“The Possibility of Evil”, written in 1965 by Shirley Jackson, features the protagonist, Adela Strangeworth, who sends anonymous letters regarding the scandalous rumors going around the small village. When she carelessly drops one of her letters, the town gets a glimpse of her true versatile character behind the town gossip. Miss Strangeworth’s multi-faceted personality is revealed throughout the story, as seen in her speech and actions, the narrator’s descriptions, and her interactions with others. Miss Strangeworth’s character is built up by her words and actions, through which the reader can see her multiple personalities. At first, Miss Strangeworth comforts Helen Crane when she says “‘Nonsense. All babies are different. Some of them develop
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The townspeople see a different person in Miss Strangeworth than she lets pass on and the same can be said for Miss Strangeworth towards the townspeople. Miss Strangeworth derives the letters from pure suspicion of what she sees on the surface of the people in town. She prejudices the people’s lives in a drastic manner as to where she sees even a slim possibility of something happening, she will write a letter to them. Miss Strangeworth is said to have done this for over a year and the reason that she gets away with it is because of the prejudices the people of the town press on her. Most only see her as a kind old lady, and this can be seen as true on the surface, but not in Miss Strangeworth’s actual character. This same problem of judging a person by their cover is seen in the modern world as well. People nowadays, mostly young people, assume something about a person, and spread this around school or the internet. Those people that the rumors are about are faced with many consequences because of this. Prejudice is seen all over the globe and it hurts many people, not just the rumored person. Miss Strangeworth’s letters affected a lot of people around the town. The townspeople get their revenge on Miss Strangeworth in the end but in the real world people have to deal with the consequences, especially if their prejudices are made by someone with more power. The connection can be made between “The Possibility of Evil” and the modern world, in the way that prejudice affects people
The townspeople see a different person in Miss Strangeworth than she lets pass on and the same can be said for Miss Strangeworth towards the townspeople. Miss Strangeworth derives the letters from pure suspicion of what she sees on the surface of the people in town. She prejudices the people’s lives in a drastic manner as to where she sees even a slim possibility of something happening, she will write a letter to them. Miss Strangeworth is said to have done this for over a year and the reason that she gets away with it is because of the prejudices the people of the town press on her. Most only see her as a kind old lady, and this can be seen as true on the surface, but not in Miss Strangeworth’s actual character. This same problem of judging a person by their cover is seen in the modern world as well. People nowadays, mostly young people, assume something about a person, and spread this around school or the internet. Those people that the rumors are about are faced with many consequences because of this. Prejudice is seen all over the globe and it hurts many people, not just the rumored person. Miss Strangeworth’s letters affected a lot of people around the town. The townspeople get their revenge on Miss Strangeworth in the end but in the real world people have to deal with the consequences, especially if their prejudices are made by someone with more power. The connection can be made between “The Possibility of Evil” and the modern world, in the way that prejudice affects people