Who Is Miss Strangeworth's Character In The Possibility Of Evil
People aren’t all they appear to be. Shirley Jackson’s story, “The Possibility of Evil,” is told from the perspective of a 71-year old lady named Adela Strangeworth. Miss Strangeworth is an old woman who has lived in this town all her life. 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.
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. …show more content…
marriage; Miss Strangeworth is suggesting that Mr. Harper is doing something he shouldn’t be doing behind his wife’s back. Another example is on page 371; the passage states, “You never really know about doctors. Remember they’re only human and need money like the rest of us. Suppose the knife accidentally slipped. Would Doctor Burns get his fee and a little extra from that nephew of yours?” That was Miss Strangeworth’s last letter. In this case, she is putting her nose in Don Crane’s business; she is suggesting that the doctor could purposely cause the surgery to go wrong. She also brings up the nephew’s money in the letter, which is also none of her business. As you can conclude, Miss Strangeworth is quite meddlesome.
Next, the narrator presents Miss Strangeworth’s character in a certain way. What the narrator says about her supports the idea that she is snobbish. Specifically, on the first page of the story; it states, “--- and sometimes found herself thinking that the town belonged to her.” Miss Strangeworth feels that because she has lived in the town longer than most of the people she is, in a way, entitled to certain things. The excerpt proves that she feels as if everyone is beneath her; that she is better than the people of the town. Also on page 365, the narrator says, “Miss Strangeworth never gave away any of her roses, although the tourist often asked her. The roses belonged to Pleasant Street, and it bothered Miss Strangeworth to think of people wanting to carry them away, to take them into strange towns and down strange streets.” She believes that no other person, street, or town is worthy of her roses. That is except for her, ‘her’ street, and ‘her’ town. Without a doubt, readers can conclude that Miss Strangeworth can be described as snobbish.
In addition to Miss Strangeworth being meddlesome and snobbish; how she interacts with others shows that she is also sneaky.
On page 368, Miss Strangeworth is having a conversation with Helen Crane. “ ‘She just seems -- slow,’ ” Helen Crane said. ‘Nonsense. All babies are different. Some of them develop much more quickly than other.’ ” This is showing how Miss Strangeworth is trying to make Helen Crane beel better. The, skip over to page 370, Miss Strangeworth addresses her first letter to Helen Crane. The letter states, “Didn’t you ever see an idiot child before? Some people just shouldn’t have children, should they?” These two excerpts from the book shows how she is sneaky. Miss Strangeworth says one thing in person; but then, contradicts everything she said in person by what she says in her letter to them. In other words, she is nice to their face, but incredibly rude in the letter. These are what shows that her character is sneaky, or two-faced
even.
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. Although, this is about a 71- year old woman who seems sweet; there is always a possibility of evil. People aren’t all they appear to be.
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. …show more content…
marriage; Miss Strangeworth is suggesting that Mr. Harper is doing something he shouldn’t be doing behind his wife’s back. Another example is on page 371; the passage states, “You never really know about doctors. Remember they’re only human and need money like the rest of us. Suppose the knife accidentally slipped. Would Doctor Burns get his fee and a little extra from that nephew of yours?” That was Miss Strangeworth’s last letter. In this case, she is putting her nose in Don Crane’s business; she is suggesting that the doctor could purposely cause the surgery to go wrong. She also brings up the nephew’s money in the letter, which is also none of her business. As you can conclude, Miss Strangeworth is quite meddlesome.
Next, the narrator presents Miss Strangeworth’s character in a certain way. What the narrator says about her supports the idea that she is snobbish. Specifically, on the first page of the story; it states, “--- and sometimes found herself thinking that the town belonged to her.” Miss Strangeworth feels that because she has lived in the town longer than most of the people she is, in a way, entitled to certain things. The excerpt proves that she feels as if everyone is beneath her; that she is better than the people of the town. Also on page 365, the narrator says, “Miss Strangeworth never gave away any of her roses, although the tourist often asked her. The roses belonged to Pleasant Street, and it bothered Miss Strangeworth to think of people wanting to carry them away, to take them into strange towns and down strange streets.” She believes that no other person, street, or town is worthy of her roses. That is except for her, ‘her’ street, and ‘her’ town. Without a doubt, readers can conclude that Miss Strangeworth can be described as snobbish.
In addition to Miss Strangeworth being meddlesome and snobbish; how she interacts with others shows that she is also sneaky.
On page 368, Miss Strangeworth is having a conversation with Helen Crane. “ ‘She just seems -- slow,’ ” Helen Crane said. ‘Nonsense. All babies are different. Some of them develop much more quickly than other.’ ” This is showing how Miss Strangeworth is trying to make Helen Crane beel better. The, skip over to page 370, Miss Strangeworth addresses her first letter to Helen Crane. The letter states, “Didn’t you ever see an idiot child before? Some people just shouldn’t have children, should they?” These two excerpts from the book shows how she is sneaky. Miss Strangeworth says one thing in person; but then, contradicts everything she said in person by what she says in her letter to them. In other words, she is nice to their face, but incredibly rude in the letter. These are what shows that her character is sneaky, or two-faced
even.
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. Although, this is about a 71- year old woman who seems sweet; there is always a possibility of evil. People aren’t all they appear to be.