Mr. Haruschuk
ENG 2D1-07
April 27, 2012
Retribution in The Possibility of Evil
In society today, justice is served in order to attain fairness and moral equality. In Shirley
Jacksons The Possibility of Evil, justice is served by seeking revenge, the main character got a taste of their own medicine and suffered for her actions. The first demonstration of justice was when Bob Crane retaliated by sending a letter to Mrs. Strangeworth stating, “Look out at what used to be your roses (Jackson, 228).” That is an effective way to serve justice because the roses symbolized her families tradition and therefore have deep moral value in her life. Bob Crane gets revenge for the wrongs Mrs. Strangeworth has committed against him, hence justice is served.
Moreover Mrs. Strangeworth gets a taste of her own medicine. When she looked at the letters she told herself, “ It looks like one of my own letters (Jackson, 228).” Bob Crane uses the same method as Mrs. Strangeworth to write the letter. He addresses it the same way Mrs. Strangeworth does and same style. Justice was served because now that Mrs. Strangeworth saw what it was like to get her letter everything was fair between her and her victim. Ultimately Mrs.
Strangeworth suffers for her bad intentions towards Mr. Crane and others people in the town. “
She began to cry silently for the wickedness of the world (Jackson, 228).” Mrs. Strangeworth is showing that she’s deeply hurt due to the loss of her roses. Also the pain Mrs. Strangeworth inflicted on the others has finally caught up with her. Justice is served because she got what she deserved and she might get an idea as to how her actions impacted others. In The Possibility Of
Evil by Shirley Jackson justice was served through revenge, giving others a taste of what they did, and causing people to suffer. If justice gets served then one can get their retribution.
Works Cited
Jackson, Shirley. “The Possibility Of Evil.” Elements of English 10. Ed. Douglas Hilker
Harcourt Canada, 2000. 223-228. Print.
Cited: Jackson, Shirley. “The Possibility Of Evil.” Elements of English 10. Ed. Douglas Hilker Harcourt Canada, 2000. 223-228. Print.
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