Possibility+of+Evil

=“The Possibility of Evil” =

Questions[[image:http://www.clker.com/cliparts/6/6/4/1/11949852211444877206rose.svg.med.png align="right"]]
1.**Describe the setting.** Small 60’s style town.

2. **Describe/discuss the character of Miss Adela Strangeworth**. Old, uptight self- righteous

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.** She has live in the town her whole life, and according to her, her family had been the founders of the town.

4. **Discuss how the town’s visitors respond to Miss Strangeworth’s roses. Explain how she responds.** Visitors usually wanted to take some of her roses, but she would refuse to let them take any.

5. **Explain how the people in town react and respond to Miss Strangeworth. What do you think their impression of her is?** Most people treated her with respect.

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.** They had once went to school together, but once they graduated and went their own separate ways they started to call each other by Mr and Ms.

7. **Describe Ms. Harper as she reaches for her pocketbook. Explain what Mrs. Strangeworth thinks about Martha’s behavior.** Mrs. Strangeworth thought of it as “evil” behavior.

9. **There is a revealing statement (p. 215) about how the town views Miss Strangeworth. Explain what that is and why.** The town views Mrs. Strangeworth as a crazy, self-righteous woman, but still treated her with respect.

10. **Explain the difference between the papers Miss Strangeworth uses to write letters. discuss the other ways in which these letters differ.** Mrs. Strangeworth used different colored papers for her letters.

11. **Discuss the purpose of Miss Strangeworth’s letters**. To “stop” the “evil” the people were bringing upon each other, when the letters actually were just causing problems.

12. **Why does Miss Strangeworth lie about the goings on in her town?** Because in her mind she thought that it would stop evil.

13. **Explain what Miss Strangeworth sees as her role in the community.** She thought that she had ownership over the town, and was superior to everyone else.

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 “liv(ing) graciously” (218). Then, prove that she is not.** Mrs. Strangeworth thought she was living graciously because she thought she was eradicating the evil in her town, but she was actually sending nasty letters to everyone and causing problems.

15. **Explain why Miss Strangeworth never suspects the children of laughing or mocking. What does this prove about her opinion of herself.** The children acted polite and respectful towards Mrs. Strangeworth, but mocked her behind her back.

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**. Mrs. Strangeworth had sent a nasty letter to Linda Stewart’s father, so he had Dave banned from the house.

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.**

18. **Explain how the townspeople discover Miss Strangeworth’s role in the letters being sent to citizens. How do they get Miss Strangeworth back?** Mrs. Strangewoth drops one of her letters, one of the kids see her drop it and brought it to the recipient. The town found out about her letters and vandalized her roses.

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.** It seems that she finally realizes that she had been doing the evil herself all along after her roses are vandalized. pertains to the two facedness of Ms. Strangeworth, her reason for not signing her name to the letters was ironic, it was ironic how she got caught

Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: Possibility of Evil
3rd person
 * Point of View :**

Mrs. Strangeworth
 * Protagonist:**

Mrs. Strangeworth’s mindset
 * Antagonist:**

Typical 60’s town, America
 * Describe the setting:**

Man vs Man, Man vs Self, Man vs Environment
 * Type of Conflict:**

Mrs. Strangeworth is so convinced that there was so much “evil” in “her” town.
 * Describe the main conflict:**

When Mrs. Strangeworth drops one of her letters and one of the kids picks it up.
 * Describe the Climax of the Story:**

The title, “Possibility of Evil”, relates to Mrs. Strangeworth’s mindset, because she always thought that there was so much evil in her town.
 * Describe the relationship between the title and the theme.**