Please answer one of the following questions for the story, "The Possibility of Evil." Make your answer as a comment to this post. Write between 100 and 150 words; provide your word count at the bottom of your paragraph(s). Please finish your work by 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 14.
1. Tell how you feel toward this work or this author, and why.
2. Write about any difficulties or frustrations involved in reading this work.
3. Write about the way this work confirms or confronts your beliefs.
4. Write about something in this work that reminds you of someone you know or of something that has happened in your life.
5. Write about what is effective in the way the work is written.
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15 comments:
Shirley Jackson’s use of dialogue in her story, “The Possibility of Evil” is a particularly effective way of exploring character. An exchange between Dave Harris and Linda Stewart that occurs midway through the story illustrates this well and becomes even more impressive on second reading. Dave is perplexed as to why Linda’s father “won’t let [him] come around anymore.” Linda’s answer, that “You’ve got to have a dirty, dirty mind for things like that,” hints at a particularly devastating letter penned by Miss Strangeworth. The letters she sends are bad enough, with her “IDIOT CHILD” comment to the Cranes the worst, but when I read the story again, I have to wonder just what she wrote to make Linda say Dave has a “dirty mind.” With her dialogue, Jackson hints at the depravity of Miss Strangeworth’s innuendos and their devastating effects on the townspeople, effectively bringing us insights into Strangeworth’s character.
—151 words
“The possibility of evil” strengthened my beliefs about the fact that some people become more pessimistic, criticize and proud when they get to their older stages. It also proved the reality of badness in some people behavior and taught by presenting Miss Strangeworth’s personality who always blames others for not being evil. Shirley Jackson in this story demonstrates the character of a harmful lady who thinks that the whole world is bad and she never realized that the evil is her mind and her soul. Since some devil worshipers demand more rather than return, they cannot adapt to changes easily as well as not willing to get alone with others. This story certified the actuality of the evil which is nothing but wretched heartlessness that creates satisfaction for people like Miss Stangeworth.
134 words
1.Tell how you feel toward this work or this author, and why.
I feel that this work reveals human nature deeply and thoroughly. Selfishness, jealousy, and idle curiosity are some of the evils of human beings. Miss Strangeworth thought that many evils existed in the world, so she had the responsibility to keep the world alert, but she “never concerned herself with facts; her letters all dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion.” Perhaps, Miss Strangeworth was unconscious of her behavior, which was another kind of evil, because the letters were hurting and disturbing people. Miss Strangeworth wanted to have a clean world as fragrant as roses, but roses could be also harmful. She put herself in the centre of the world and judged other people in her value, which was evil too.
122 words
Quoted from “The Possibility of Evil”, by Shirley Jackson
My eyes zoomed on her tight lipless mouth which was moving nonstop. I jerked on the armchair, and focused this time, on her cold, darkling eyes. Beside her mouth, all her body was twisting tired less with a terrible tongue to speak negatively about naturally evil in everyone, from my neighbours and friends till people I never met. I was there because of Bishop Iraj’s advise, “you have to make friendship with Guiti (his sister-in-law) if you want to stay.”
While sitting there, I was thinking, “to whom I`m working, God, Bishop Iraj, or this paranoiac old miss?”
Almost five hours, I was hearing her gossip. Exasperatedly, I announced, “I must go to work early morning.”
She asked dryly, “for example, what time?” Under her lifeless looking, I realized the frustrating unknown calls from the first minute I was entering into the office. Lastly, I released from her castle, I sighed desperately, “What a horrible witch! Guiti Hakimpour!”
158 words
Shirley Jackson was effective presenting her character’s personality through the minute details in her story, “The Possibility of Evil”. In this story, the writer uses few words to directly talk about Miss Strangeworth’s characteristics, but the minute details let readers see a vivid portrait of the old lady. For example, Shirley Jackson uses a lot of space to describe how Miss Strangeworth deals with her daily activities such as midday dinner, a nap, supper, and even the conflict in her thinking about whether to have a cup of tea before lunch, and there is also an entire paragraph’s description about the way Miss Strangeworth chooses the paper for her letters. These all indicate that Miss Strangeworth is a woman who has a rigid and deliberate manner of thinking. There are plenty of details that can illustrate the old lady’s other characteristics, so I think this is an effective way of exploring character.
--152 words
We love charming roses even thought there are thorns on them, right? Similarly, the world we live in is perfect, but still has flaws as well. We can’t expect to get ride of all defects. In fact, it is impossible. Therefore, we should have a tender, compassionate, and tolerant heart to feel this world. Obviously and unfortunately, Miss Strangewroth was not one of this kind of people. She judged people based on her own simple good/bad judgement and rich imagination. Much more than this, she was an anonymous author who sent many letters with vicious words to targeted people by her. She loved roses very much, and never complained thorns. Why didn’t she love other people whom were not satisfied by her judgement?
