The Possibility Of Evil By Shirley Jackson

No matter how open-minded a person may claim to be, everyone makes presumptions on first impressions or rumors. Despite seeing someone for only a split second, people make assumptions about others’ attitude, personality, and character! Usually, people tend to notice things that they feel are grounds to pass judgment upon. The quote “ You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it” by Harper Lee is a quote that truly signifies how people should perceive others. Rather than judging someone, people should place themselves in their shoes and try to understand their way of thinking

When it comes to the topic of obesity, most of us will readily agree that fast food is one of the main causes. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of readily available cheap food on the go. Whereas some are convinced that only unhealthy foods can be fast food, others maintain that fast food can be healthy too. Someone who believes that is Anthony Bourdain. Anthony Bourdain is not only a widely known chef and TV personality, but he is also an author. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1978. He has traveled often for his various television shows, which has made him well informed about other parts of the world. Since he has traveled all around the world, been added to the New York Times bestseller

“The Possibility Of Evil” by Shirley Jackson is a short story about a woman referred to as Miss Strangeworth, who throughout the story is either writing letters or tending to her beloved roses. She is kind to others but also leads another secret life.“The Possibility Of Evil” by Shirley Jackson uses symbolism and tone to relate objects to real people.

To begin with, Miss Strangeworth is an old lady that wants to control the town. She believes that since her grandfather built the first house on Pleasant Street, she is the matriarch of the town. From her thinking, the town belongs to her

People’s personalities are not always what they seem. That is the case in Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Possibility of Evil.” The main character is an elderly woman who seems sweet and kind; however, she reveals that she is not sweet and kind. Miss Strangeworth’s character can be analyzed by considering what she does, what the narrator says about her, and how other characters interact with her.

The Story, The Possibility of Evil is a truly interesting story that demonstrates the evil of a community that seems almost perfect. This story demonstrates how there is probably no place on Earth that evil has not reached. The story bases itself on a small suburban town and the people that live there. The reader meets Miss Strangeworth who is a sweet little lady that smiles to everyone during the day and starts conversations, but by the time she gets home she starts writing letters revealing secrets and unpleasant facts of her neighbours and fellow townspeople and

People aren’t always who they seem to be. In ‘The Possibility of Evil,” by Shirley Jackson, this idea is explored in story form. One character, Miss Strangeworth, is the literary representation of this idea; She is polite and nice in person, but at the same time, she anonymously writes hurtful letters that spread false rumors to the whole town. Firstly, Miss Strangeworth’s character can be analyzed by considering what she says and does.

“I believe that the root of all evil is power,” (Patricia Cornwell). I think this quote says a lot about the power of power. Let’s think about some people who were incredibly evil. Hitler killed 11 million people (Schwartz), 49 million deaths were linked to Joseph Stalin (Ghosh), and Kim Jong-Un has executed 70 officials since coming into office in 2011 (Omara). That doesn’t even include all of the other people who have died because of him or who will die because of him in the future. What do all of these people have in common? Power. If none of these people had power, millions of lives could have been saved. But with all power comes evil, as proven by these three horrible people. Now, power may not be taken to this extent all the time. As

Most children are not very fond of reading books in school. I was one of those children until I read a novel called, “The Other Side of Dark” written by Joan Lowery Nixon in the 4th grade. My school had held a book fair during the week of open house. As a child, all children want the toys and games they had at the book fair, not bothering to even glance at the books. My mother told me to look for a book that was not only easy for me to read but something that I would enjoy. I walked around our petite library, which was where the book fair was being held, and scanned the various novels that were displayed until one caught my eye. I was only 10 years old looking for a book without the knowledge of what types of literature that interested me. As I turned the corner at the end of the library I caught a glimpse of a hardcover novel called “The Other Side of Dark”. On the back of novel I read the synopsis which was about a 13 year-old girl who was shot and put into coma until she was 17 years old waking up to discovering that her family was also murdered by the same person who shot her 4 years ago. I was quickly captivated by this summary on the back of the novel and persuaded to read further. Open house was coming to an end and my family and I headed back to our house in La Mirada, California. One of our homework assignments was to read at least 20 minutes a night to improve our reading skills. We quickly arrived at our home and I

Throughout the story, some community members realize Miss Strangeworth is a bitter and insensitive old woman, whose intentions to rid of evil backfire and end up creating more trouble for her. Firstly, Miss Strangeworth writes insensitive and harsh letters to community members, writing letters to her neighbors with her unwanted opinions. Miss Strangeworth writes a letter to the same young couple that asks for her guidance, “DIDN’T YOU EVER SEE AN IDIOT CHILD BEFORE? SOME PEOPLE JUST SHOULDN’T HAVE CHILDREN, SHOULD THEY?”(3). Here, Miss Strangeworth expresses her harsh words to the young couple about their child. She feels like she is giving them the right advice to raise a child and rid evil from her community, but her harsh words are hurting her neighbors and creating more trouble for them. Secondly, Miss Strangeworth feels like she is ridding her town of evil and is the only saviour for the community. Miss Strangeworth thinks it’s her “duty to keep her town alert…there were so many wicked people in the world” (3). Miss Strangeworth thinks of herself as the only one attempting to prevent evil as there is too much evil in the world now days. She feels as if she is doing her job and there is nothing wrong with what she is doing. Lastly, as Miss Strangeworth thinks very highly of her

In all stories there is someone who changes after something happens and it turns them into someone they aren't. An example is a person turn into someone you never expected them to be because they are hiding themselves. Its also important to think before everything you do because the aftermath can be unreal. The characters in the“ Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson and the short story,” Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl could have learned their lessons. In the story, “ Possibility of Evil” Miss.Strangeworth takes her hate out to an family by writing letters to them. In “Lamb to the Slaughter” Mary makes a bad decision after finding out her husband is leaving her. These stories tell the reader that people around you have a side they don't show, but sooner or later it will come out of them.

In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Possibility of Evil”, Miss Adela Strangeworth lives in this small town on Pleasant Street. She is a nice old lady who everybody loves,but she’s more than nice she’s evil. She seems to be a good person, but she’s not. She walks by the townspeople smiling ,but started writing evil letters about the people and sending the letters ruining the town people’s lives. They don’t know who is sending the letters,but Miss.Strangeworth wrote these letters out of pride which shows how evil she really is. The theme of the story is that there is the possibility of evil in anyone.

In “The Possibility Of Evil” by Shirley Jackson and “The Fall of the City” by Alden Nowlan, Miss Strangeworth and Teddy experience the loss of their town as a secret is discovered. The protagonist, Miss Strangeworth, in “The Possibility of Evil” portrays herself as a sweet and caring old lady, though her exterior does not mimic her interior. Miss Strangeworth 's one duty and job is to rid her town of any possible evil. She believes she has power and status in her town. However, once her secret duty is revealed, the town sees Miss Strangeworth as the possibility of evil and destroy

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.

Our nature as humans is to judge others. We are programmed to judge everything for the benefit of ourselves. Think about it for a second. What do you do when you meet new people? You judge them from the way