The Possibility of Evil Short Story Analysis

The short story, The Possibility of Evil tells the story of Miss Strangeworth, an old woman who notices evil in her village. She tries to solve the situation by writing anonymous letters to other individuals. The central theme of "The Possibility of Evil" teaches readers that outward appearances can be deceiving and that true evil can hide where it is least expected. Miss Strangeworth is a complicated character in The Possibility of Evil, who enjoys caring for her roses and assisting people in the town. Miss Strangeworth's manner of assistance is unusual since she is a deceitful, narrow-minded person with a God complex. If Miss Strangeworth had not written letters to open their eyes, Miss Chandler, the librarian, and Linda Stewart's parents would have gone on with their lives, unaware of the probable evil lurking around." Miss Strangeworth believes she is purging the town of evil but, in fact, she is the source of it; the letters she writes bring and influence evil in the town. This example of situational irony has a significant impact on the audience since it exposes a great deal about Miss Strangeworth's attitude and character. It demonstrates Miss Strangeworth's arrogance and narrow-mindedness since she is oblivious of how the town is reacting to her letters. Miss Strangeworth's name and flowers are the two symbols. Her last name represents how crazy she is, as she likes doing unusual things such as writing harsh notes to strangers. The rose represents Miss Strangeworth because it appears pleasant and innocent on the outside but contains severe thorns when examined closely. The roses are similar to Miss Strangeworth in that she appears to be a nice lady, but upon closer inspection, you can see the anguish she will inflict on you. Miss Adela Strangeworth, an old woman, Believes it is her responsibility to keep the citizens of her tiny town informed of their own neighbor's flaws and sins, which she believes is beneficial to her community. 

The author uses characterization to show the difference between how Miss Strangeworth behaves in public and her evil inner thoughts. To clarify Miss Strangeworth's role and who she is. Miss Strangeworth is simply pretending to be empathetic and nice. She had, in reality, hidden her aggressive and unpleasant feelings under a happy face. Her poisoned psyche erupts and manifests itself in the harsh messages she writes to her neighbors anonymously. Miss Strangeworth was talking to Helen Crane on the street about her baby while also sending letters to Don Crane, demonstrating her true nasty side."That little girl is going to grow up expecting luxury all her life,"(Jackson, pg 2)  she said to Helen Crane. Miss Strangeworth demonstrates her actual nastiness within herself by writing rude and spiteful letters to the people of her community. “‘Nonsense. All babies are different. Some of them develop much more quickly than others.” As evidenced by a thesis titled Appearances vs Reality Miss Strangeworth exhibits all of the personality qualities listed above, demonstrating that individuals aren't who they claim to be.

The author shows irony in The possibility of evil, Miss Strangeworth believes she is helping her community by speaking cruel things, even though she is unaware that she is doing so. Miss Strangeworth felt that through writing letters, she would be able to defeat or remove the town's evil, while in reality, she was just generating a deeper evil within herself. “she had always made a point of mailing her letters very secretly; it would, of course, not have been wise to let anyone see her mail them."Miss Strangeworth is shocked to learn that her roses have been ruined. This is ironic since Miss Strangeworth was the one who caused all the ruin and disruption in other people's lives by accusing them of evil, and now the evil has turned on her and destroyed her rose garden, which is the one thing she values the most.“Miss Strangeworth never gave away any of her roses, although the tourists often asked her.“ (Jackson, page 420) “The author claims her reaction to the letter was positive. She was a compulsive for doing things correctly…”  Miss Strangeworth, according to Shirley Jackson, was attempting to do the right thing, but in reality, she was causing far more chaos.

From the evidence presented above, it is clear that she feels she is doing a good deed for the community by writing these letters, but she is proven incorrect when her flowers are destroyed as a result of the dreadful things she has said. Miss Strangeworth feels that by speaking horrible things, she is doing the right thing for her community, but she has no idea that she is doing so.

The author uses Symbolization, Miss Strangeworth's flowers are a representation of her community and how far she is ready to go to protect them. The flowers represent a loved being to Miss Strangeworth since she looks for them and protects them from the evil in her community. Miss Strangeworth's evil is symbolized by the envelopes, which represent her spreading her nastiness and harming others."This house, right here. My family has lived here for better than a hundred years.” Miss Strangeworth's last name represents how unusual she is, as she likes doing strange things such as mailing harsh letters to strangers."Miss Strangeworth never concerned herself with facts; her letters all dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion. Symbolism is visible in her last name and flowers, as seen by the arguments raised above and the examples provided. Her flowers are something she genuinely cares about, and she would go to any length to protect them. Miss Strangeworth is just as ready to defend her community as she is to defend her flowers. Even if it means writing hateful letters to the locals of her community.

On the surface, individuals may appear to be wonderful and caring, but on the inside, they can be quite different and reveal who they are. Miss Strangeworth is a kind individual who is prepared to go to great lengths to defend and protect her neighborhood. She puts up a show that she is sweet and loving, but she is quite hateful and unpleasant.