The Possibility of Evil
By
Shirley Jackson
-Shirley Jackson was born on December 14, 1916
-She began writing stories as a teenager
-She entered Syracuse University in 1937
-Her first published story was "Janice"
-On August 8, at the age of 48, Shirley Jackson died unexpectedly of heart failure on her usual afternoon nap.
-She began writing stories as a teenager
-She entered Syracuse University in 1937
-Her first published story was "Janice"
-On August 8, at the age of 48, Shirley Jackson died unexpectedly of heart failure on her usual afternoon nap.
Prereading Reflection:
How do you define "evil"? Evil is something really bad and something that can't be stopped from doing horrible things.
If you suspect that someone is going to do something evil, what responsibility do you have to prevent it? I have the responsibility to hold someone back from doing something bad and say no.
Why do people sometimes enjoy saying bad things behind other people's backs? They think that people don't hear what they are saying.
What's the best way to respond to a person who does this? Talk to them face to face and tell them to stop doing bad things.
If you suspect that someone is going to do something evil, what responsibility do you have to prevent it? I have the responsibility to hold someone back from doing something bad and say no.
Why do people sometimes enjoy saying bad things behind other people's backs? They think that people don't hear what they are saying.
What's the best way to respond to a person who does this? Talk to them face to face and tell them to stop doing bad things.
Vocabulary
Infatuated
Definition: in love, obsessed
Quote: "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
Definition: expressed, obsessed
Quote: "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)
Negotiable
Definition: compromise, make a deal
Quote: "Miss Strangeworth never concerned herself with facts; her letters all dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion." (p.32)
Degraded
Definition: reduced in quality or value; debased; vulgarized: the degraded level of the modern novel
Quote: "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)
Proverb
Definition: of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a proverb: proverbial brevity
Quote: "Miss Strangeworth's hats were proverbial in the town; people believed that she had inherited them from her mother and grandmother..." (p.34)
Unduly
Definition: in an inappropriate, unjustifiable, or improper manner: unduly critical
Quote: "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
Definition: possible, as opposed to actual
Quote: "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 his potential badness.
Definition: in love, obsessed
Quote: "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
Definition: expressed, obsessed
Quote: "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)
Negotiable
Definition: compromise, make a deal
Quote: "Miss Strangeworth never concerned herself with facts; her letters all dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion." (p.32)
Degraded
Definition: reduced in quality or value; debased; vulgarized: the degraded level of the modern novel
Quote: "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)
Proverb
Definition: of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a proverb: proverbial brevity
Quote: "Miss Strangeworth's hats were proverbial in the town; people believed that she had inherited them from her mother and grandmother..." (p.34)
Unduly
Definition: in an inappropriate, unjustifiable, or improper manner: unduly critical
Quote: "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
Definition: possible, as opposed to actual
Quote: "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 his potential badness.
Contrasting Ideas
Provide at least 5 examples from the story to support each idea
Miss Strangeworth seems EVIL
-she cares about other people and what they do -she doesn't let anyone take her flowers -she writes angry letters to people -she is rude to a baby -she thinks she runs the town |
Miss Strangeworth DOES NOT SEEM EVIL
-she greets everyone with joy -she gets worried about Mr. Lewis -she tells people it's a lovely day -she is nice to a lot of people in the morning -she lays her flowers out so everyone can see them |