Miss Strangeworth's 'Possibility Of Evil'

In short stories the author composes a compelling plot, with an ending that in someway either teaches the main character a lesson, or the reader themselves. Jackson acts as a master of literary devices, as she navigates the reader through intense scenes that evoke an emotional response to the experiences of the main character. In the short stories, “The Possibility of Evil” and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, she used the same three literary devices to grasp the reader’s attention from beginning to end. In “The Possibility of Evil” Miss Adela Strangeworth caused a stir by sending anonymous letters to townspeople, filled with things she suspected other people in her town of doing; she claimed that every letter was sent with the intent of

Judging by reality and fiction, there is not a single person to exist that has been purely evil or purely good. Yet it is in human nature to judge others as good or evil. Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice was quick to judge Fitzwilliam Darcy, the second central character of the novel, harshly based on her false assumptions of the arrogance of the wealthy. His initial egocentrism, due to his belief in a structured social hierarchy, caused her to form a prejudiced opinion of him. Throughout Pride and Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy is shown to exhibit both good and evil qualities, although not always apparent to the narrator, Elizabeth. Jane Austen’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy as a morally ambiguous character uncovers the significance of class in English society during the late seventeenth century.

In “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, Miss Strangeworth us constantly critical of the people around her. One way the author shows this is the moment she judges Linda Stewart’s behavior. “Only yesterday the Stewarts’ fifteen-year-old daughter Linda had run crying down her own front walk on the way to school, not caring who saw her” (176). Miss Strangeworth seemingly disapproves of the way Linda Stewart does not care who sees her as she shows so much grief. The way Miss Strangeworth describes the situation makes it seem that Linda should not be showing herself in that light in public. Similarly, Miss Strangeworth is judgmental of the librarian’s lifestyle. “Miss Strangeworth noticed Miss Chandler had not taken much trouble with her

This sets a dark mood to the story and hints the climax is starting. The reader is told of the evils coming, but there is not enough good in the townspeople for them to all realize the situation.

Conflict is a big issue in the story The Possibility of Evil. The main conflict is person versus society and is between Miss Strangeworth and the whole town. Miss Strangeworth is a two faced character. Miss Strangeworth pretends to be a friend to all her so called friends and fellow town’s people, but secretly sends them disgusting and hurting messages in the mail unsigned. The author of the story really makes the reader want to figure out why a person that has lived in the town her whole life and knew everybody, [“She knew everyone in town, of course; [...] she had not spent more than a day outside this town in her long life [...] She was seventy-one” (249)] would do something terrible to that level to the only people she knows. At first when Miss Strangeworth’s actions are revealed to the reader, one may think that she is crazy, but as one reads on one starts to notice some other reasons. The

In the short story “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, the main character, Miss Strangeworth, is quite the narcissist. An example of this is when she thinks to herself that “the town belonged to her” (1). This illustrates her believing that she is akin to royalty, and more important than any of the town’s other citizens. Another quote to support this is where the narrator says, “The town where she lived had to be kept clean and sweet” (5). As queen of the town, she feels as though it’s her duty, and only her’s, to keep it perfect. Only a person as impeccable as Miss Strangeworth could be tasked with keeping the town in such high standards. Something else that implies Miss Strangeworth’s narcissism is her stationary. It’s described

