How effective is Dahls use of subtext in his short stories? :: English Literature

How effective is Dahls use of subtext in his short stories?Subtext is anything that is indirectly communicated to the reader. Itcan be conveyed in many ways, such as sounds, objects, jokes, coloursand temperatures. Subtext expresses a meaning in a subliminal manner.In Roald Dahls short stories he uses subtext to display the meaningsand feelings that are hidden.In The Landlady Dahl uses subtext to convey the true evil behind thelandladys homely exterior. The animals in the boarding house arethought of to be a good feature. Animals were unremarkably a good sign ina place like this. This is ironic because the animals are dead andstuffed.When Billy Weaver first walked into the house he noticed that therewas only his coat in the hallway. There were no other hats or coatsin the hall. This is subtext because it suggests that the house isempty.Subtext can also be suggested through temperature. completely the way throughthe story, temperature is used subtextually to suggest meanings andfeel ings. The weather outside was cold. A cold temperature is subtextfor death. The air was deadly cold and the wind was like a matte bladeof ice, this is pathetic fallacy because it is typical horror genreweather. Inside the house heat is used to cover up the coldness ofdeath. A bright blaze burning is used to make the house search warm.The cups of tea are used in the same way.When Billy goes to the house the landlady appears very quickly, likea jack-in-the-box. This indicates that she was waiting for him toarrive. what is more it seems as if she has prepared everything for himin advance. In other words she knew the point when he was going toarrive. The landlady says we have it all to ourselves. She alsotalks about her guests in the past tense. Therefore it is suggestedthat the guests are no longer there.The landlady is an unconventional monster in this horror story. Shelooked exactly like the mother of ones best school-friend explainsthat this woman seemed attractive and familiar to Billy. Her role in thestory is reversed when it is revealed that she is in fact a coldkiller.The landlady acts very strangely towards Billy, her blue eyestravelled lento all the way down the length of Billys body. Thelandladys ayes are described as blue. Blue eyes are not usuallyassociated with evil so this makes her seem an irregular villain inthe story. The way she looks at him suggests a wicked look but theblue eyes eliminates the evil.