Sometimes, one's perspective may appear to be like the dark side of a moon, it exists but is never exposed. Beneath the surface of the story and the town, there is evil lurking that one would not expect. Irony, is the use of language that actually signifies the opposite. In the short story, The Possibility of Evil, by Shirley Jackson the author uses irony throughout, by the way the main character is displayed. The main character, Miss Strangeworth believes she is a guardian of her town, but in fact, she is the source of evil.
In the beginning, Miss Strangeworth is depicted as an extremely social individual. To start off, Miss Strangeworth exhibits her social characteristics when the author indicates her connection with the other citizens of her town. The author says “She knew everyone in town, of course; she was fond of telling strangers – tourists... that she had never spent more than a day outside this town in all her life” (Jackson, 1). Here, the fact that Miss Strangeworth knows everyone and communicates with her fellow citizens, and even strangers that she has not met before on a regular basis proves her to be very social. She is very proud that she has never left this town for a long period of time, showing her attachment to the town and her neighbours, ultimately exhibiting her social skills.
The second example of Miss Strangeworth exhibiting her socialization skills occur when the narrator describes her interactions with the tourists. While talking to them, Miss Strangeworth, “sometimes found herself thinking that the town belonged to her” (1). Here, Miss Strangeworth exhibits her strong attachment to her town. Clearly, she loves this town as well as the people residing in it, and thinks of the town as her home and th...
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...er meddlesome actions are extremely hurtful and troubling. Therefore, it is obvious that Miss Strangeworth proves to be a troubling individual by the end of the story.
In conclusion, in Shirley Jackson's The Possibility of Evil, the main character Miss Strangeworth is a very strange character she is shown as a nice character who wants the best for her town, but she is also shown as a character who is the reason behind the trouble in the town.
In conclusion, in Shirley Jackson's 'The Possibility of Evil'', the main character, Miss Strangeworth takes actions which, in her opinion are helpful, but in actuality are very troublesome. It is ironic how first Miss Strangeworth is shown as the protagonist in this story, but she is then exposed as being the antagonist, by the end. One can only hear an opinion, not a fact, so one must choose wisely about what to believe.
The first character we encounter is Mrs. Freeman. She is the wife of Mrs. Hopewell's tenant farmer. She is a very outspoken woman, and "she [can] never be brought to admit herself wrong on any point" (O'Connor 180). Mrs. Freeman is a gossip; she is nosy and she "ha[s] a special fondness for the details of secret infections, hidden deformities, assaults upon children" (O'Connor 183).
Sometimes the way people act around you isn’t the way they act around other people. A good example of this is Shirley Jackson’s, “The Possibility of Evil”. The main character, Miss Strangeworth, isn’t as nice as she may seem. Miss Strangeworth’s character can be analyzed by considering what she does, what the narrator says about her, and how other characters interact with her.
In the short story “The Possibility Of Evil “ by Shirley Jackson was several symbols to tell her story about Miss Strangeworth. One symbol she uses is her name Strangeworth. She was a strange women but everyone thought she was normal and nice, but in reality she was mean and strange, she thought she was better than everyone else. Another symbol she uses is the letter Miss.Strangeworth sent to people. They mean more than just letters because they show how she really is, she is showing her true colors. Finally another symbol was her flowers, the flowers meant that she was better than anyone else. The flowers were fancy, Miss. Strangeworth thought she was elegant and polite . Certain symbols have certain meaning in today's culture because they
One of the ways this is achieved is by using an exterior appearance to deceive ones true morals for an intriguing motive. This is seen through the character of Miss. Strangeworth the main character in "The Possibility of Evil" appearing to be a sweet old lady however, she is not what she seems. Her deceiving exterior is seen when the narrator states "Walking down Main street on a summer morning, Miss. Strangeworth had to stop every minute or so to say good morning to someone or to ask after someone 's health (Jackson 1). This quote illustrates Miss. Strangeworth uses her
In this book, notwithstanding, you discover insidious where you would minimum discover it- - in Miss Strangeworth. The hero should be an upbeat, kind, sweet minimal old woman, yet that is the place the incongruity is uncovered. The per user gets shocked by the disclosure that Miss Strangeworth is composing all these terrible letters to the townspeople. She doesn't see the mischief the letters are doing. She is composing them for her own particular smugness. So in the event that she loves composing the letters, does this mean she prefers harming individuals? Provided that this is true, this implies she is genuinely detestable. She composes a letter that says "a few people just shouldn't have kids… .." (Jackson, 1941, p. 169). This is a showing of how Miss Strangeworth is genuinely insidious. The underhandedness in her was not in any manner
Throughout the Possibility of Evil the theme is clearly shown as looks can be deceiving. On the other hand, some people might interpret that the theme is that you should treat others as they treat you. However it’s only at the end when the townspeople figure out that she is the one sending the letters which shows that karma only comes into play at the end of the story, while the looks can be deceiving is shown throughout the whole story. By showing Miss Strangeworth as a gentle old lady at first and then slowly showing her true colors, Shirley Jackson illustrates the theme that looks can be deceiving.
character that is innocent, she is a near 6 year old girl that is very harmless and innocent, and she only has the good intentions to save and relief the population of maycomb from racism and from any problems that occurred...
