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 then has the audacity to send the letters around without signing them. This story puts the flaws of humans in the perspective of the old lady Mrs. Strangeworth and interests the reader with the coldness and deception
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Me From the Past: Isn’t Ms. Strangeworth just like a 1950s version of Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl? Response: Well‚ she does like spreading rumors and does have a scheming side to her.But‚ I would say that she is more like senator Joe McCarthy who claimed that communists were invading the US government. Basically‚ he got a lot of people fired because he made a bunch of false claims. Yet‚ he was popular at the time. Looking back‚ today‚ not so much. Ms. Strangeworth does make statement with her
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In “The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson‚ Ms. Strangeworth stops her town from becoming evil by writing anonymous letters. The overall theme of the story is everything is not what it seems. Jackson utilizes the story to show how a person may not seem like the person you thought they were. Ms. Strangeworth appears to be a sweet old lady‚ but is she really? Throughout the story her true colors begin to reveal. Jackson develops this central idea through the use of irony. Through all three types
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A Possibility of Evil Character Sketch – Adela Strangeworth She is portrayed as an old lady who has too much pride and wants to be in the know of every tiny piece of gossip in town. In the beginning of the story‚ it gives the readers the impression that she was a sweet old lady who takes much pride in her rose bush and enjoys the town gossip too much. Ms. Strangeworth comes off as prideful‚ intrusive and blunt. Ms. Strangeworth was portrayed as prideful throughout the story when she took so
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This is shown through the author’s use of irony‚ symbolism‚ and characterization. Irony was used in the story to show how looks can be deceiving because one’s outside appearance and one’s authentic self can be two very different things. Miss Strangeworth claims that she believes she is doing the right thing‚ when in reality she is creating the evil that she is trying to avoid. She is seen as a harmless‚ old lady but in actuality is the evil. The story mentions Miss Strangeworth’s possessions‚ “with
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images of evil. Both Emily Grierson and Adela Strangeworth are women who share similar characteristics yet pose completely different motives. Their stories take place in close-knit towns‚ which play essential roles in their motives for evil. Emily Grierson and Adela Strangeworth demonstrate similarities and differences that develop their actions‚ revealing the possibility of evil within them. Both towns that Emily Grierson and Adela Strangeworth exist in are important settings for their actions
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Tien Hanh Lai Woodard English 1 7/9/14 "The Possibility of Evil" Three Themes Essay The short story “The Possibility of Evil‚” written by Shirley Jackson‚ is about an old lady named Miss Strangeworth‚ who lives in a small and sweet town in all her long life. Miss Strangeworth seems to be a kind and friendly but also a weird and wicked person who always thinks that everyone is evil and lustful. She gives herself the responsibility to watch and to send people secret letters to point out their unknown mistakes
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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
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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‚
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In your personal opinion‚ is Adela Strangeworth inherently evil or was evil something that was socially constructed within her as a person? Explain. In the short story “The Possibility of Evil‚” Adela Strangeworth is made out to be a sweet innocent old lady living a perfect life. Everyone in her town seems to think that Adela is just some old lady who is really friendly and who cares for her neighbors. In reality‚ she walks around town acting like she is perfect and then goes home and writes
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