The Possibility of Evil
By
Shirley Jackson
About the Author
Shirley Jackson: Shirley Jackson was born on December 14, 1916 in Burlingame, California. When she was a teenager, she started writing poetry and short stories. She loved to write, and she practiced writing words every single day. Then as she got older, she began to publish her novels, and she still make short stories for magazines. One of her books was made as a film in 1963. She died at the age of 48 on August 8 from a heart failure during her afternoon nap.
Pre-reading Reflection
How do you define "evil"?
I define evil as a source of immorality or wickedness.
If you suspect that someone is going to do something evil, what responsibility do you have to prevent it?
To be responsible enough to stop someone from being evil would be to tell an adult or someone that the person is doing something evil.
Why do people sometimes enjoy saying bad things behind other people's backs?
Sometimes people enjoy talking behind people's back in a bad way because they think it's just a joke and that they wouldn't care about it.
What's the best way to respond to a person who does this?
Sometimes you should just leave the person be, or you should stand up for the person that is bullied. You can also tell an adult about the problem.
I define evil as a source of immorality or wickedness.
If you suspect that someone is going to do something evil, what responsibility do you have to prevent it?
To be responsible enough to stop someone from being evil would be to tell an adult or someone that the person is doing something evil.
Why do people sometimes enjoy saying bad things behind other people's backs?
Sometimes people enjoy talking behind people's back in a bad way because they think it's just a joke and that they wouldn't care about it.
What's the best way to respond to a person who does this?
Sometimes you should just leave the person be, or you should stand up for the person that is bullied. You can also tell an adult about the problem.
Vocabulary
Infatuated: the definition for the word infatuated can be used as, love or their everything, as used in the sentence "Don and Helen Crane were really the two most infatuated young parents she had ever known, she thought indulgently, looking at the delicately embroidered baby cap and the lace-edged carriage cover." (p. 28)
Indulgently: the definition for the word indulgently can be used as, to be lenient to someone, as used in the sentence "Don and Helen Crane were really the two most infatuated young parents she had even known, she thought indulgently, looking at the delicately embroidered baby cap and the lace-edged carraige cover." (p. 28)
Negotiable: the definition for the word negotiable can be used as, to compromise, as used in the sentence "Miss Strangeworth never concerned herself with facts; her letters are all dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion." (p. 32)
Degraded: the definition for the word degraded can be used as, disrespectful, as used in the sentence "The town where she lived had to be kept clean and sweet, but people everywhere were lustful and evil and degraded, and needed to be watched; the world was so large, and there was only one Strangeworth left in it." (p. 33)
Proverbial: the definition for the word proverbial can be used as, well known, as used in the sentence "After her dishes were done and her kitchen set in order, she took up her hat––Miss Strangeworth's hats were proverbial in the town; people believed that she had inherited them from her mother and her grandmother––and, locking the front door of her house behind her, set off on her evening walk, pocketbook under her arm." (p. 34)
Unduly: the definition for the word unduly can be used as, unreasonable, as used in the sentence "She did not feel that any of them were staring at her unduly or longing to laugh at her; it would have been most reprehensible for their parents to permit their children to mock Miss Strangeworth of Pleasant Street." (p. 35)
Potential: the definition for the word potential can be used as, showing the capacity of something you might be in the future, as used in the sentence "She did not notice it because she was wondering whether a letter to the Harris boy's father might not be of some service in wiping out this potential badness.
Indulgently: the definition for the word indulgently can be used as, to be lenient to someone, as used in the sentence "Don and Helen Crane were really the two most infatuated young parents she had even known, she thought indulgently, looking at the delicately embroidered baby cap and the lace-edged carraige cover." (p. 28)
Negotiable: the definition for the word negotiable can be used as, to compromise, as used in the sentence "Miss Strangeworth never concerned herself with facts; her letters are all dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion." (p. 32)
Degraded: the definition for the word degraded can be used as, disrespectful, as used in the sentence "The town where she lived had to be kept clean and sweet, but people everywhere were lustful and evil and degraded, and needed to be watched; the world was so large, and there was only one Strangeworth left in it." (p. 33)
Proverbial: the definition for the word proverbial can be used as, well known, as used in the sentence "After her dishes were done and her kitchen set in order, she took up her hat––Miss Strangeworth's hats were proverbial in the town; people believed that she had inherited them from her mother and her grandmother––and, locking the front door of her house behind her, set off on her evening walk, pocketbook under her arm." (p. 34)
Unduly: the definition for the word unduly can be used as, unreasonable, as used in the sentence "She did not feel that any of them were staring at her unduly or longing to laugh at her; it would have been most reprehensible for their parents to permit their children to mock Miss Strangeworth of Pleasant Street." (p. 35)
Potential: the definition for the word potential can be used as, showing the capacity of something you might be in the future, as used in the sentence "She did not notice it because she was wondering whether a letter to the Harris boy's father might not be of some service in wiping out this potential badness.
Contrasting Ideas
Miss Strangeworth SEEMS EVIL• She tries to help people become perfect instead of being "imperfect"
• She acts like the town is hers • she is very self-centered and rude • she is too attached to her items in a way that she won't let anyone have or touch it • the way he is described in the story is as a mean person and her description sounds like she is someone with a mean appearance • she writes anonymous letters to the townspeople with mean comments in them "After thinking for a minute, although she had been phrasing the letter in the back of her mind all the way home, she wrote on a pink sheet: Didn't you ever see an idiot child before? Some people just shouldn't have children, should they?" (p. 31) |
Miss Strangeworth DOESN'T SEEM EVIL• she greets people
• she helps people • she is nice enough to actually let people talk to her • she is a normal person that just has a lot of things to get off of her chest • she cares about "her" town "This was, after all, her town, and these were her people; if one of them was in trouble, she ought to know about it." (p. 36) |