Miss Strangeworth Character Analysis

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

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.

In “The Possibility of Evil,” Shirley Jackson gives us a character who seems to be the town's most respected and longest established resident, but who actually has a dark and destructive side. Her pride in the town may be the first foreshadowing clue of what she is truly like. Miss Strangeworth describes how her grandfather built the very first house on pleasant, street, and that she “.... family has lived here for better than a hundred years.”  She even admits to thinking the town …. Belonged to her (Jackson 1). This evidence is important because it shows how Miss Strangeworth feels she is different, perhaps better than other townspeople. From

Throughout the story, some community members realize Miss Strangeworth is a bitter and insensitive old woman, whose intentions to rid of evil backfire and end up creating more trouble for her. Firstly, Miss Strangeworth writes insensitive and harsh letters to community members, writing letters to her neighbors with her unwanted opinions. Miss Strangeworth writes a letter to the same young couple that asks for her guidance, “DIDN’T YOU EVER SEE AN IDIOT CHILD BEFORE? SOME PEOPLE JUST SHOULDN’T HAVE CHILDREN, SHOULD THEY?”(3). Here, Miss Strangeworth expresses her harsh words to the young couple about their child. She feels like she is giving them the right advice to raise a child and rid evil from her community, but her harsh words are hurting her neighbors and creating more trouble for them. Secondly, Miss Strangeworth feels like she is ridding her town of evil and is the only saviour for the community. Miss Strangeworth thinks it’s her “duty to keep her town alert…there were so many wicked people in the world” (3). Miss Strangeworth thinks of herself as the only one attempting to prevent evil as there is too much evil in the world now days. She feels as if she is doing her job and there is nothing wrong with what she is doing. Lastly, as Miss Strangeworth thinks very highly of her

Miss Strangeworth burns faulty letters and she walks later in the evening to deliver her letters to the post office. When miss Strangeworth makes a mistake in one of her letters, she burns it over the kitchen stove. The author explains “when she made a mistake, as she sometimes did, she took the page to the kitchen stove and burned it at once” (Jackson 225-226). This portrays being cautious because Miss Strangeworth avoids getting caught at any cause. Miss Strangeworth could of thrown out the notes but then she could risk someone seeing them. By doing the extra step and burning them, she is being careful about how she disposes of them so no one can see them and trace them back to her. Miss Strangeworth is also attentive when she mails her letters. It explains “consequently, she times her wall so she could reach the post office just as the darkness was starting to dim the outlines of the trees and the shapes of people’s face” (Jackson 227). This shows Miss Strangeworth’s cautiousness because when mailing the letters, she makes sure to wait till dusk to mail her letters so no one can identify that she is the one that sends the letters. She is extra vigilant as she times her walk to make sure that if anyone does see her, they will either not identify her or not mind her any business. Miss Strangeworth is clearly a very cautious individual and takes the extra step to ensure that no one finds out about her letter

Miss Strangeworth later does something meddlesome. In addition, Miss Strangeworth is meddlesome: “Mr. Lewis would never have imagined for a minute that his grandson might be lifting petty cash from the store register if he had not gotten one of Miss Strangeworth’s letters.” pg. 370-371. She mettled and got Mr. Lewis’s son in trouble for something he didn’t do.

Above all, in “The Possibility of Evil,” Jackson’s use of symbolism and irony allows her to unveil the dishonesty possessed by many people. Like Miss Strangeworth, her roses serve as a trademark of the town. And, similarly to the roses, although Miss Strangeworth seems pleasant, she possesses hidden thorns. When a dropped letter reveals Miss Strangeworth’s actions, her neighbors destroy her roses. “[Miss Strangeworth] began to cry silently . . . when she read the words: LOOK OUT AT WHAT USED TO BE YOUR ROSES”(Jackson 7). The destroyed roses represent Miss Strangeworth being exposed; there is no longer any pride or joy in the roses or Miss Strangeworth. Jackson’s use of symbolism throughout the story allows her to divulge the insincerity of everyday people. Throughout the story, Jackson also employs irony. Often, Miss Strangeworth engages in small talk with her neighbors while ironically consuming her time with cynical thoughts of the very

Everyone expects an elder to be really kind and sweet. Shirley Jackson’s “The Possibility of Evil” tells a very different story. Miss Strangeworth out in public is kind and sweet, but behind closed doors she is very deceptive. Miss Strangeworth’s character can be analyzed by what she does or says, what the narrator says, and how others react to her. Miss Strangeworth is a very selfish lady in the story.

Miss Strangeworth described to the reporters, that she got up and did her daily routine, which led her to go downstairs for breakfast, when she found saw her mail on the floor of the main hall. One thing that caught her eye in particular was a letter in a green envelope.

In the short story, “The Possible of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, Adela Strangeworth’s actions prove that she is an intrusive person. One of the ways Miss Strangeworth shows that she is intrusive is when she asks Billy Moore why he isn’t driving around his dad’s new car. This shows that she wants to know what other people are doing and expects them to act a certain way. When she talks with Miss Chandler she thinks that she is absentminded and has her mind somewhere else, Miss Strangeworth also mentions how she hates sloppiness. This passage makes it seem like she want to have control over other people and for things to be the way she wants them. When she is at the grocer, she observes that Mr. Lewis looked worried and tired and thinks about telling

Miss Strangeworth is very proud of herself and her family. She believes that her grandpa should have a statue in the middle of the town to honour him and she insists on being called Miss Strangeworth instead of Adela. She’s extremely proud the her little house on Pleasant Street and her rose garden. “This house, right here, my family has lived here for better than a hundred years, my grandmother planted those roses’, and my mother, just as I do” (Jackson,1941, p.163).

The theme of The Possibility Of Evil is that appearances can be deceptive. This is revealed through the main character of Miss Adela Strangeworth, who on the surface is a sweet and kind old lady whose pastime is taking care of her garden full of roses. She was beloved by the town to the point when she enters the town’s grocery store, “half a dozen people turned away from the shelves and counters to wave at her or call out good morning.” However, as the story progresses, the readers soon realize that Miss Strangeworth is not who she appears to be. She has been writing two or three destructive letters a day for the past year to various people in town.

Mrs. Jones’ kindness to Roger change him. It changes him because he lives on the street and since he lives on the street, he probably never even experienced kindness before. When Roger snatched Mrs. Jones’ purse you can tell he didn’t want to but he needed or wanted the money. In the story, on page 31 paragraph 2, When Roger snatches the purse; he says “I didn’t aim to”. That tells you he didn’t want to do it or he is lying to save his tail. Also when Mrs. Jones took Roger in, as in into her house, he was all sort of nervous. He didn’t know what to expect. Although after Mrs. Jones gave him food and drink, he started to be less nervous and more grateful. For instance, on page 33 last paragraph, when he was leaving Mrs. Jones’ house it says