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 does Miss Strangeworth tell Helen Crane about her worries?

2. Who was the first owner of the grocery store?

3. Who is Ethan Allen?

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

5. Helen Crane looks at her baby with "rapt wonder" (421). How is she looking at the baby?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

3. Which writing utensils does Miss Strangeworth have available, and which one does she choose for her anonymous notes?

4. Describe Miss Strangeworth's feelings about her roses.

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

6. Describe the significance of the paper that Miss Strangeworth chooses for her anonymous notes.

7. What details does Jackson provide about the interior of Miss Strangeworth's house to show the pride the family has always taken in the house?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

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

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,094 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample