...giving hugs and kisses. Miss Strangeworth, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. In The Possibility of Evil, the main character Miss Adela Strangeworth is the last Strangeworth left in the town. She takes it in as her responsibility to help keep the town safe because her great grandfather founded the town. She tries to make the town a better place by writing anonymous letters that she thinks are helping, but they are very hurtful and cruel. In the story The Possibility of Evil, Shirley Jackson uses the interactions between Miss Adela Strangeworth and Mr. Lewis, Martha Harper, and the Crane Family to show readers that attempting to prevent evil in the world can actually lead to more evil. In this...
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...Never judge a book by it’s cover. In “The Possibility of Evil” , by Shirley Jackson, Miss Strangeworth is just a little old woman who lives alone in her town on Pleasant street. She tends to her mother’s roses daily, to make sure they look their best. Miss Strangeworth’s character can be analyzed by considering what she does, what the narrator says about her, and how others interact with her. Miss Strangeworth’s character can be analyzed by considering what she does. She is loving. She’s just a little old lady, who as far as we know , tends to her roses in her tiny old house. For example, the story states; “My grandmother planted these roses, and my mother tended to them just as i do now.” She cares for her roses dearly. She wants to keep things nice. Additionally, when the new minister came to town, “She sent over a basket of Gladioli to the church.” She’s polite in her greetings with the people in her town. Even though she won’t share her roses, she still cared enough to send flowers. Nevertheless, in my opinion, it seems as if she is just a normal, sweet, elderly,...
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...Rough Draft: Mrs. Strangeworth is a “sweet” old woman who spends her time tending to the roses planted in front of her house. Like many people we meet today, the face we think we see on the outside isn’t always what it seems to be. In The Possibility of Evil Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to show the main character’s background and her motives. In the beginning of the story Mrs. Strangeworth’s roses represent her connection to her family who has passed away. On page on Mrs. Strangeworth says, “My family lived here for better than one hundred years. My grandmother planted these roses…” Mrs. Strangeworth’s roses were first planted by her grandmother, so she feels like the roses are a piece of her grandmother that she left behind when she passed away. The roses symbolize how long the Strangeworth family has lived in the town and how loved they were. Later on the story comments, “Mrs. Strangeworth never gave away any of her roses… they belonged on Pleasant Street.” Mrs. Strangeworth couldn’t imagine her grandmother’s roses being taken to another strange place. Her family had lived in that house on Pleasant street for years, that is where she thought the roses belonged, where her grandma had originally planted them. Mrs. Strangeworth’s roses personify her family ties however the symbolism of these roses change throughout the story....
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...dictatorship basically. Every person in the universe is entitled to their opinions and should not have to be judged based off of their opinions. For instance, in “The Possibility of Evil”, Helen Crane has a six month baby girl and spoilers her because that is way Mrs. Crane wants her child to feel, but Miss. Strangeworth (a very opinionated old lady) does not think that her baby should be treated as a princess. By taking someone’s moralities away that person’s one individualism. People who do this are bullies and tyrants. Stephen Vizinczey articulates, ““Dictatorship is a constant lecture instructing you that your feelings, your thoughts and desires are of no account, that you are a nobody and must live as you are told by other people who desire and think for you.” Dictators are a form of a self-appointed moral guardian. They believe that they should be able to have full power of what people do, think and believe in. Totalitarians force people into accepting their morals and what they think what is right and wrong. When Hitler was in charge of Germany in 1939 got people believe that polish people were scum of the earth and people followed him. All in all, no one should have the right to choose what people have to have faith in. If we judge people by their morals or their aspects on life we will never really know who our “friends” are really. Like Edwin Rolfe supposed to his pupils, “never judge a book by its...
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