those that mentioned above are the most possible examples that suggest fetal demise
for Billy.