The Possibility Of Evil Ms. Strangeworth Character Traits

The way you were raised teaches you how to treat your acquaintances in everyday life. Shirley Jackson’s story, “The Possibility of Evil” describes Ms. Strangeworth as a possessive, compassionate, and gentle older lady. Ms. Strangeworth only wants what is best for her town, and she would like to rid all evil from the city. What she doesn’t know is people’s feelings are on the line with the problems she points out. Ms. Strangeworth’s character can be analyzed by considering what she does, what the narrator says about her, and how other characters interact with her. Ms. Strangeworth’s character can be analyzed by considering what she does and says. Ms. Strangeworth is compassionate because of her friendly attitude. For instance, “Walking down Main Street on a summer morning, Ms. Strangeworth had to stop every minute or so to say good morning to someone, or to ask after someone’s health.” This description of Ms. Strangeworth’s personality allows the readers to understand the caring side of her. With Ms. Strangeworth living in the town her entire life, she had became well known throughout the town. In addition, “When she came into the grocery, …show more content…
Strangeworth as being possessive of her town and her roses. For example, the narrator stated, “She knew everyone in the town of course; she was fond of telling strangers-tourists who sometimes passed through the town to admire Ms. Strangeworth’s roses-that she had never spent a day outside of this town in all of her long life.” Ms. Strangeworth has lived for seventy-one years in her town, no wonder she believed the town belonged to her. She has lived there her entire life. Also, “She was seventy-one, Ms Strangeworth told the tourists, with a pretty little dimple showing by her lip, and she sometimes found herself thinking the town would not exist if it wasn’t for her grandfather and the lumber mill.” She loved the town, and she also took great pride in what the city the city has