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The Landlady
The Landlady
Picture this: Youve just arrived in a lovely new town by train and your looking for a place to stay. You find a bed and breakfast that looks very enchanting (nice) on the outside. You decide to stop and look in the window. What do you think you might see?
The Landlady
By Roald Dahl
Objective: I will use knowledge of vocabulary, setting and the literary element of foreshadowing to analyze fictional text.
Vocabulary
Read each sentence. Try to understand the definition of each word based on the context clues. Write down each vocabulary word and its definition.
1.
5. Tom was so rapacious that he took all the money from the jar.
Rapacious - greedy
Born in Wales (1916-1990) He often writes stories with dark humor. Some familiar stories:
James and the Giant Peach Matilda Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The BFG
Foreshadowing: the use of clues or hints suggesting events that will occur later in the plot. HINT: As you read The Landlady put
yourself in the place of the main character (protagonist). Pay close attention to what Billy sees and senses
Characters
Billy Weaver
The Landlady
Setting
The story takes place in Bath, England probably mid 1900s.
Bath, England
Bath, England
Using your vocabulary from yesterday, fill in the underlined word blank with the correct vocabulary word
1. 2.
3.
4. 5.
While baking the cake, wonderful smells came forth from the kitchen. emanate The salesman, who came to the door, was very pleasant. congenial The houses front appearance was one of the worst on the block. facade My grandmothers kitchen always had tempting smells coming from it. tantalizing The greedy politician was taking money from anyone for his campaign. rapacious
Pre-reading information
Billy Weaver arrives in Bath, England after taking the train from London. He's never been to the town before. However, he's due to start a new job there soon, and he's excited at the prospect. He heads toward The Bell and Dragon, which is a pub he's been told he could spend the night at. On the way though, he notices a sign in the window of a nearby house: "BED AND BREAKFAST. Will it turn out to be what he expects????
Questions
Why is Billy in Bath, and where is he headed? What does the landlady do or say that show she is unusually well-prepared for Billys arrival? Why do you think she is so ready for Billy?
Questions
How does the landladys speech hint at some future event (breaking the law at this
What clue hints at something strange about the fact the dog is sleeping (FORESHADOWING)? Why might the names of Gregory Temple and Christopher Mulholland be familiar to Billy?
Questions
What might the peculiar smell suggest? (FORESHADOWING) What has the landlady said that seems to contradict the following statement:
Left? she said. But my dear boy, her never left. Hes still here. Mr. Temple is here. Theyre on the fourth floor, both of them together.?
Questions
What do you suspect has happened to both guests? How did you arrive at that conclusion? How does the landladys statement foreshadow what will happen to Billy? (I
stuff all my little pets myself when they pass away.)
2. Billy thought the Landladys fee to stay at the bed and breakfast was too much. FALSE 3. Billy believes he had heard of the Landladys previous guests. TRUE
4. The Landlady meant Billy no harm. FALSE 5. The tea taste strange to Billy because it is poisoned TRUE
Foreshadowing
List two events that foreshadow what happens to Billy at the end of the story?
The Landlady offers Billy strange poisoned tea 5 Billy arrives in Bath and needs a place to stay 1 The Landlady asks him to sign the guest book 3 Billy questions the Landlady about her previous guest 4 The Landlady answers the door too (strangely) quickly 2
Process with two examples of foreshadowing. Include the event and how it foreshadowed the outcome. (i.e. T-Chart) In your summary include the following: - A brief summary of what happened in the story. Make sure you include what you inferred happened to the protagonist at the end of the story - In your summary you must correctly use two of the storys vocabulary words, but you CANNOT copy the sentence out of the book. Highlight these two words - Include two examples of how the author foreshadowed events that occurred in the story.
Read pg 171, and answer the following questions: Who is introduced at the beginning of the story Describe him. Where he is going, and why is he in this town?
1. 2.
What does the landlady ask Billy to do before he goes to bed? Why does she want him to do this task?
Do you believe Billy realizes the danger he faces at the end of the story? If he does, is it too late to escape (explain all your
answers).