Mrs. Strangeworth's 'The Possibility Of Evil'

438 Words1 Page

“The Possibility of Evil” Reflection For a little over a couple of days out of this week, my English class has been reading “The Possibility of Evil”. The main character, Mrs. Strangeworth, has been punished for sending mean or in this case, evil letters to some people around the community where she lives. Mrs. Strangeworth is a well-known and very liked person in her town. The reading stating, when she walks in the grocery store everyone would stop what they’re doing and turn around to greet her. Disagreeing with her consequences, her all of her roses were cut due to her rude, and mean letters she was sending people throughout the town. To me Mrs. Strangeworth seemed to be a happy, well-known, joyful person. This opinion being formed from the start of the story. When she was sending collisional; mean letters. I don’t understand if she meant to enervate tha people she was sending the letters to, but to me it seemed like she thought that she was …show more content…

The story never mentions if she is senile, or anything of that nature. Even if she’s normal, I still don’t feel like she deserved it because it’s somewhat what to expect from old people. Either they’re really nice or old and really grumpy, or senile you just never know. In my opinion, they should’ve found out more information about her and looked up on why she did what she did. If she did it to get back at them from something they did first, then I disagree with her consequences even more. There we have it, I disagree with her consequences because we don’t know if anything was done before, or if she was senile or anything else. I think they should have at least tried to work it out. I feel like she was a really nice, joyful, happy person, expecting that she wasn’t being mean because of her character. If so, then I think she would be a coward for sending those messages anonymously. Then again, I also don’t know the full

Show More
Related

  • The Importance Of Look In The Possibility Of Evil By Shirley Jackson

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Depression In The 1800s in Rose for Emily and Yellow Wallpaper

    1208 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the seductive factors of William Faulkner’s society in “A Rose for Emily” is the traditional and adamant mental attitude of the main character in the novel. Miss Emily Grierson was stern in her ways and refused to accept change. She was known to be a hereditary obligation to the town. When the next generation and modern ideas came into progress she creates dissatisfaction by not paying her taxes. For many years and through the time of her death she would receive a tax notice every December and it would be returned by the post office a week later unclaimed. When the town got free postal delivery, Miss Emily was opposed to the new idea. She herself did not allow them to fasten the metal numbers above her door and attach a mail box to it. She has no tolerance when it comes to modern ideas. Depression and anguish increased within her causing major conflicts after her father’s death. Being left alone and without any close family to seek support from, she dwelled in disbelief. As custom from the town all the ladies prepared to call at the house and offer condolence and aid, but Miss Emily met them at the door with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead. For three days she was inclined to disbelieve and what had happened while minister and doctors tried to persuade her to let them dispose of the body.

    Read More

  • Parkinson Disease

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...overtaken her body and the family know how much care Deana will need. By placing Deana in a nursing home where she can get the care she needed, I could only imagine that the decisions from the family were very challenging. Caring for Deana probably was a lot on some or most of the family member. So being honest about the care she needed, the decision made about placement in the nursing home was the best decision they made and in her best interest.

    Read More

  • Why Is Miss Strangeworth Fixing Everything Wrong In The World

    327 Words  | 1 Pages

    Miss Strangeworth is a delusional perfectionist with a god complex. Throughout the story she manipulates

    Read More

  • How Is Miss Strangeworth Presented In The Possibility Of Evil

    459 Words  | 1 Pages

    Unfortunately, the letters she sends are the very cause of the evil that she has been trying to battle: her malicious words provoke the behaviour she is guarding against. Miss Strangeworth never realizes her darkly ironic position, and when she is eventually discovered to be the source of the letters, she cannot understand why someone would do something as “evil” as destroying her prize

    Read More

  • Who Is Miss Strangeworth's Character In The Possibility Of Evil

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    That is, she is well-known. The whole town knows her and everyone likes her. For example, in the story the narrator says, “ but the town was proud of Miss Strangeworth and her roses ad her house.” That was a reason I knew she was well-known because the narrator used “the town”. I’m sure she was well-known also because her grandpa built the first house on her street. In addition, in the story the narrator says, “ She knew everyone in the town, of course; she was fond of telling strangers-- tourists who sometimes passed through the town.” That sentence shows how Miss Strangeworth knew everyone in the town and even if she didn’t, she would most likely introduce herself to

    Read More

  • Adela Strangeworth The Possibility Of Evil

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    When an older lady is mentioned thoughts of a sweet, caring and fragile are what come to mind. After reading a short story such as “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, a gentle woman is not described. Assumptions of elderly women can change when a secretive, self-centered, controlling women named Adela Strangeworth is presented into many lives.

    Read More

  • Yoselyn Ortega Ethical Issues

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    I think that people with a restricted sense of rational should not be permitted to take care of young children who also lack rationale. With this being said, all babysitters and nannies should have to undergo some kind of background check to ensure that they are trustworthy, mentally stable, and reliable individuals. I think that Ortega should be punished for her action. I am actually upset that it has taken over three years to get to the bottom of this case. I do not believe that Ortega had been suffering from such an extreme mental illness. I think she is using it as an excuse to be free of consequence. I think it most likely would have been impossible for her to last so long without anyone observing the discrepancies with her mentality. The fact that she left things to be inherited and important papers for her family is an outright sign that she premeditated the murder. If she is able to be free from this case and not take responsibility I will be extremely upset. It does not seem logical that someone struggling from so many mental illnesses could last so long without being noticed or getting help. I think that justice should be given to the innocent mother who is grieving and the two innocent children who lost their lives because a person could not control their emotions. In my opinion, if someone kills another person, they should be punished no matter what the

