Old, lonely ladies like Adela Strangeworth could suffer from boredom. One would also think that she would probably like to work in her yard. And one could even think of her living in a small town, where she would probably also know all of the people. If one visualizes all these clichés when an old lady was mentioned, one now has a pretty good picture of Miss Adela Strangeworth, the protagonist of the short story, “The Possibility of Evil’’ by Shirley Jackson. Miss Strangeworth is 71 years old and lives in a small town.
“But those with an evil heart, seem to have a talent for destroying anything beautiful which is about to bloom.” This quote relates to the text because Miss Strangeworth has an evil heart without knowing it and she destroyed good peoples feelings and in the end when her roses were destroyed, something beautiful of hers was destroyed. (Roses) The possibility of Evil by Shirley Jackson explains that there is an evil everywhere, we can not stop it at all. Miss Strangeworth’s thought, actions and the setting plus the rising action and exposition demonstrate it.
In “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, Miss Strangeworth has lost her sanity and she is evil in some ways. She tells people everything they do wrong in the town that she believes is hers. She knows everyone in town, “I’ve watched my town grow” Jackson states (Jackson 188). She is old enough to have knowledge about everyone in the town, and she hasn’t left this town in her whole life. She also isn’t very humble.
First Last Last 1 Ms. Garzon ENG2D1 25 September 2019 The Element of Mood in “The Possibility of Evil” In the short story “The Possibility of Evil” written by Shirley Jackson, I found that the literary element of mood was used skillfully. The story starts out by describing the atmosphere of the town as sunny, fresh, clear, bright, and fragrant. The main character, Miss Strangeworth, appeared happy and peaceful within her surroundings.
She acts in a caring manner to everyone’s face, but when she is alone, she becomes a heartless woman, determined to reveal what she knows. Miss Strangeworth is the one causing the distress in her community, yet she acts oblivious as to what is bothering everyone. She shows her extreme deceitfulness by attempting to ease Helen Crane’s concern about her child by saying “Nonsense… some of them develop… more quickly than others” (Jackson, 1941, p. 167). This is deceitful because she is aware that there is something different about the child and instead of voicing that, she consoles the mother, only to subsequently shatter her in an anonymous letter. Additionally, Miss Strangeworth cleverly utilizes the most common paper and envelops all townspeople use for her letters.
In “The Possibility of Evil”, Shirley Jackson utilizes irony and point of view to support a theme of negative outcomes in spite of good intent. Repeatedly Miss Strangeworth is trying to correct peoples ways of life but actually is causing them pain and sorrow. One demonstration of this is where it says “She was pleased with her letter. She was fond of doing things exactly right”, (Jackson 4). Miss Strangeworth writes to families to correct them and let them know exactly what her opinion is on the matter and it brings them hurt.
This quote also gives you an idea of how Miss Strangeworth enjoyed gossip or talking about someone behind their back. Miss Strangeworth was writing letters to “The town where she lived had to be kept clean and sweet” it's ironic how she could say this when in reality she was doing all the evil of the town. The way Miss
By all appearances, Miss Strangeworth is a sweet, old lady, living in a perfect, shiny, happy town. But appearances are not everything, especially in the case of Miss Adela Strangeworth of Pleasant Street. Miss Adela Strangeworth, a character in the short story “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, is a 71-year-old spinster living in a small town in the 1940’s. At the beginning, she seems like any normal old lady, but it is quickly realized that this is not the case and that she has a dark side. Of the many traits that Miss Strangeworth possesses, the most prominent are her deceptiveness, perfectionism, and the god complex that has developed.
In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” that moment of grace arrives when the prominent criminal points his gun at the grandmother. In spite of the fact that in the story she has spent most of the time picking at people while luxuriating in her own particular goodness, she has an epiphany. She takes a gander at the Misfit and thought of her child, realizing that two of them are not so unalike. She is silent and her hat that she is so fond
In the short story “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, Miss. Adela Strangeworth is introduced as a 71 year old woman who is extremely passionate of her rose garden, but she is also passionate about the people in her town. She could not even walk around town without being stopped to talk and ask about how everyone was. Adela Strangeworth seems to know everything about everyone, but this knowledge also exposed her to all of the hidden evils in her small, familiar town. Adela wanted nothing more than to get rid of the evil that was around her.
“Miss Strangeworth is a familiar fixture in a small town where everyone knows everyone else. Little do the townsfolk suspect, though, that the dignified old woman leads another, secret life…”. A secret life can be evil or good, in Miss Strangeworth’s case it is suitable, but do others appreciate this secret life. In The Possibility of Evil Shirley Jackson illustrates inner thinking, revealing action, and symbolism to show how Miss Strangeworth tends the people like her roses, but truly state's them evil.
Although in NH’s gothic novel, The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth presents as a well-respected physician. As the story progresses, Hawthorne’s wicked imagery and evil symbolism reveal his true nature to illustrate him as a dark and sinister figure obsessed by revenge. In the first appearance of Roger Chillingworth at the Scaffold scene, he comes across as being likable and calm, yet he is seen as hideous but intelligent with wrinkled features. “...stood a white man, clad in a strange disarray of civilized and savage costume” (58).
“Good Witch Bad Witch”: Unforgiving Ways In the short story “ Good Witch Bad Witch” by Gregory Sanders he illustrates how Rex narrates his fond childhood memories and his inability to forgive his favorite aunt racist comments. Later in the story he sees himself parallel to Grandmother Gertrude the woman who was dislike and would have been dishonored by her entire family. This text illustrates that a Physical and Historical setting is a reflection of the family members true character.
However, her evil appears higher than average. She feels obliged “to keep her town alert” “as long as evil existed unchecked in the world” (4). The elderly woman caused so much sorrow, to others, from her suspicions because she “never concerned herself with the facts” (4). As many would say, she enjoyed stirring the pot. Linda Stewart’s life was affected because of Miss Strangeworth.
What were the root causes, economic impact and International Response of Somali piracy in the 1900s and on? Piracy was only a small part of the overall Somali problem, but it is an event caused by the collapse of the Somali state. The piracy caused problems towards their economy, their relations with other countries, and more causes just from inside the country. The piracy didn’t only have negative effects but also positive. Piracy has occurred multiple times off the coast of Africa since about 2005, and the situation has just been getting worse since those years.
