Pleasantville Analysis

Similarities Between A Possibility of Evil and Pleasantville

Over time many authors have written stories about the evil which humans possess and how they deal with it. The short story A Possibility of Evil and the movie Pleasantville share many similarities and differences. A difference between the two stories is how the main symbols portray opposite things. The similarities are how the main characters create the main conflict, and how Miss Shuttleworth and the Mayor take the same approach to rid the problem from their towns.

A similarity between the two texts is in the way both of the conflicts are created by the main characters. An example of this is how when Mary Sue and David come to Pleasantville there are no conflicts between the people

In Pleasantville the symbol of colour represents a change in the city and in A Possibility of Evil the roses represent how the city has been able to stay the same over a long period of time. In A Possibility of Evil Miss Shuttleworths Grandmother originally planted the roses and they have stayed in the same spot ever since. The story also says “Miss Strangeworth never gave away any of her roses, although tourists often asked her.” (Jackson 1) This represents how the town has stayed the same and that she is not willing to let there be any change whatsoever. When the roses are destroyed at the end of the story it represents how the city can not always stay the same and that there eventually has to be changed. In Pleasantville black and white represent the traditional values of Pleasantville and how they have lived their lives the same way, but when people start to change colour it represents the change in the city and how it is not the same as it was before. An example of this from the movie is when Budd punches the black and white boy when he is making fun of Budds girlfriend, after Budd punches the boy he changes from black and white into

Shuttleworth and the Mayor take the same approach to the problems in their cities. Ms.Shuttleworth thinks that it is fine to go on hearsay and not let the people explain themselves before she writes her letters. The mayor does the same thing at the trial when he interrupts Budd when he is trying to defend himself. A trait that Ms. Strangeworth and The Mayor share is that they are controlling, this is a key factor in the way they handle the problems. An example of this in the text is when Miss Strangworth said “This baby is going to grow up expecting luxury her whole life” (Jackson 2) to Don Crane hinting that she wants the Cranes to stop tending to their child as much. The Mayor creates the codes of conduct which is a long list of his beliefs and values just like how Miss Strangeworth wrote the letters expressing her beliefs and values.. Instead of embracing it, they think that it is better to try and stop it. Miss Shuttleworth by writing the letters and the Mayor by creating the Code of Conduct.

Overall, I think that the stories A Possibility of Evil and Pleasantville share many similarities and differences. The way the main characters create the conflict, the way Miss Shuttleworth and the Mayor handle the problems and the difference between the two main symbols used in the story. These similarities and differences, let me comprehend both story lines better and let me show me the different ways evil can be