Fate In The Landlady And The Monkey's Paw

Fate is an unavoidable force that can bring doom to people depending on their actions. In the stories, “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl, and “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs, Billy Weaver and the “Whites”, both made careless and foolish decisions that led them to an appalling destiny. As previously mentioned, the varying decisions they made throughout the course of the stories made them face their last moments on Earth, which was an unfortunate demise. Billy Weaver’s fate was determined by the choices he made throughout the short story, “The Landlady”, by Roald Dahl. I think this because in the story, Billy’s choice to be a brisk businessman made him quickly find a lodging to stay at, which brought him to the “Bed and Breakfast”. Just as he briskly
In another event, it portrays his choice to be absent-minded about the peculiar taste of the tea, which I suspect may have led to his death, which we do not know. For example, a detail that supports my claim is, “He walked briskly down the street…Suddenly in a downstairs window that was brilliantly illuminated by a street lamp not six yards away, Billy caught sight of a printed notice…It said, “Bed and Breakfast”(Dahl 22). Therefore, since he was walking so quickly, in a rush to find a lodging to spend his night, he only looked at its general beauty and not the inside details of the “Bed and Breakfast”. Another example that supports my claim is, “Will you have another cup of tea?” the landlady asked. “No thank you,” Billy said. “The tea tasted faintly of bitter almonds, and did not much care for it” (Dahl 34). This shows that there may be something impure in the tea that is making it taste peculiar. Based on my prior knowledge, I think that there may be a use of
A strong example to prove this point is, “She seemed terribly nice. She looked exactly like the mother of one’s best friend…” (Dahl 26). After reading the whole story I came to understand that this example shows that the landlady’s looks are deceiving. In this line Billy thinks of her as an innocent old lady. However, throughout the course of the story, we, readers understand the landlady’s sinister intentions, which describe the theme of, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. Another example is when Herbert White says, “Well wish for two hundred pounds, then; that’ll just do it…Well I don’t see the money and I bet I never shall” (Jacobs 378), it reveals his ignorance. Later on in the story, it is exposed to us that Herbert’s wish was the cause of his appalling death. In conclusion I thought that the ignorant and stubborn beliefs led to the demise of our