“The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson is a short story about an old woman that lives in a small town but has a big secret. Miss Strangeworth has stunning roses in her yard that have been passed down to her from generations; everyone in town comes to admire her roses. Even though Miss Strangeworth knows everyone and is nice to everyone, she anonymously sends letters to people. These letters contain things such as cheating, “accidental” deaths, and telling parents they aren’t fit to have children. I believe that Miss Strangeworth deserved what she got.…
Strangeworth seems to be a kind and friendly but also a weird and wicked person who always…
Should you expect the unexpected? A story written by Shirley Jackson “The Possibility of Evil” is an story about a respected old woman who could do no wrong in her town. Until she caught doing something; she never though she will never be caught doing. Miss Strangeworth’s character can be analyzed by considering what she does, what the narrator says about her, and how other interact with her.…
Both Ms. Strangeworth from “The Possibility of Evil” and Captain Torres from “Lather and Nothing Else” represent the villain archetype; however, Miss Strangeworth better represents it because she enjoys the evil she causes, whereas Captain Torres does not. First of all, the roles of the characters are shown as villains throughout both of the stories. In the case of Miss Strangeworth, it is when she sends her malicious messages to the town without regard for their feelings (Jackson 5). Meanwhile, Captain Torres is revealed as the villain when the barber remembers “...the sight of the mutilated bodies kept me from noticing the man who had directed it all” (Tellez 1) about the captain. The two of them do horrible things to their respective towns; Miss Strangeworth, by sending her…
In the short story “The Possibility of Evil” Jackson the author shows Miss Strangeworth views as very subjective, which can be seen in the quote “Miss Strangeworth never concerned herself with facts; her letters all dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion.” In the quote it clearly states that she never concerns herself with facts and that her letters are based off of her opinions. Also, this shows the readers that the text in Miss Strangeworth's letters may not actually be true because it is just based off of her beliefs. Furthermore, in the quote it states that that her letters dealt with suspicion which means that Miss Strangeworth is coming to assumptions and accusations before learning about other opinions and what the…
Throughout, “The Possibility of Evil,” Miss Strangeworth says and does things that leads the reader to think a certain way about her character. A word that describes Miss Strangeworth’s character would be meddlesome. For instance, over the course of the pages 370-371, Adela is writing her letters to people about her suspicions. On page 370, her letter states, “ Have you found out yet what they were all laughing about after you left the bridge club on Thursday? Or is the wife really always the last one to know?” In this particular letter, she is interfering in another couples relationship. She is meddling in Mr. and Mrs.…
No person is truly good or truly evil. In A Separate Peace, John Knowles describes the conflict between good and bad. Gene Forrester is a prime example that good and evil are embedded in everyone.…
Evil is shown when Hyde in the film tortures and murders Ivy she screams for help but no one came, in the book Hyde tramples a girl and no one helps her, In the nutty professor kelp got bulllied but no one cared. Society was truely evil as no one wanted to be involved in scandals as it would ruin their reputation which may be considered as selfish and evil. Society doing these things means that everyone is vulrenable to bad things as no one will help for their own good. The society of all these characters are all truly rancorous as all the actions the society has done has significantly altered the lives of Dr Jekyll and Prof. Kelp. Dr Jekyll might not be addicted to his alternate personality if society had assisted and Kelp could have not been bullied if society had helped. It is percieved that no one wanted to help and were very selfish. Evil is represented on the grizzly actions that society takes by not deciding to change things, everything may have been avoided if all three societies accepted this…
Ms Adela Strangeworth is the protagonist and is as well as the antagonist from “The Possibility of Evil,” a short story written by Shirley Jackson. She is the kind of person that is secretly all within us. She has all the motives to be good intention but hurts others without meaning to, which is very common now a days. Ms. Strangeworth is a dainty 70 year old women who is often seen wearing a nice neat skirt so who would ever suspect her as “evil?”…
Jackson uses dialogue, thoughts and character reactions to suggest that Miss Strangeworth is an unkind person. First of all, when Miss Strangeworth encounters the Cranes. In the text it writes “A princess can be a lot of trouble sometimes.” Calling someone a princess often has bad ideas, such as being overly pampered, not having any responsibility and being spoiled.…
How does one characterize good and evil? Throughout time, people have asked this question and only received opinions based on references from religious works, such as The Holy Bible. “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matthew 12:34). In other words, a good man does good things, and an evil man does evil things. Using characterization, O’Connor personifies the grandmother as good and The Misfit as evil. Although there are grey areas, readers are able to discern which character is which. The grandmother is characterized as a good person and a lady that does the right thing according to the standards of her time. She seems to treat goodness mostly as a function of being decent, having good manners, and coming from a family of "good blood” (O’Connor 454). Before leaving for vacation, the grandmother donned her finest apparel, so she would look like a lady, or, in her eyes, a good person (O’Connor 446). The grandmother’s portrayal of good makes her flawed, just like every other human being, which draws in the reader by making the character relatable. Everyone has their own flaws. The Misfit is used as a foil character to the grandmother, helping to disclose “by contrast [her] distinctive qualifications” (“Character” 127). By characterizing The Misfit as a…
Evil people do evil things: that statement seems simple enough. However, the motives behind evil acts tend to be more complex than that simplistic thought. Although some may believe that any dishonesty is evil, people are not inherently evil, and acts that may be considered evil are not deliberate. More likely, they occur because of the denial of private responsibility through the pursuit of self-gain.…
Good and evil are polar opposites, yet one cannot exist without the other. To understand this intricate relationship, one must have a clear understanding on what exactly good and evil are. These two are not always so black and white, but good can be defined as acting agreeably with societical and personal values. Evil can be defined as going against those values. However, as societies and humans differ, so do their moral codes. What is seen as good in one society or time may be seen as evil in another. Two more factors to consider are intentions and actions. They are two separate entities. Actions are seen, and judged, by everyone else, but intentions are known only by the doer. This is why there is no clear-cut line between good and evil.…
Chillingworth could most likely be described as evil. In the beginning of The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is described as the evil character who committed adultery on her husband, but in reality, Chillingworth created the situation by leaving his wife alone with nowhere to turn. Even though Chillingworth seems innocent and is supposedly a victim, he never cared for Hester and ignored her, yet he still expected her to love him. Instead of accepting the situation, he seeks revenge, bringing out the true evil in him. He does not accept Hester’s love for Dimmesdale and deliberately tries to stand in their way. Evil never outlives the good, just as Chilingworth doesn’t…
From reading the short story the reader can feel that Miss Strangeworth does not like evil and tries to get rid of it. The text also said “as long as evil existed unchecked in the world, it was Miss. Strangeworth’s duty to keep her town alert of it” (210). She figured it was her job to keep the evil out of her town but it is her that is making the town evil. This personal ambition causes herself to be evil even if she is not aware of it. She tries to get rid of it but it is just making everybody miserable and hating each…