Three Themes In The Possibility Of Evil By Shirley Jackson

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. However, she never expects that she would get caught someday by her secret actions until she receives a threatening letter that tells her to be aware of what used to be her roses. Throughout the story, there are three themes about life lessons that the readers should not ignore: “always check personal
This theme is inferred because it is not stated in the story, and it means that if someone is too careless to check his/her personal things, other people might find out his/her secrets and spread them out to others. Jackson describes Miss Strangeworth’s carelessness in detail when she drops one of her letter out and does not hear someone is calling her to tell her that she drops something, “She slipped her letters into the slot, and two of them fell inside.
The third caught on the edge and fell outside, onto the ground at Miss Strangeworth’s feet.
She did not notice it … wearily Miss Strangeworth turned to go home to her bed in her lovely

house and never heard the Harris boy calling to her to say that she had dropped something”
(Jackson 6). Because Miss Strangeworth is careless to check out if her three mails has all fallen inside so she let the Harris boy knows her secret. “She began to cry silently for the wickedness of the world when she red the words: Look out at what used to be your roses”
(Jackson 6). This quote shows that the discovery surprises Miss Strangeworth
In other words, how many people are able to see if a person is truly kind or he/she has something else behind that kindness? The last theme that can be identified through the story is that as long as people are kind and friendly to others honestly, they will get loved and respected wholeheartedly. Being kind does not only mean just in order to get loved by someone but it helps you a lot under unexpected situations. Life is a mirror, how much people treat others well, the best return they will receive, “Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love” (Lao Tzu). This is another referred theme of this short story. Miss Strangeworth always says good morning and asks after everyone's health­ a friendly action that not everyone can do. It is right to say that many people, from kids to adults, love and respect her honestly, "A half dozen people turned away from the shelves and counters to wave at her call out good morning " (Jackson 2); or “There was always a group of young people around the post office… Most of the children stood back respectfully as Miss Strangeworth passed, silenced briefly in her presence, and some of the older