When I first look to the story’s title “The Possibility of Evil”, I feel there is something unusual is going to happen. Although Mss. Strangeworth, the main character, belongs to a noble family that everything she owns looks wonderful, she lacks a good personality. She has weakness in herself because the evil elements like, pride, envy, and greed control and encourage her to do wrong things. The writer emphasises writing about roses in order to show the contrast meaning between roses and Mss. Strangeworth.
The work is successfully done by the author since she tries to explain that we can find evil in some people that we do not expect them be bad. That is why there is some of her personal experience and feelings in the story.
In fact, there is evil inside all people, but according to degrees. However, evil persons usually get punishments as a result of their bad actions. That is what really happens to Mss. Strangeworth when she tries to separate the two young couple, but at the end she gets hurt back by them indirectly.
(146 words)
After reading “The Possibility of Evil”, what impressed me most is the way that how Shirley Jackson expanded her story. At first, she introduced Miss Strangeworth, she told us that Miss Strangeworth came from an honored family. Then the writer described Miss Strangeworth’s talk with people when she went to the grocery, from that we can know that Miss Strangeworth is a nice old lady, she was respected by other people in the town and felt concern about her neighbors. At that time we won’t imagine any relation between evil and Miss Strangeworth. So when I continued to read the story, I was really surprised and shocked about what Miss Strangeworth had done. I think this is the aim of the writer, it not only makes the story being fascinating but also let us think that in our life sometimes appearance is not same as interior.
-146 words
Every human’s mind has a potential of doing evil, which threatens and dangers to someone’s life. As being illustrated in the story of “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, she described vividly about the characters, which is interesting. Like for instance, “Miss. Strangeworths’” mind is fixated, judgmental, and pessimistic. Her unhappy heart reflects bad thoughts that triggered her to write and send those letters secretly.
I paused, and contemplate maybe several times. Did we become “Miss. Strangeworth” unknowingly or intentionally?
Indeed, proper nurturing of mind, heart and soul through Education is one ways to avoid it. Another is choosing people to hang out with. Lastly, be good to yourself like you treat with others.
(149 words)
When Shirley Jackson described the way children reacted whenever they saw Miss Strangeworth in the story “The Possibility of Evil”, it reminded me of Sayon, an old lady who a group of children would give way to and say respectfully, “Hi grandma,” because she was their grandmas’ age. She always walked alone and many people think that she was a witch. She would walk to the market and buy her groceries all by herself. Another part of the story that reminded me of her is Miss Strangeworth never used to give people her roses, but this Sayon was the antithesis. She gave people some of her cooked rice, but children and parents thought that she had poison in it. I finally got to know that she really was a nice old lady when my friendly and helpful grand mom made a friendship with her.
144 words
In the story, "The Possibility of Evil", the author Shirey Jackson used an extended metaphor by the charactor; Miss Strangeworth brought evil by herself. Miss Strangeworth's pessimistic view finds out weakness from the town people, and overall she herself sows the seeds of discord between her and neighbors. I feel that Jackson exactly describes his topic and the main idea by the strong charactoristics of main charactor, Miss strangeworth. The speaker explains the story that a person who has an illusion mind with wanton thoughts, can not reform others' immoral behaviours. In another word, a person with vicious eyes, sees the world in the dark. Overall, the author Shirley Jackson broaches the real human evil from ordinary aspects that we experience throughout our lives.
-124 words
Shirley Jackson uses contrast to create dramatic shocking effect between Miss Strangeworth’s apparent kindness and wickedness beneath her skin. When Helen Crane addressed her concern to Miss Strangeworth about her baby’s slowness of development, Miss Strangeworth tried to comfort her by explaining all babies develop at different stages, and she even asked Helen Crane to apologize to her baby. When she wrote about the same baby she just talked with on a piece of pink paper: “DID YOU EVER SEE AN IDIOT CHILD BEFORE? SOME PEOPLE JUST SHOULDN’T HAVE CHILDREN SHOULD THEY?” My hair stands up; I can’t believe such a nice lady can say such words full of hatred and evil. However, her behaviour was not unpredictable with previous hints given: she thought Mr. Lewis was absentminded, and Mrs. Harper’s hand was shaking, and many people were troubled lately.
140 words
The article makes me feel that under the old lady's smile, there is an evil inside her. The author describe that she likes the beautiful roses, and keeps her house incredible clean and sparkling, she is acting a respected elderly in frond of the people in town. As the same time, she has evil-minded on everyone, and everything happened in town. The author uses roses serve as a foil to the old lady's evil thought and act. In the prelude of the article gives people suspense and then let people gradually to see the old lady's real side. It's an attractive article that completely exposes the two sides in one person.
-112 words-
In my opinion this lecture only shows us the real life. First at all, this entire lecture speaks us about evil feelings. I think every body, in different moments of our live, have had temptations to do something wrong. However, we are able to decide if follow that bad feeling or instead that, change it for a better feeling. I really think that the second one always is a better way to follow. The second point that this lecture shows us is about revenge. And again, I think revenge never is good. Pay a bad thing for another one is like get in to the same game. In my country we use to say: “Wandering is human, to excuse is divine”.
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