A well rounded scholar should be able to decipher text effectively by considering literary movements, textual evidence, and narrator perception. Shirley Jackson, the author of “The Possibility of Evil”, recognizes the importance of these skills and challenges the reader to connect the literary movement of Southern Gothicism to the text. The “pleasantly” ominous setting, and the benevolently wicked persona of the protagonist, Miss Adela Strangeworth, helps to convey the purpose of the story to the reader.
The protagonist, “seventy-one” year old Miss Strangeworth, has severely convinced the reader that she is the living, breathing soul of the setting. Being that she is essentially the monarch of her small town, Miss Strangeworth feels that it …show more content…
Although it’s not apparent, Miss Strangeworth’s property is extremely symbolic. Miss Strangeworth’s invites the the audience to know that her “grandmother planted these roses, and my mother tended them.” Even though it may seem as though Miss Strangeworth has a strange affection for her roses, her innocent flower patch has a much deeper, malevolent meaning. The Civil War of 1861-1865 was fought over Southern Americans owning slaves. After one of Miss Strangeworth’s letter was intercepted, she received a “letter in a green envelope” that read “Look out at what used to be your roses”. Miss Strangeworth’s roses actually represent the slaves her family owned, and when the townspeople “cut her roses down”, it represented the end of the Civil War (and the loss of her slaves). Additionally, Shirley Jackson does not fail to include that Adela’s “washed white” house was surrounded with her “red and pink and white roses.” Slaves were largely known to be African American, so the comment about Miss Strangeworth’s house being whitewashed is an inking towards white supremacy. Without Southern Gothicism being the literary movement, the wretchedness of Miss Strangeworth and the connection to South would never have been conveyed, and the sole purpose of the story wouldn’t have been
The protagonist, “seventy-one” year old Miss Strangeworth, has severely convinced the reader that she is the living, breathing soul of the setting. Being that she is essentially the monarch of her small town, Miss Strangeworth feels that it …show more content…
Although it’s not apparent, Miss Strangeworth’s property is extremely symbolic. Miss Strangeworth’s invites the the audience to know that her “grandmother planted these roses, and my mother tended them.” Even though it may seem as though Miss Strangeworth has a strange affection for her roses, her innocent flower patch has a much deeper, malevolent meaning. The Civil War of 1861-1865 was fought over Southern Americans owning slaves. After one of Miss Strangeworth’s letter was intercepted, she received a “letter in a green envelope” that read “Look out at what used to be your roses”. Miss Strangeworth’s roses actually represent the slaves her family owned, and when the townspeople “cut her roses down”, it represented the end of the Civil War (and the loss of her slaves). Additionally, Shirley Jackson does not fail to include that Adela’s “washed white” house was surrounded with her “red and pink and white roses.” Slaves were largely known to be African American, so the comment about Miss Strangeworth’s house being whitewashed is an inking towards white supremacy. Without Southern Gothicism being the literary movement, the wretchedness of Miss Strangeworth and the connection to South would never have been conveyed, and the sole purpose of the story wouldn’t have been