Theme of Foreshadowing in The Landlady Essay Sample

In the short story “The Landlady” the author Roald Dahl includes many examples of foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is an indication or warning about the future. Roald Dahl uses foreshadowing because it adds suspense and dramatic tension as we read. 

The first example of foreshadowing we see throughout the story is when the author mentions the setting, the setting of the story is located in the Baths of England in a South England House. It is suspenseful and creepy because an Old Lady asks Billy Weaver if he would like to come into her Bed and Breakfast. When The Landlady welcomes Billy inside she lets him in for a surprisingly low price of only sixpence a night. Inside of the “cozy and warm” Bed and Breakfast there lay a vase of yellow, tall, and beautiful chrysanthemums. Although Billy does not pay attention to the flowers, they foreshadow death, sorrow, and neglect. Inside the Bed and Breakfast, there are also green curtains; these curtains symbolize decay. Billy unknowingly did not know that most things in this house were decayed.

Once Billy got to his room he immediately wanted to go to sleep, but the persistence and persuasive Landlady kept him up. To Billy the Landlady seemed “a bit off her rocker”, but nevertheless, Billy thought she was harmless. After unpacking his suitcase Billy went downstairs to find a glowing fire and a little dachshund sleeping right in front of it. There was also a piano in the room. On top of the piano there laid a guest book. The guest book only had two other names, Christopher Mulholland and Gregory W. Temple. To Billy, these names seemed faintly familiar, but he could understand exactly why. Behind Billy he suddenly hears a voice, it is the Landlady. The Landlady talks about all the other men that have stayed in her residence and talk about how they are just like him. The Landlady keeps pronouncing Billy's name wrong as a distraction to know what is going on. She described the other guest as handsome and young and how their skin was unblemished. She claimed that they were on the third floor although they never left her house. By this time Billy knew something suspicious was going on, but the Landlady is trying to distract Billy from where he remembered these names. Then he realized that this was because he had heard these names in the headlines before. This is foreshadowing because the Landlady is trying to hide the fact that she is a murderer and that she is up to no good. This also reveals the connection between Billy and the other vulnerable victims of the Landlady.

Lastly, Roald Dahl uses foreshadowing when he explains the faint flavor or almond that Billy had tasted when he took a sip of tea.  In this tea, the Landlady had poisoned Billy with potassium cyanide. Exactly like the other naive guest Billy is killed by the poison and was stuffed. Billy joins the other dead guests who have never left the house. Billy then realizes that everything in her room was stuffed, but by then, it was too late. This is foreshadowing because it reveals the Landlady’s devious and maniacal plan. 

In the short story “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl the author uses foreshadowing to reveal evidence about the story. Foreshadowing also allows the readers to hook onto the plot and add anticipation. These subtle hints such as the setting, weather, and plants help us to decide the ending of the story.