"The Possibility of Evil" summary and analysis
Chayce Riley Kenis
1:30-2:50
David Lydic
The Possibility of Evil (REVISION)
Paper 2
1-19-14
English II
Shirley Jackson’s “The Possibility of Evil” is a short story about a seemingly sweet little old woman, living in a small town with a house and prized bed of roses outside that has been in her family for three generations. The woman, Miss Strangeworth, is narrated as she goes through her normal Tuesday routine stopping to chat with the other locals. Upon doing so, she notices the solemn looks on some and speculates to herself about why the town has to consume itself with the possibility of evil. In an attempt to clean up the town, she writes several horrific letters to those who looked distraught, implying that maybe her letters are what upset the townspeople in the first place. After Miss Strangeworth dropped one of the letters at the post office one night, a local boy personally delivered it himself when he could not catch her before she left. The next morning, she received a letter looking similar to those she sends out. Opening the letter, she is shocked to read that she should look to see what used to be her roses. The central idea of this story is that evil could reside in any of us, even those you would least expect. The central character in this short story is none other than Miss Strangeworth. Almost the entire story takes place around her and her life as Jackson writes in detail about the dainty old woman. She is the major character because without her, the story would have a void and be uninteresting. Miss Strangeworth is what ties everything together, making her encounters throughout the story relevant and come together. Miss Strangeworth gets a taste of her own medicine at the end when evil takes its toll on her unnecessary attempts “to keep her town alert to it” (343). She was careless and made a mistake by dropping her letter at the new post office, causing the
1:30-2:50
David Lydic
The Possibility of Evil (REVISION)
Paper 2
1-19-14
English II
Shirley Jackson’s “The Possibility of Evil” is a short story about a seemingly sweet little old woman, living in a small town with a house and prized bed of roses outside that has been in her family for three generations. The woman, Miss Strangeworth, is narrated as she goes through her normal Tuesday routine stopping to chat with the other locals. Upon doing so, she notices the solemn looks on some and speculates to herself about why the town has to consume itself with the possibility of evil. In an attempt to clean up the town, she writes several horrific letters to those who looked distraught, implying that maybe her letters are what upset the townspeople in the first place. After Miss Strangeworth dropped one of the letters at the post office one night, a local boy personally delivered it himself when he could not catch her before she left. The next morning, she received a letter looking similar to those she sends out. Opening the letter, she is shocked to read that she should look to see what used to be her roses. The central idea of this story is that evil could reside in any of us, even those you would least expect. The central character in this short story is none other than Miss Strangeworth. Almost the entire story takes place around her and her life as Jackson writes in detail about the dainty old woman. She is the major character because without her, the story would have a void and be uninteresting. Miss Strangeworth is what ties everything together, making her encounters throughout the story relevant and come together. Miss Strangeworth gets a taste of her own medicine at the end when evil takes its toll on her unnecessary attempts “to keep her town alert to it” (343). She was careless and made a mistake by dropping her letter at the new post office, causing the