In Jackson’s short story “The Possibility of Evil” she used syntax throughout the story to describe a pleasant scene. She writes “the Strangeworth house on Pleasant Street.” (Jackson 1,3,7), this doesn’t only tell you where in the small town she lives but also it is a bit ironic. Jackson uses syntax here because this string of word is reused throughout the writing in a positive way to tell you where the nice, old lady lives. While on the last page it’s used to describes her in a past tense as if she is no longer a Strangeworth on Pleasant Street. By using these words in both a positive and negative light Jackson reveals how Miss Strangeworth and the people of the town both feel. Also, it gives a feeling of justice to the reader because Miss Strangeworth get punished for what she’s doing. Jackson uses syntax again in “The Possibility of Evil” when Miss Strangeworth is writing her letters by writing “HAVE YOU FOUND OUT YET WHAT THE WERE ALL LAUGHING ABOUT AFTER YOU LEFT THE BRIDGE CLUB ON THURSDAY? OR IS THE WIFE REALLY ALWAYS THE LAST ONE TO KNOW” (Jackson 4) and “LOOK OUT AT WHAT USES TO BE YOUR ROSES” (Jackson 7). She uses syntax because she keeps the same mean, catty tone within each letter. Furthermore, expressing the hurt that Miss Strangeworth and the townspeople feel. In using syntax Shirley Jackson creates a swing of effects the reader wouldn’t expect.

To begin, the possessions of the protagonists in both “The Possibility of Evil” by and “The Inheritor” symbolize who they are. Pride is a common characteristic in both stories. In “The Possibility of Evil” Miss Strangeworth states, “‘My grandmother planted these roses, and my mother tended them, just as I

First and foremost, the two authors have characters in their stories that represent some kind of evil. In “The Possibility of Evil”, Miss Strangeworth writes extremely rude and unconventional letters anonymously to many of the other townspeople. She is attempting to stop what she think could potentially evil. She herself is evil because she does not have to write her letters with a mean tone. She may be the main character, but she is still the antagonist. In “The Veldt”, the children of George and

The narrator in Louise Erdrich’s The Strange People is characterized as a doe, a “lean gray witch” (i, 20) and finally, a “shadowy body.”(i, 25) Her own actions ultimately trigger this transformation, and are further emphasized through three jarring shifts within the poem. Despite portraying the narrator as prey in the beginning, she is not faultless. By placing double meanings on the word “burning,” (i, 6) it allows the self-destructive actions of the narrator to be evident. Also, by juxtaposing the cold and warmth described in the poem, the reasoning behind the doe’s self-destructive actions is explained, and ultimately paints her in a more nuanced light. Even so, her self-destructive actions highlight the consequences resulting from her attempt at self-preservation. She transforms into a “lean gray witch” to save herself, and yet it destroys her self-identity. The poem exposes the bleak yet nuanced consequences of destructive desires and self-preservation, and how even when necessary and justified, leads to the unfortunate loss of one’s identity.

In contrast to Miss Strangeworth and Teddy’s power and status in their towns, the respect and value of voice in their own lives are unsimilar. Miss Strangeworth is highly respected in her life, as she is quite old and carries wisdom. Everyone knows who she is and turns to wave while she is on her morning walk to the store. When she comes to the grocery store, “half a dozen people turn away from the shelves and the

Buddha once stated, “it is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.” In “The Possibility of Evil,” Miss Strangeworth, a seemingly innocent elderly woman, sends cruel letters in order to rid her town of evil. When other townspeople discover her as the author of the letters, they destroy her prized roses. Shirley Jackson’s “The Possibility of Evil” not only reveals the deceitfulness of people, but also emphasizes the underlying evil of all humans and shows that evil remains insurmountable until fully accepted.

In the short story a “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, she has several symbols to tell her story about Miss Strangeworth. One symbol was by naming the main character Miss Strangeworth. This was foreshadowing that something was off about the lady that lived on pleasant street. Another symbol was realizing that Miss Strangeworth only pretended to care about the citizens because she wanted to send them mean letters anonymously and this is clearly depicted by the way that she locked her letters to keep anyone from seeing them. This is showing her evil despite how other people think she is a good lady.

Well basically the reason Victorian ideology, taking any part of the novel explains the confusion and also the difficult situations. These beliefs have been somewhat dangerous, because this is the

In The Possibility of Evil, the theme can be used because Miss Strangeworth does something terrible to her town that she probably wishes she hadn't done because the consequences weren't pretty. “My grandmother planted these roses, and my mother tended them, just as I do.” The roses that are planted by her house must mean a lot to her