In the short story “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson used several symbols to tell her story about Miss Strangeworth. One of the symbols she used are the letters. The letters symbolize evil, the letters that Miss Strangeworth writes are vividly bitter and very heartless. She writes these letters to try to help and counsel others in her town. Instead of those outcomes, it enraged the town to do more evil to the town. The second symbol is the rose. The rose symbolizes Miss Strangeworth’s protection. She had belief that the roses were keeping her protected from the evil that was and that continues in the town. She believes that while she is putting evil in they will keep it