Name_______________________________
Short Story Theme Essay (60 pts)
Roald Dahl’s stories “The Hitchhiker” and “The Landlady” both deal with characters who defy
our expectations. Dahl knew that when it comes to understanding people, there is often more
than meets the eye.
Assignment: Write a 4-paragraph essay in which you analyze the common theme of both Roald
Dahl stories.
Prewriting: First, decide what is the common theme in both stories, or the similar moral or
message. Remember, a theme must be more than one word. It should be stated as a complete
sentence.
Write the theme here: _________________________________________________________
Now, look back through each story and highlight 1 quote that helps you show how Dahl describes
each character at the beginning of the story. Remember to introduce the author in your speaker
tag and include quotation marks around the quote. Write those quotes below with the pg #:
Dahl describes the hitchhiker by saying, “ __________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
How does this differ from what the hitchhiker is actually like? _________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Dahl describes the landlady as “ _________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
How does this differ from what the landlady is actually like? ___________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Mike Jones
Mrs. Mont
English 11
15 October 20011
Title of Paper
Grabber: Daniel Webster once said, “The world is governed more by appearances than
realities.” In other words, much of what people believe derives from what they see rather than what
actually is. Bridge: In the short stories “The Hitchhiker” and “The Landlady,” Roald Dahl presents the
reader with two characters who are not what they appear to be. Roadmap: One, a criminal with a
shady past, turns out to be much less dangerous than the narrator assumes. The other, a seemingly
sweet hostess of a bed and breakfast, proves to be the truly dangerous one. Thesis (choose one thesis
to end your introduction paragraph):
1. Through these surprising character twists, Dahl illustrates that people must rely on reality
rather than appearance if they want to truly understand human nature.
2. Dahl’s ironic stories teach the lesson that looks can be deceiving and that relying on them can
be a big mistake.
3. Dahl’s characters defy expectations in order to warn people to look beneath the surface
before forming judgments.
Body paragraph 1: In “The Hitchhiker,” a man picks up a suspicious-looking hitchhiker who is
not what he appears to be. At the beginning of the story, Dahl describes the hitchhiker by saying,
“__________________________________________________________________________” (#).
Explain what the reader expects to happen based on the hitchhiker’s appearance.
__________________________________________________________________________________
How does this differ from what actually happens? __________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Explain how this unexpected character twist demonstrates the theme. ___________________________
Body paragraph 2: Similarly, “The Landlady,” is about a kindly-looking landlady who is
hiding a terrible secret. A young man named Billy comes to stay at her inn, and when he first meets the
landlady, he describes her as “_______________________________________________” (Dahl #).
Explain what the reader expects to happen based on the landlady’s appearance.
__________________________________________________________________________________
How does this differ from what actually happens? __________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Explain how this unexpected character twist demonstrates the theme. ___________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Restate the thesis: These stories both prove the old adage: “Never judge a book by its cover.”
If the narrator of “The Hitchhiker” had trusted only appearances, he never would have learned
_______________________________________________________________________________.
Likewise, if Billy had looked beyond the surfaces of things, he may have discovered
________________________________________________________________________________.
Explain how this could be a useful lesson in life. _________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________.