"The Possibility of Evil"‚ by Shirley Jackson‚ is a twisted story. It starts off with Ms.Strangeworth‚ the main character‚ having pride in her family and roses. She goes to the grocery store and has friendly conversations with the town’s people‚ but goes back home to write anonymous‚ cruel letters to the same people she talked to. She later on gets caught and everyone knows all the letters were from her. By writing the letters‚ she thought she was stopping the evil in her town‚ but‚ the ironic part
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Secret Evil In Shirley Jackson’s “The Possibility of Evil” the theme is obvious in the title. There is always the possibility of evil in any person. Jackson expresses this theme through symbolism‚ foreshadowing‚ and repetition. The roses in the story are a great item for expressing all of the elements. Miss Strangeworth’s garden is referenced to many times throughout the story. The roses are a great symbolism to Miss Strangeworth herself. Just like a rose’s soft‚ pretty petals‚ Miss Strangeworth
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In Shirley Jackson’s "The Possibility of Evil"‚ the title is not appropriate because of the pleasant setting of the story. This can be proved by the respect that Miss Adela Strangeworth gave to the town and her nice as well as caring behavior towards the people in the town. Primarily‚ the setting of the story is calm and peaceful like a decent society. This can be proved by the quotation‚ " Miss Strangeworth’s little town looked washed and bright". This analyzes that in a little town everything
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Possibility of Evil Envy‚ greed‚ lust - all examples of "evil" things done by us all; nevertheless‚ what is evil? Can we stop it‚ and if so‚ are we obligated to? Before we speak about the obligation of the normal person to stop evil‚ we have to understand what evil is. Evil is what a person accepts it as true; this can be seen in the story inside Miss Strangeworth. She does not believe her letters create problems rather than solve them. And that in another person’s eyes‚ she can be perceived as
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In the short story‚ “the Possibility Of Evil” ‚ Shirley Jackson uses several symbols to tell her storey about Miss. Strangeworth. One symbol she uses is Miss. Strangeworth’s roses. In the second paragraph of the short story‚ the author describes how Miss.Strangeworth’s admires her flowers. To her‚ they aren’t just “anything.” To her‚ the roses are like her children. Another symbol she uses is her letters whom were locked. Taking into consideration that she did not only write rude letters and mail
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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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`In the short story “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson‚ the readers are reminded through Miss Strangeworth’s character that even though one’s intentions may be to help another person‚ their advice is not always appreciated. Miss Strangeworth is a very well respected person in the small town she lives in. She is always happy and willing to talk to everyone. Throughout the short story‚ she sends anonymous letters to people with advice in hope to make the town a peaceful place. One of the
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The short story‚ “The Possibility of Evil”‚ written by Shirley Jackson‚ the short story is about a sweet old lady‚ Miss Strangeworth‚ that cares a lot about the the people in the town and feels the need to “fix” their problems. Miss Strangeworth feels that there is so much evil in the world and she needs to get rid of the evil. Miss Strangeworth is socializing with the people who she thinks has problems in their lives‚ so no one will suspect that she is the one writing the anonymous letters to them
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Evil is a present force in our society. It can’t be stopped; it spreads like cancer by the media and is embraced by the disappointed members of our society. In the story The Possibility of Evil‚ by Shirley Jackson‚ the protagonist‚ Miss Strangeworth‚ understands that evil is everywhere but does her best to stop it As a result; in Miss Strangeworth’s mind she is the guardian and protector of the town. She feels that this responsibility has been accorded her because her grandfather was one
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The Possibility of Evil Things aren’t always what they seem. In the short story “The Possibility of Evil”‚ Shirley Jackson writes about Ms. Strangeworth‚ an elderly lady‚ that looks to be kind and sweet but turns out to be a judgmental perfectionist. In the story‚ Ms. Strangeworth writes letters to people in her town judging them about how they live their lives. Clearly‚ Ms. Strangeworth proves that appearance can be deceiving because below the kind demeanor she is selfish‚ nasty‚ and bitter person
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