Theme: The possibility of evil by Shirley Jackson is a short story written in the time period of 1965. A great aspect of this short story is the fact that it is vague. It contains many themes that is seen from thousands of different perspectives. One of these themes is, “Where there is light, there is darkness.” This quote can be taken quite literally and figuratively. In a literal sense, where there is light, there will be shadows(darkness). In a figurative sense, it’s essentially saying that good have to coexist with evil. In the possibility of evil, the audience follow Miss Adela Strangeworth who is a delightful 71 year-old woman. She would greet her neighbors good morning and ask after their health. This facade her as a generous, kind-hearted
Her first novel “The Road Through The Wall” was published as well as her most famous short story, “The Lottery” in 1948. Later in 1949, they moved to Westport, Connecticut. The following years, Shirley gave birth to three children and published: Hangsaman(1951), The Summer People(1951 : Chosen for Best American Short Stories), Life Among The Savages (1953), The Bird's Nest(1954), Witchcraft of Salem Village(1956), One Ordinary Day With Peanuts(1956 : Chosen for Best American Short Stories), Raising Demons(1957), The Sundial(1958), The Haunting of Hill House(1959), We Have Always Lived in the Castle(1962: Best selling novel; Chosen for the year’s Ten Best Novels). On August 8, 1965, Shirley died from heart failure during her usual afternoon nap(some say that it was because of being overweight and an obsessive cigarette smoker).
A few months after Shirley’s Jackson death, her husband(Stanley Edgar Hyman) published her short story, “The Possibility of Evil.” Stanley also published “The Magic of Shirley Jackson”, a posthumous collection of short stories Shirley never published. In 1968, Stanley published another posthumous “Come Along With Me”, containing Shirley’s 16 short stories, 3 essays, and an unfinished novel “Come Along With Me”. Later in 1998, two of Shirley Jackson’s children finished and published “Just an Ordinary Day”, a collection of Shirley’s uncollected short
Similar to The Lottery, Shirley wrote The Possibility of Evil with a message about social difficulties. One possibility is that she wish to write about how society judge a person based on their social appearances. A system where people joined a bandwagon of ideas about a person created thoughtlessly. Another possibility is that Miss Strangeworth is reflection of Shirley Jackson. Unlike Miss Strangeworth, Shirley Jackson write stories instead of letters. Miss Strangeworth writes about problems of her neighbors that are better left unspoken. Shirley Jackson writes about the problems of society and other people. Both of them shared a similarity as to write about other people’s problems. I believe that at the time period of when she wrote The Possibility of Evil, she began to doubt herself whether or not to continue jabbing at the problems of
Shirley Temple Black continues to inspire children today. She has achieved great accomplishments in the world of politics and in the world of childhood fame. She was the world’s most popular star in the worst of times, and always brought smiles and happiness where ever she went, in her life and in her movies. Her name is still connected with fame, although it has been over 50 years since she has appeared in a movie, much less been a star. However, Shirley Temple Black continues to be a household name in homes across the world. The little girl with curls, who radiated enough happiness to bring a smile to everyone who saw her, even during the darkest days of the Depression, will never be forgotten.
The hidden secret of Miss Strangeworth leaves everyone speechless. Within the short story “The Possibility of Evil” written by Shirley Jackson, the main character, Miss Strangeworth, has a secret that no one would have expected for a seemingly nice elderly lady. In Miss Strangeworth’s down time, she secretly writes cruel and inconsiderate letters to people within her town. These actions would label Miss Strangeworth as a bully. The unbearable letters she writes, the way she goes about them, and her love and dedication for writing them proves that she is very much a bully.
The beginning of the story displays the theme by showing that Miss.Strangeworth seems innocent in her public life, but later shows that she lies about what she thinks to people. When she told Mrs. Crane “All babies are different. Some of them develop much more quickly than others", in response to her worrying about her child, she
This story revolves around a character known as Miss Adela Strangeworth whose ancestral home is Pleasant Street which also happens to be the setup used to develop the story. However she is from the initial stages of the story portrayed as an old lady that is relatively calm and harmless especially with regards to the lives of her neigbours. She is portrayed in the story with the author as a proud lady who believes in the fact that she owns her town perhaps a factor that is evidenced by the way she interacts with the members of her community. Her constant conversations with the members of the community perhaps paint her as a relatively calm, loving and caring lady to the members of the community.
written by Shirley Jackson, include some sort of sick ironic twist in them. The main character of
One of the ways this is achieved is by using an exterior appearance to deceive ones true morals for an intriguing motive. This is seen through the character of Miss. Strangeworth the main character in "The Possibility of Evil" appearing to be a sweet old lady however, she is not what she seems. Her deceiving exterior is seen when the narrator states "Walking down Main street on a summer morning, Miss. Strangeworth had to stop every minute or so to say good morning to someone or to ask after someone 's health (Jackson 1). This quote illustrates Miss. Strangeworth uses her
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the theme of the story is dramatically illustrated by Jackson’s unique tone. Once a year the villagers gather together in the central square for the lottery. The villagers await the arrival of Mr. Summers and the black box. Within the black box are folded slips of paper, one piece having a black dot on it. All the villagers then draw a piece of paper out of the box. Whoever gets the paper with the black dot wins. Tessie Hutchinson wins the lottery! Everyone then closes in on her and stones her to death. Tessie Hutchinson believes it is not fair because she was picked. The villagers do not know why the lottery continues to exist. All they know is that it is a tradition they are not willing to abandon. In “The Lottery,” Jackson portrays three main themes including tradition, treason, and violence.
