Possibility+of+evil

Title: __The Possibility of Evil__
 * Question Package**

The story takes place in a quaint town. The place is very clean and well kept. In the town there is a grocery, Miss Strangeworth’s house, shanties on the low road, a park, post office, church, lumber mill, high school, library, soda shop, newspaper shop, the Stewart house, city hall, police station, and a fire hall. The story takes place over the period of two days; from early morning to late at night, and the next morning. It is summer-time when the story takes place.
 * 1)** **Describe the setting.**

Ms. Strangeworth is an old lady of seventy-one years old who lives in a clean and pleasant town. She feels she owns the town, and that it is her job to prevent wrong-doings and acts of evil by sending gossip letters to people’s houses. She informs everybody of anything that might be troublesome. Ms. Strangeworth is very proud of her roses, which had been passed down from her grandmother, and her mother. She thinks there is nothing wrong with what she does; in fact she thinks that it is her duty to do so.
 * 2)** **Describe/discuss the character of Miss Adela Strangeworth.**

She has lived in the town all her life. She is very proud that her grandfather was the one who “started” the town. She feels the town is full of evil, so she makes it her duty to rid of the evil, and prevent it by sending letters of gossip to everybody in the town.
 * 3)** **How long has Miss Strangeworth lived in her town? Discuss her ties to the town and infer how this makes her feel about her position there.**

The tourists admire her roses, and always ask to take some with them because they are so beautiful. She never gives them out to people because she doesn’t like the thought of strange people carrying them into places she was not familiar to. She feels that her roses should be treated with excellent care.
 * 4)** **Discuss how the town’s visitors respond to Miss Strangeworth’s roses. Explain how she responds.**

The townspeople respect her, and see her as an advisor. Her family did a lot for the town, so she is seen just as important as her family because of their achievements. When she is walking down the street, many people greet her and ask her questions about things that they are unsure about. Teenagers and children also respectfully greet her because their parents would never allow them to mock Ms. Strangeworth of Pleasant Street.
 * 5)** **Explain how the people in town react and respond to Miss Strangeworth. What do you think their impression of her is?**

Tommy and Adela were probably in love when they were young. “They had been in high school together, and had gone to picnics together, and to school dances and basketball games...” (pg.212). This relationship changed most likely because Tommy started working at the grocery, and they saw each other less. They stopped calling each other “Addie” and “Tommy”, and started calling each other “Ms. Strangeworth” and “Mr. Lewis”.
 * 6)** **Discuss the relationship between Tommy Lewis and Miss Strangeworth and explain how that relationship has changed over the years. Infer what might have been the basis of the relationship. Then explain how and why it changed.**

Ms. Harper was shaking and acting panicky. Ms. Strangeworth thinks that Ms. Harper might have not been taking proper care of herself.
 * 7)** **Describe Ms. Harper as she reaches for her pocketbook. Explain what Mrs. Strangeworth thinks about Martha’s behavior.**

She talks with Helen Crane, discussing the six month old infant who has not learn to walk yet. Helen thinks that the baby is a little slow, and Ms. Strangeworth assures her that there is nothing to worry about. Then, Ms. Strangeworth sees Ms. Chandler, and sees that Ms. Chandler seems absentminded and worried about something. Her hair isn’t neat, which Ms. Strangeworth notices. Ms. Strangeworth then notes that she hates sloppiness.
 * 8)** **Mrs. Strangeworth meets Helen Crane, the mother of a six month old infant, and Miss Chandler, the librarian. Discuss her interactions with them and her observations about them.**

The town is proud of Ms. Strangeworth and her roses because it is a great spectacle. The house is hundreds of years old, and was the first house built in the town, but it still looks amazing. The Strangeworth family contributed a lot to the creation and well-being of the town, so Adela is part of the legacy.
 * 9)** **There is a revealing statement (p. 215) about how the town views Miss Strangeworth. Explain what that is and why.**

Her usual stationary is cream-colored and heavy, but when she writes her gossip letters, she uses the multi-colored paper pads sold at the newspaper shop. These pads are used by everybody for many things, so this way when she buys them it isn’t suspicious. If she were to buy regular stationary all the time, people would suspect something. The paper pads are used for everything from storing food to organizing papers.
 * 10)** **Explain the difference between the papers Miss Strangeworth uses to write letters. Discuss the other ways in which these letters differ.**

She writes the letters to inform people of their misdeeds, or warning them of something that might happen. They may not be entirely true, but they still have an effect on the recipients. The letters cause stress and chaos in the town because nobody knows who sends them and why anyone would do it.
 * 11)** **Discuss the purpose of Miss Strangeworth’s letters.**

She lies to make people aware that bad things can happen. The things she writes about probably never happen, but people become aware of them and become panicky for nothing. She thinks she is helping when she really is just wrecking the town.
 * 12)** **Why does Miss Strangeworth lie about the goings on in her town?**

She sees herself as the owner of the town. Her grandfather started the lumber mill and built the first house in the town, and she is very proud at that. She feels it is her duty to inform people of their misdeeds, and to prevent wrongdoings in the town filled with evil.
 * 13)** **Explain what Miss Strangeworth sees as her role in the community.**

After writing the letters, she explains how she responds when people ask her if she as to do with the letters. She would say that she is Adela Strangeworth, and that she would never get involved with such a thing. This contradicts what she says before, when she explains that she is the only Strangeworth left in the world, and that it is her duty to rid the town of any evil. She thinks of living graciously as living with purpose, and helping others. This is ironic because she really isn’t helping. All she is doing with the letters is wrecking the town. For example, Dave and Linda were in a happy relationship until one of Ms. Strangeworth’s letters got Dave in trouble.
 * 14)** **After finishing the letters, Miss Strangeworth sets down to tea. Discuss the irony of her thoughts after writing the letters. Explain Miss Strangeworth’s idea of “living graciously” (218). Then, prove that she is not.**

