Adela Strangeworth In The Possibility Of Evil By Shirley Jackson

The Possibility Of Evil Analysis . Everyone knows this one person that is so kind and sweet in front of people but then go talk about those people behind their back . There are a lot of those people in this world but one in particular will be talked about in this essay . Miss Adela Strangeworth talks to everyone that she passes in her town , then she writes letters about them and mails them to the person she wants to address ,

In short stories the author composes a compelling plot, with an ending that in someway either teaches the main character a lesson, or the reader themselves. Jackson acts as a master of literary devices, as she navigates the reader through intense scenes that evoke an emotional response to the experiences of the main character. In the short stories, “The Possibility of Evil” and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, she used the same three literary devices to grasp the reader’s attention from beginning to end. In “The Possibility of Evil” Miss Adela Strangeworth caused a stir by sending anonymous letters to townspeople, filled with things she suspected other people in her town of doing; she claimed that every letter was sent with the intent of

Appearances can be very deceiving. Although someone may appear to be innocent and naive, you never know what they are capable of. This relates to Miss Strangeworth, a character in “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson. Miss Strangeworth is a complicated character because of her conflicting personality. Although her actions are deceptive, her intentions and thoughts are very compassionate.

Judging by reality and fiction, there is not a single person to exist that has been purely evil or purely good. Yet it is in human nature to judge others as good or evil. Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice was quick to judge Fitzwilliam Darcy, the second central character of the novel, harshly based on her false assumptions of the arrogance of the wealthy. His initial egocentrism, due to his belief in a structured social hierarchy, caused her to form a prejudiced opinion of him. Throughout Pride and Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy is shown to exhibit both good and evil qualities, although not always apparent to the narrator, Elizabeth. Jane Austen’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy as a morally ambiguous character uncovers the significance of class in English society during the late seventeenth century.

In “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, Miss Strangeworth us constantly critical of the people around her. One way the author shows this is the moment she judges Linda Stewart’s behavior. “Only yesterday the Stewarts’ fifteen-year-old daughter Linda had run crying down her own front walk on the way to school, not caring who saw her” (176). Miss Strangeworth seemingly disapproves of the way Linda Stewart does not care who sees her as she shows so much grief. The way Miss Strangeworth describes the situation makes it seem that Linda should not be showing herself in that light in public. Similarly, Miss Strangeworth is judgmental of the librarian’s lifestyle. “Miss Strangeworth noticed Miss Chandler had not taken much trouble with her

She writes anonymous letters to them, saying rude things that cause the people to be frightened or sad. The anonymous letters are similar to cyber bullying, Miss Strangeworth is hiding her identity but is sending letters that are unpleasant and malicious for the reader. Miss Strangeworth is bullying the townspeople by sending those hateful letters. The strange thing is that, Miss Strangeworth is aware of the letters being hurtful, thus why she sends them anonymously. She is trying to get rid of the evil in the town in an unusual way, by thrusting the evil in the person’s face in a harsh manner. The letters are sent with the goal of helping the people by showing them the evil in their lives. But in other words, these letters are causing problems in relationships of the people. Miss Strangeworth is saying things about personal relationships that can cause a drift in the relationship. Using the example of Linda Stewart and the Harris boy, Miss Strangeworth wrote a letter that might have had false information. Due to that letter being sent Linda and Harris’s relationship is damaged, Linda does not want to talk to Harris anymore. Instead of getting rid of evil, Miss Strangeworth is helping to create more of it. People are losing trust and have become more emotionally closed off due to her cruel letters.

Miss Strangeworth is curious. One instance when she was curious is “Miss Strangeworth, glancing at her quickly, if she had been taking proper care of herself.” She is also curious while she is walking down the street. An example is “ Smiling to herself and shaking her old head, she went on down the sunny street, stopping only to ask little Billy Moore why he wasn’t out riding in daddy’s new shiny car, and talking for a few minutes outside the library with Miss Chandler, about the new novels to be ordered, and paid for by the annual library appropriation.” As a Miss Strangeworth’s character can be analyzed as

Yet, in fact she is quite judgmental and mean. When she writes her previously mentioned letters, she portrays very harsh ideas, ideas which should be kept to herself not told to the world. For example, she wrote a letter to a woman who was waiting to have surgery that read “You never know about doctors. Remember they’re only human… Suppose the knife would slip accidentally”.(Jackson, 1941, p.170) Such thoughts should be kept to oneself and most definitely not told to a person that will soon be cut open by a doctor. This proves how mean Miss Adela Strangeworth actually is inside.

