In the cold and deadly winter, a man by the name of Billy Weaver, entered the town of Bath, where it seemed as though a giant white blanket was covering it. He tried to avoid every whip of wild wind that came his way. Trying to find shelter in a cheap hotel, he asked around, it was suggested that he go to the Bell and Dragon. As he went in, he met an old lady who was almost too nice to him. Soon after, the old lady started to talk about some other men that she had hosted at Bed and Breakfast, were named James Mulholland and Gregory Temple. Later that night, the landlady gives him tea that as a faint and bitter taste of almonds.
The reader can infer that the tea had poison in it, and the old lady would kill him then stuff him like she did to the other men. This is the plot of the short story in Dahl’s short story, “The Landlady. ” In another short story, “The Monkey’s Paw” there is a small family who lived in a small town, named Mr. White, Mrs. White, and Herbert White. Then one day, a sergeant came and gave them a magical monkey’s paw that is said to have three wishes granted to anyone. The family had a strong desire to have more money, so that they can have more wealth to pay for their house. But, as the sergeant warned them, the wishes came with a price.
After they wished, they received the dire news that their son had died. Eventually, Mrs. White wished her son back, but Mr. White realized the consequences and decided to make the last wish to get rid of him once and for all. Therefore, in the short stories, “The Landlady,” by Roald Dahl and the other short story, “The Monkey’s Paw,” by W. W. Jacobs, suspense is conveyed through the use of figurative language and setting description. Suspense is expressed through many ways in Dahl’s short story, “The Landlady,” and Jacobs’, “The Monkey’s Paw,” but the ones that were chosen were through figurative language and setting description.
In both short stories, suspense was conveyed through the use of figurative language. In the short story, “The Landlady,” it talks about how Billy Weaver is walking through the town of Bath, and sees a small sign reading Bed and Breakfast. In this specific scene, the author writes expresses suspense by figurative language when it states, “Each word was like a large black eye staring at him through the glass, holding him, compelling him, forcing him…” This quote not only shows us a simile, but it also shows us an example of an epistrophe.
Epistrophe is a repetition of a word at the end of a sentence. This quote depicts suspense through the use of figurative language by allowing the reader to feel what the character is feeling from an emotional standpoint, creating that extra dimension of being in the story. It gives the scene a bit more literal sense, creating fear within the reader, of what if it were actually happening. In the other short story, “The Monkey’s Paw,” it depicts suspense through the use of figurative language by stating, “…there was another knock and another.
This quote is when Mr. White made his second wish, wishing his son back to life. And it is when Herbert is knocking on the door. This demonstrates suspense through the use of onomatopoeia, by allowing us to hear the sound, as if the reader was in the story hearing that knock. Just hearing it over and over again. Alternatively, both authors deliver suspense through the use of setting description. Suspense is conveyed through the use of setting description in Dahl’s short story, “The Landlady,” and Jacobs’ short story, “The Monkey’s Paw.
In Dahl’s short story, in the exposition, it describes the setting of where Billy Weaver is walking through the streets of Bath. To illustrate the setting description, Dahl writes, “The air was deadly cold and the wind was like a flat blade of ice on his cheeks. ” The way the author described the weather, was quite harsh. The reader can infer that these comparisons contribute to the tone of the short story, depicting suspense. A lot of times, setting description can go hand in hand with the tone. The setting for us illustrates how cold and freezing it is.
The reader can also infer that coldness, can be expressed as dark and gloomy, showing a bit of suspense, and what could be so bad. So, the reader can get the sense that the illustration provided at the exposition can also relate to the tone, relating then to the suspense of the story. Not only in this short story, does it demonstrate suspense through the use of setting description, but also in, “The Monkey’s Paw,” it expresses it as well. In this story, setting illustration was a large part. One of the scenes was when Mr. White was staring into the fire, seeing things.
The author writes, “He sat alone in darkness, looking absently into the fire, and seeing faces in it. One face was so horrible and monkey-like he stared at it in amazement. ” This shows how no one was there in the room with him. Isolation in general, many people can show suspense, because usually it is at those scenes where something bad happens. Not only that, but when it says that Mr. White sees things in the fire, it shows, that the image that was shown, must have been important to the plot, perhaps foreshadowing something to happen in the future.
Both Dahl and Jacobs’ short stories depicted suspense in so many ways, imaginable, but these were some of the few ways to convey them. Thus, in the short stories, “The Landlady,” by Roald Dahl and the other short story, “The Monkey’s Paw,” by W. W. Jacobs, suspense is conveyed through the use of figurative language and setting description. AS seen, the authors use similes, onomatopoeia, epistrophe and so much more! Now, how about instead of thinking about the negatives of winter, let’s have some fun and look at the positive!