She feels that because the children’s parents respect her so much, they would never allow their children to mock her. This shows that she thinks a lot of herself and her family. She feels that her existence is very important, and that everybody respects her.
 * 15)** **Explain why Miss Strangeworth never suspects the children of laughing or mocking. What does this prove about her opinion of herself?**

The conversation involves Linda telling Dave that he cannot see her anymore. The Stewart family thinks Dave is sending the gossip letters to their house so he is not allowed to see her. Dave doesn’t know what is going on, and keeps trying to get her to tell him, but she doesn’t. Ms. Strangeworth is the one sending letters, and it ruined the relationship between Dave and Linda.
 * 16)** **Miss Strangeworth overhears a conversation between Dave Harris and Linda Stewart. Discuss the content of the conversation and explain Miss Strangeworth’s role in it.**

The evil comes from the letters that she sends around causing stress and chaos. Linda’s father thinks that Dave is sending the letters, so he doesn’t want Dave to see Linda anymore. Ms. Strangeworth doesn’t realize she is the root of all the evil, and instead she thinks that the people in the town are just naturally that way, and that it would be much worse without her.
 * 17)** **Miss Strangeworth thinks that there is “so much evil in people. Even in a charming little town like this one” (220). Explain what the evil is.**

The townspeople discover after she carelessly put the letters in the mail slot, and one falls out. Dave Harris picks up the letter, and tries to call her, but she cannot hear so he decides to deliver the letter to Don Crane directly. They finally find out that she is the one sending the letters around, and the townspeople destroy her roses.
 * 18)** **Explain how the townspeople discover Miss Strangeworth’s role in the letters being sent to citizens. How do they get Miss Strangeworth back?**

In the last sentence, Ms. Strangeworth views her punishment as cruel and unnecessary. The roses were her pride, and she cherished them. They were passed down from her ancestors, and they were a great beauty. She felt no guilt because she thinks that what she does is her duty, and that sending the letters was the right thing to do. She cries not because she realizes her wrong-doings, but because of “the wickedness of the world”.
 * 19)** **Examine the last __sentence__ of the story. How does Miss Strangeworth view her punishment? How does she view what she has done? Explain the irony of this.**

**Short Stories - Literary Devises ** Title: __The Possibility of Evil__ **Point of View:** Third person. **Protagonist:** Ms. Strangeworth **What type of character is the Protagonist?** She is an old lady of seventy-one years old who lives in a clean and pleasant town. She feels she owns the town, and that it is her job to prevent wrong-doings and acts of evil by sending gossip letters to people’s houses. Ms. Strangeworth is very proud of her roses, which had been passed down from her grandmother, and her mother. **Antagonist:** The antagonist is Dave, the Harris boy. When Ms. Strangeworth accidentally drops the letter, Dave picks it up. He calls for Ms. Strangeworth to stop, but she doesn’t hear and he decides to hand-deliver the letter to Don Crane. After this, they discover that she is the one sending gossip around town, so they destroy her roses. **Describe the setting** The story takes place in a quaint town. The place is very clean and well kept. In the town there is a grocery, Miss Strangeworth’s house, shanties on the low road, a park, post office, church, lumber mill, high school, library, soda shop, newspaper shop, the Stewart house, city hall, police station, and a fire hall. The story takes place over the period of two days; from early morning to late at night, and the next morning. It is summer-time when the story takes place. **Type of Conflict:** Man vs. Society Man vs. Man **Describe the main conflict:** The main conflict involves Ms. Strangeworth in a conflict with her town. She sends gossip letters all over the town, and causes all sorts of confusion and chaos. **Describe the Climax of the Story:** I think the climax is when Ms. Strangeworth wakes up to find the letter and opens it. **How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?** Ms. Strangeworth goes from pleasant and kind to sinful and bad. She is walking down the street, and happily greeting people and acting really friendly. She converses with others and she gives them advise. Ms. Harper shakes as she pulls out her pocketbook, so and Ms. Strangeworth seems worried about her. This shows she is caring and kind. Later on, when she is at her house, she starts writing gossip letters reflecting her observations. These letters are accusing, and hurtful. This shows how evil she can be. **Describe the relationship between the title and the theme.** The theme is about evil, and the title is “The Possibility of Evil”. There are many evils in the town, but they are nothing compared to the letters being sent around by Ms. Strangeworth. She claims to be stopping the possibility of evil by sending the letters and making people aware of things happening around. **How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?** The conflict between Ms. Strangeworth and the townspeople illustrates the evil that goes on. The townspeople do small things like parents being worried about a child when they shouldn’t or stealing petty cash from a store register. Although there may be some small evils going around the town, her letters were the most evil. She is spreading evil around by warning people of things that are most likely never going to happen, or just plain wrong. **How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?** When the townspeople destroy her roses, they are giving back the evil she has spread since she started writing the letters. **Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):** **Simile:** N/A **Metaphor:** “The perfume of roses...” “...childish block print.” **Personification:** “The front room overlooking the roses...” **Symbol:** Roses: Pride, Ancestry The letter sent back to her: No more evil The letters that she sends: Evil Blue paper: No more evil **Foreshadowing (give both elements):** “...-here she was, down to the blue already.” “...used a dull stub of pencil when she wrote her letters...” //- Her letter writing is almost over// **Irony:** Sending out letters to get rid of evil, but the letters are more evil **Imagery:** “Red and pink and white roses massed along the narrow lawn...” “Every window sparkled, every curtain hung stiff and straight...” **Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.**