Introduction

It’s 2022 and I’m just now posting responses from 2021. I apologize. I am way behind. Please read this student response from October of 2021 and continue reading down below to see some of the teaching details that went into this response.

Writing Task

You have read “The Landlady” a short story about a man named Billy Weaver who finds himself in the company of an unusual hostess yet feels compelled to stay. Write an essay explaining the word “dotty” as it is used in the passage and how it impacts the plot of the story.  Be sure to use specific evidence to support your response.

Student Response

Have you ever had the feeling that something or someone doesn’t feel quite right? In the short story, “The Landlady” written by Roald Dahl, a young man, Billy Weaver, is traveling to a new place for a business job. On his way into town, he is unnaturally drawn to a cheap bed and breakfast run by an old lady. Though the place appeared welcoming Billy will soon learn that it is anything but that. In the story, the author uses the word “dotty” to describe the old woman that runs the place to foreshadow that the lady may be a little off. 

One of the dictionary definitions for dotty is mentally unbalanced or crazy and by using this word the author hints that the landlady may not be as nice as she seems. According to the story, “The old girl is slightly dotty, Billy told himself. But at five and sixpence a night, who cares about that?” (Dahl 3). From the beginning of the story, Billy explains he had always been suspicious of any landlady and shows even then he was suspicious of the woman standing in front of him by stating she seemed “slightly dotty.” However, his gut was soon overpowered by his head at the “fantastically cheap” price of the stay at the mysterious bed and breakfast. This affects the plot because if he had kept going and wasn’t tempted by the cheap price, he might have not stayed at the random bed and breakfast and went to the recommended Bell and Dragon where he would have been safe. 

In the story, even though Billy is suspicious at first, he pushes it aside and stays; however, later in the story, the reader learns what exactly the author meant when he used the word “dotty.” The story states, “‘I stuff all my little pets myself when they pass away. Will you have another cup of Tea?’ ‘No, thank you,’ Billy said. The tea tasted faintly of bitter almonds, and he didn’t much care for it” (Dahl 7). The way the old woman speaks about stuffing her pets starts to give Billy more vibes that the lady just isn’t normal and she may not be talking about just her pets. The reader also learns that the tea the landlady had given him tasted like bitter almonds, hinting that maybe the tea she had given him wasn’t really just tea but cyanide poisoning so she could kill him and stuff him like the last two and only two guests at the hotel proving she was “off her rocker.”

When one considers the actions of the lady and the foreshadowing of the author, it is clear what exactly the author meant when he used the word “dotty.” The reader can foresee that even though the landlady seemed warm and welcoming she is the complete opposite, a mentally unbalanced stone-cold killer. Atisa once said, “The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances,” which in this case Billy didn’t have.

Writing Details

Most students despise writing, or at least, say they hate writing. This is the first year that I’ve had a significant number of students say that they don’t mind writing or even say that they like writing.

They are gaining confidence. They are seeing their improvements. And, I love it!

On the flip side, they love seeing their work posted on my blog, but unfortunately, I’ve allowed other things to get in the way of posting their work.

Hopefully, I can remedy that in 2022 as we are about to start writing in class again this week.

Good luck, have fun everyone. 🙂

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