View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are the youngest children at the post office doing?

2. When Miss Strangeworth looks out the window after the story ends, what will she see?

3. What has Miss Strangeworth written to Mr. Lewis in one of her letters?

4. What is Dave Harris's reason for hand-delivering one of Miss Strangeworth's letters?

5. What causes Miss Strangeworth to say that the Cranes' baby will expect luxury all of her life?

Short Essay Questions

1. What details in the story let the reader know that Miss Strangeworth herself does not believe some of the accusations she is making?

2. Describe the setting of the story "The Possibility of Evil."

3. What is ironic about Miss Strangeworth's criticisms of Helen and Don Crane's parenting?

4. To whom do the townspeople want to dedicate a statue, and why does Miss Strangeworth say that it should be a statue of her grandfather, instead?

5. Explain how Miss Strangeworth's need to do things perfectly is shown in how she writes her letters.

6. What is ironic about Miss Strangeworth's thoughts as she notices that various townspeople seem distressed?

7. Describe the main character of "The Possibility of Evil."

8. What does the green letter at the end of the story say, and what does it imply?

9. What evidence is there in the story that Miss Strangeworth is well-known and respected in the town?

10. What does Miss Strangeworth write to Mrs. Harper, and what is she implying?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Look up the psychological concept of "projection." Then, write an essay that affirms, refutes, or qualifies the following claim: "The Possibility of Evil" is at its heart a story about the consequences of projection. Support your claims with both textual evidence and evidence from reliable outside sources; cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Characters can be divided into those who are "static" (characters that do not meaningfully change during the course of a story) and those who are "dynamic" (characters that do change in meaningful ways). Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about which kind of character Miss Strangeworth is. Use textual evidence to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that explores the symbolic significance of Strangeworth House. Make sure to consider its physical characteristics, its place in town history, and the feelings that it engenders in Miss Strangeworth and others. Support your claims with evidence from the text.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,115 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample