The Possibility Of Evil Essay

Everybody has evil in them. No matter how nice, pleasant, or sweet that person is; everyone carries evil inside. Whether they show it or psychology know they are evil, is up to them. In the “possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, Miss Strangeworth has that evil in her and it is expressed through her age, education, and personal ambition.
First, in the physiology section the reader can learn that Miss Strangeworth acts the way she does because of her old age. In the short story, Miss Strangeworth does say that she is seventy-one years old multiple times. One of the examples is when the tourist asked how old she was and she said “she was seventy-one, Miss Strangeworth told the tourist,” (204). The reader also finds out that she is the oldest person in town and her ancestors helped build the town from the very beginning. Since she is the oldest person in town, she feels like the town is hers and she is in control. This makes her a hateful person inside which results to her writing the letters.
Secondly, in the sociology section, the reader learns a little about her past. Reading the short story, the reader learns Miss Strangeworth and Mr. Lewis went to high school together. In the text, the evidence shows that “They had been in high school together, and gone to picnics together, and to high school dances and
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