Conflict is a big issue in the story The Possibility of Evil. The main conflict is person versus society and is between Miss Strangeworth and the whole town. Miss Strangeworth is a two faced character. Miss Strangeworth pretends to be a friend to all her so called friends and fellow town’s people, but secretly sends them disgusting and hurting messages in the mail unsigned. The author of the story really makes the reader want to figure out why a person that has lived in the town her whole life and knew everybody, [“She knew everyone in town, of course; [...] she had not spent more than a day outside this town in her long life [...] She was seventy-one” (249)] would do something terrible to that level to the only people she knows. At first when Miss Strangeworth’s actions are revealed to the reader, one may think that she is crazy, but as one reads on one starts to notice some other reasons. The

At the beginning of the novel, though, instability and misunderstanding characterized the relationship between the two. After Jane catches an illness en route to the Bingley Estate in Netherfield, Elizabeth chooses to travel to the house and care for her sister; Darcy, who had been visiting the Bingley’s, is also present there. On one particular night, Miss Bingley, Mr. Bingley’s sister, asks Elizabeth to parade about the room with her, in an attempt to attract Darcy’s attention; subsequently, the two women discuss the possibility of finding an aspect of his character to ridicule. He states that his critical fault is his resentment, and that his “good opinion once lost is lost forever.” Elizabeth proceeds to mock him; she views his apparent assertion of self-awareness as examples of his conceited personality, and judges him for over-valuing his first impression. Unbeknownst to her, however, Darcy had really

The narrator seems to mostly describe her, (although I would like to point out that the narrator seems to be speaking about her from her own thoughts) as both innocent and possessive. Aside from believing that the entire town belongs to her, she refuses to let anything go, even something as small as a rose: “Miss Strangeworth never gave away any of her roses, although the tourists often asked her.” She simply couldn’t stand the idea of anything from her town being brought the outside world. The thought of her roses being brought out of her town to far away places disturbed her, and she refused to allow it. Considering the above, she can be described as both innocent and

In the “Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson gives us a character who seems to be the town's respected and longest established resident but who may actually has a dark and destructive side. Her pride in the town may be the first foreshadowing of what she is truly like. Miss strange describes how her grandfather built the very first house on Pleasant Street and her “..family lived here better than hundred years.” She even admits to thinking the town “belonged to her” (Jackson 1). The evidence is important because it shows how Miss.strangeworth feels she is different perhaps, better than others townspeople. From this evidence the reader can infer

Buddha once stated, “it is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.” In “The Possibility of Evil,” Miss Strangeworth, a seemingly innocent elderly woman, sends cruel letters in order to rid her town of evil. When other townspeople discover her as the author of the letters, they destroy her prized roses. Shirley Jackson’s “The Possibility of Evil” not only reveals the deceitfulness of people, but also emphasizes the underlying evil of all humans and shows that evil remains insurmountable until fully accepted.

She did have some wisdom, though. Miss Bates was not totally ignorant. Indeed, there is much practical wisdom, genuine concern, and touching kindness peppered throughout her humble flow of eager-to-please manner. She had trouble recognizing when she was doing or saying something wrong. On the other hand, Miss Bates is a “great talker upon little maters” and was “full of harmless gossip” that she wants everyone to know. Miss Bates is the spreader of town news and is interested in everyone’s affairs, another reason her neighbours might have found her annoying at times. Even though Miss Bates is silly and meddles in everyone’s lives, she is a harmless old woman who is loved very much for her generous nature and for the kindness she always offered other people.

While Elizabeth was staying at Mr. Bingley’s home to be with Jane, Ms. Bingley and Mr. Darcy state what makes a woman accomplished, including “a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages...” (37) along with “extensive reading” (37) and a certain elegance in their aura. When Mr. Darcy claims he knows of six accomplished women, Elizabeth objects in saying, “"I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any" (37) because she refuses to believe a single woman could possess so many endearing qualities. Darcy is clearly intrigued by Elizabeth’s opinion because he goes on to question if she is “so severe upon your own sex as to doubt the possibility of all this?” (37). Although Mary is considered by many characters in the book to be proficient, she is not very intelligent or well liked by most characters due to her lack of sense. In contrast to Mary, those who hear Elizabeth’s opinions are more interested because her words tend to be more relevant and appropriate for the situation. Elizabeth is able to recognize when to voice her opinions because she has more of a sense of when her words would matter