Billy Weaver In The Landlady By Roald Dahl

In the short story “The Landlady”, written by Roald Dahl, the protagonist, Billy Weaver, is portrayed as an observant, naive, and curious 17-year-old boy. There are several scenarios in the text where this lead character exhibits these three traits. To begin with, at the beginning of the story, Billy is seen as an observant individual, when he arrives at Bath searching for a place to stay. As he strolls across the city, he notices a line of tall houses on either side of the street. Even in the darkness, he takes interest in the paint peeling from the woodwork on their doors and eventually catches sight of the Bed and Breakfast building. Billy peers into the glass window and observes the house, spotting a bright fire burning in the hearth, a pretty little dachshund curled up asleep, and the pleasant furniture.

This goes off to show that Billy is very quick to notice things, therefore indicating that he is observant. Additionally, Billy is also a curious individual. As Billy reads the guest book, he notices two familiar names; Christopher Mulholland and Gregory Temple, yet is unable to recall where he heard of them before. "I'm almost positive it was in the newspapers I saw them,” Billy says. “I’ll think of it in a second, I’m sure I will.” In this quote, Billy has a curious nature and is eager to figure out why the names of the gentlemen ring a bell in his head. He constantly asks the landlady questions about them and does not let go of the topic. Furthermore, Billy’s character in the story can be perceived as being naive. As a 17-year-old, his worldview is narrow and he has very little life experience. People who are naive often believe in whatever they are told, without a doubt. This is simply what Billy does when he remembers that he’s heard of the disappearance of the landlady's "guests” in the