    Read More

  • A Good Man Is Hard To Find Theme Analysis

    1182 Words  | 3 Pages

    The grandma was a very selfish person throughout the whole story. Some examples of this is when the grandma wanted to visit the plantation and the rest of the family did not, but she made up a lie about the house “not telling the truth but wishing that she were” (O’Connor, Pg. 4) which made the children want to go even though she knew that once they arrived and there was not a hidden passage that they would be very mad but she only cared about what she wanted. On the way to the plantation the grandma comes to realize that she has made a mistake and that the house was not down the road they were traveling, but instead of telling the family, she decided to keep her mouth shut for the first time in the story and not say a word to anybody “the thought was so embarrassing that she turned red in the face and her eyes dilated and her feet jumped up” (O’Connor, Pg. 5). When The Misfit comes over to the car to talk to them the grandma recognized him from the newspaper article that she read that morning. She thought it would be a good idea to call him out on it without thinking of the consequences that could come from it. Due to that decision her whole family, including herself ended up being killed. If she would have just kept her mouth shut would they have survived? When The Misfit began killing her family the grandmother was saying whatever she could to try to save her own life, but not the rest of her family’s life. “You wouldn’t shot a lady, would you?” (O’Connor, Pg. 6). She only cared about herself surviving. “I will give you all the money I got” (O’Connor, Pg. 8)The Grandma ended up sealing the fate of herself and her family because she only thought about herself and did not know when to keep quiet and when she should speak

    Read More

  • Symbolism In 'The Possibility Of Evil'

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    Because of Miss Strangeworth’s constant effort put into the garden, the roses became a part of her. “Look at what used to be your roses”(8). When the town’s people found out that Miss Strangeworth was at fault for writing the letters, her roses were destroyed. The roses were passed on for generations similar to inherited wealth. Miss Strangeworth’s family lived on Pleasant Street for hundreds of years and her grandfather planted the first roses. This made the lady believe that the town belonged to her and she earned the right to control it. The roses represented all of the respect she had previously gained; consequently without the roses, she was given a black eye. The letters sent by Miss Strangeworth represent evil in her town. Instead of doing good, the letters were crass, bitter and unwantedly exposed personal problems. “..Never aware of possible evil lurking nearby, if Miss Strangeworth had not sent letters opening their eyes”(4). She believed her letters were astonishing and changed the wicked behaviour. In reality, the letters encouraged other people to do evil as a craving for

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter Essay: The Nature Of Evil

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever done something wrong in a moment’s time that has affected your life, and the lives of others, forever? In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits adultery with an unknown man, later revealed to be Reverend Dimmesdale, and it not only affects her life, but the lives of several different people. At the beginning of the story, when Hester is standing on the scaffold in front of everyone, she sees her husband, Roger Chillingworth, who has just arrived to Boston, standing in the crowd. When he and Hester have a conversation and she refuses to tell him who the child’s father is, he vows that he will find out the name of the father of Hester’s child. Because he has become so obsessed with finding out who the man is and is looking to seek revenge, Chillingworth becomes a completely different character than when he was first introduced, which demonstrates the strength of the nature of evil.

    Read More

  • Ethical Case Of Mrs. Cortez

    608 Words  | 2 Pages

    Utilitarians believe that if an action results in the maximum happiness for the greatest amount of people and the least amount of pain, it is ethical. In this case, the utility of Mrs. Cortez, someone that is not autonomous due to dementia, shall be prioritized by keeping the truth from her if the truth causes grievances. The death of George is an intensely sad happening for Mrs. Cortez and therefore, the news of it shall be kept from her. Initially, the doctors and nurses gave her the news that her son has passed away; relieving them from their duty of honesty. At this point, their duty is not to tell the whole truth, but to ensure the overall well-being of Mrs.

    Read More

  • I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    The cold tone of this story starts out right in the beginning and her mother and father are quite distraught because of the daughter’s illness and the fact that they must trust the doctors; they seem to not trust anyone. They even told their own family that Deborah is at convalescent school, not a mental institution. Of course the time period of the book is much earlier than now so it is more understandable why they were upset. Hopefully parents now are less ignorant and would try and be proud of their child to willingly get help. It would be too harsh however to say that Deborah’s parents did not do the best that they could, they just did not even realize that their daughter was mentally sick. They didn’t even know that her peeing herself was the result of a tumor. I can say that the way that they treated her for that was wrong. At least they feel bad or that it is their fault. I think that much more of the blame needs to be placed on the parents, contrary of what Dr. Fried stated. It is the responsibility of the parents to protect and nurture their children, not to physically punish what it not right.

    Read More

  • What Is Nora's Role In A Doll House

    1829 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is sad that she has no say against this and ultimately ends up believing it herself. She decides to leave the kids with her nurse so they will not end up the same way she did.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Miss Temple in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Jane is at at Lowood, Miss Temple is constantly showing her genuine kindness for the students. A big moment of her kindness is when the girls did not want to eat the burnt porridge that was given to them one morning and so she ordered a lunch with cheese and bread to be served to them for lunch. Mr. Brocklehurst did not like this act done by Miss Temple, and she probably knew that it would be frowned upon but knew it was the right thin...

    Read More

More about Mrs. Strangeworth's 'The Possibility Of Evil'

Open Document