“Mrs Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat”

I am going to analyse the story entitled “Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s coat”. It was written by the British writer whose name is Roald Dahl.
Roald Dahl born in Wales, to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force[->0] during World War II[->1], in which he became a flying ace[->2] and intelligence officer, rising to the rank of wing commander[->3]. Dahl rose to prominence in the 1940s, with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's best-selling authors. He has been referred to as "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century". In 2008 The Times[->4] placed Dahl 16th on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers[->5] since 1945". His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, often very dark humour[->6].
The title of the story is rather clear, we could understand that it will be story about Mrs. Bixby and the colonel’s coat. But we don’t know exactly how they are related. And we can’t predict what will happen.
In general, the work is written in the neutral style with an accent on descriptions.
The functional style of the story can be description as matter-of-fact.
The genre, the author wrote in, is an ironical short story.
The story combines the elements of both: narration and dialogue. The author makes ample use of dialogue in this story.
The author doesn’t participate in this story, but he knows all the events.
We cannot date this story exactly, but there are several place and time markers in the story. We can surely detect that the story takes place in New York: “Mr. and Mrs. Bixby lived in a smallish apartment somewhere in New York City”. The period of time is winter: “It was just before Christmas, and Mrs. Bixby was standing on the station in Baltimore …”.
Mr. and Mrs. Bixby are leading a boring