In the short story “The Possibilities of Evil” by Shirley Jackson several symbols to tell her story about Miss Strangeworth are very mystifying. The tell how she is and her personality. Her symbols in her life that are very important to her would be her roses. She love her roses because the were planted by her grandmother tended by her mother and now she does the same as her mother. Miss Strangeworth never gave any of her roses too anyone “At botherd Miss Strangeworth to think of people wanting to carry them away, too take them into strange towns and down strange streets…”. Her roses are something really ecstatic too her. The symbols that are very important to me in my life is family. To me family is everything, an at should always come first.
The reader is shown how other characters perceive Miss Strangeworth when in the story it says, “Most of the children stood back respectfully as Miss Strangeworth passed, silenced briefly in her presence, and some of the older children greeter her . . . .”(5). These children who treat Miss Strangeworth as an honorable elder emphasize the fact that everyone in the town has been fooled to believe that she is innocent. No one at the post office would be suspicious of Miss Strangeworth’s intentions because they have only seen one side of her. Miss Strangeworth's character is also developed in the last line of the story when it reads, “She began to cry silently for the wickedness of the world when she read the words: Look out at what used to be your roses”(6). Don Crane’s bold action of destroying Miss Strangeworth’s precious roses shows how hurtful and cruel Miss Strangeworth's words are. The way in which Don Crane interacted with Miss Strangeworth compared to how other people interacted with her displays the drastic difference in how she is treated depending on which aspect of her personality is shown. Miss Strangeworth’s multifaceted personality causes her to be regarded in different ways based on which side she reveals to those around
Like any good character, Mrs. Strangeworth has understandable desires. The possibility of evil the story entails is from Miss Strangeworth ideology of what she sees is the truth. In turn, she writes deagroitive letter to her townspeople, feeling that a solid plan for stopping the evil in the town she's lives in. For her, writing these letters let herself feel a sense of pride for the town she deeply love. “The sun was shining, the air was fresh and clear after the night’s heavy rain, and everything in Miss Strangeworth’s little town looked washed and bright.” (Shirley 1) If her desire wasn’t to make a better town, she would have never written such letters. Mrs. Strangeworth has desire like any other character with well intentioned, but with ability to take it to the extreme makes stand out from the crowd.
The Novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte took a surprising twist when Bertha "Mason" Rochester was introduced. Bertha leaves a traumatizing impression on Jane’s conscious. However, this particular misfortunate event was insidiously accumulating prior to Jane’s arrival at Thornfield. Through Bertha, the potential alternative dark turn of events of Jane’s past are realized, thus bringing Jane closer to finding herself.
7. We need to believe in the possibility of evil just like miss strangeworth because there is always going to be evil in this world. The narrator wanted to show the difference between making mistakes and true evil so we know not to make the same evil decisions that Miss Strangeworth made or any other decisions that are being pressured on us.
The mad wife in Jane Eyre has always interested me. I was convinced that Charlotte Bronte must have had something against the West Indies and I was angry about it. Otherwise, why did she take a West Indian for that horrible lunatic, for that really dreadful creature? I hadn’t really formulated the idea of vindicating the madwoman in the novel, but when I was rediscovered I was encouraged to do so. (qtd. in Nunez 287)
The first and foremost point to Wickham’s villainy is his attractiveness. Austen takes the time to actually describe him as a truly handsome man, and that is his primary bait for his victims. In addition to his physical appearance, he possesses the charm of a fox, and the first person to fall into his trap is Elizabeth. Lizzy, whose prejudice lies in basing her entire of opinion of someone mainly on first impressions, experiences a pull to Wickham’s character due to his superficially angelic disposition and equally handsome demeanor. Once Lizzy realizes the truth about Wickham, he has already moved onto his next victim: her younger sister, Lydia. He uses his looks to convince the stupidly foolish Lydia to elope with him, showing the reader the true power of his face and charm. Many villains are portrayed as unappealing characters, but the most evil of them are the ones with the beautiful appearances and contrastingly ugly nature.
This paper discusses the ending of Jane Eyre, discussing whether it is a “good” ending. The paper draws on three criticisms of both the novel and Romantic literature in general to conclude that, yes, it is indeed a good ending because it both fits the prevailing realism of the main character’s worldview, and conforms to the predominant literary trends of the period.