Throughout the Possibility of Evil the theme is clearly shown as looks can be deceiving. On the other hand, some people might interpret that the theme is that you should treat others as they treat you. However it’s only at the end when the townspeople figure out that she is the one sending the letters which shows that karma only comes into play at the end of the story, while the looks can be deceiving is shown throughout the whole story. By showing Miss Strangeworth as a gentle old lady at first and then slowly showing her true colors, Shirley Jackson illustrates the theme that looks can be deceiving.
The works of Shirley Jackson tend to the macabre because she typically unveils the hidden side of human nature in her short stories and novels. She typically explores the darker side of human nature. Her themes are wide-ranging and border on the surreal though they usually portray everyday, ordinary people. Her endings are often not a resolution but rather a question pertaining to society and individuality that the reader must ask himself or herself. Jackson's normal characters often are in possession of an abnormal psyche. Children are portrayed as blank slates ready to learn the ways of the world from society. However, adults have a hidden side already formed and lurking beneath the perceived normality of the established social order. We see this best in Jackson's most famous short story, The Lottery. Jackson's uses many elements of fiction to demonstrate how human nature can become desensitized to the point of mob murder of a member of their own community. One of the ways she does this is through character. While the shocking reason behind the lottery and the gruesome prize for its winner are not received until the ending, the characters come back to haunt us for their desensitized behavior earlier in the story. For example, the children in the beginning of the story innocently gather stones as normal children might, yet their relish in doing so becomes macabre once we find out the purpose for which that are collecting them "Bobby Martin hard already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroy...eventually made a great pile of stones in one ...
Winning vast amounts of money can make anyone slaphappy, but unfortunately this type of wager won’t be discussed in Shirley Jacksons “The Lottery.” Jackson catches the reader’s attention by describing a typical day by using words such as “blossoming, clear and sunny skies” to attract the reader into believing a calm and hopeful setting which eventually turns dark. In this short story Jackson tells a tale of a sinister and malevolent town in America that conforms to the treacherous acts of murder in order to keep their annual harvest tradition alive. Jackson exposes the monstrosity of people within this society in this chilling tale. She allows the reader’s to ponder and lead them to believe that the lottery is actually a good thing; till she implements foreshadowing, to hint at the dreadfulness behind the lottery and its meaning. My goal in this paper is to discuss why Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a portrayed as a horror story, and the importance the townspeople used to glorify ritualistic killings, to appease to an unseeable force in return of good harvest for the upcoming year.
In "The Lottery" Shirley Jackson fills her story with many literary elements to mask the evil. The story demonstrates how it is in human nature to blindly follow traditions. Even if the people have no idea why they follow.
The story of “The Lottery” is a dark tale that gives the reader a window into a community blighted by an tradition propagated by ignorance; sending a message that reverberates with many events, ideas, and observations throughout the annals of time. Written by the great Shirley Jackson, this fable exemplifies how delusion and illogical thinking led to the terrifying and morose ending of Tessie Hutchinson's existence. Shirley Jackson was well known in her lifetime, but not necessarily as the literary master she is hailed as today. Jackson had great interest in the culture of witchcraft, and deeply incorporated this knowledge into one of her first short stories: “The Lottery.” While this influence greatly improved the haunted tone of the story, it also spawned various rumors regarding Shirley Jackson herself, being a reclusive bookish woman interested in the dark arts. However, just as the “witches” of Salem were mercilessly murdered for ambiguous reasons, so too was Tessie Hutchinson. Shirley Jackson saw the reflection of these poor souls within our very lives, and channeled their sorrowful essence into a meticulous story that is as moving as it is disturbing.
The setting in Possibility of Evil wasn’t clear and wasn’t given to the reader directly. You’ll have to infer a lot of the description of the setting by the dialogue and narration. The physical setting, the place was Mrs.Strangeworth’s town, mainly her house; which was surrounded by her beloved roses.
On the outside Miss Strangeworth seems like a friendly lady, but underneath it all she is very bitter. Whenever she talks to people Miss Strangeworth is friendly to the other characters however if there is something wrong she will judge them about it. “Miss Strangeworth noticed that Miss Chandler had not taken much trouble with her
In “The Possibility of Evil”, Miss Strangeworth is a seventy-one year old lady with blue eyes and a dimple by her lip when she smiles. At first her personality comes across as important and pleasant, but after she starts writing her letters, her personality comes across as rude. At beginning of the story she has conversations with everyone