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

Short Answer Questions

1. How old is Miss Strangeworth?

2. Why does Miss Strangeworth refer to the Cranes' baby as "her highness" (421)?

3. Who is the author of "The Possibility of Evil"?

4. When Miss Strangeworth is walking "daintily" along Main Street, (417), how is she walking?

5. According to Miss Strangeworth, to whom should Helen apologize?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What does Miss Strangeworth write to Mrs. Foster about her upcoming surgery, and what is she implying?

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

5. What is ironic about Dave Harris being the one to find and deliver Miss Strangeworth's dropped letter?

6. 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?

7. Who is Linda Stewart, and why has she been so upset?

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

9. What worry does Helen Crane express about her baby daughter, and how does Miss Strangeworth respond to her concerns?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Certainly, Miss Strangeworth's behavior is extreme and cruel. But is Miss Strangeworth the only person in town who gossips and spreads rumors? Write an essay that makes a claim about the purpose of including details like the townspeople gossiping about Linda Stewart and the rumor about the tourist mistaking Miss Strangeworth's home for a museum. Support your claim with textual evidence.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Write an essay that affirms, refutes, or qualifies the following claim: Miss Strangeworth functions like an omnipotent deity in her small town, introducing the "possibility of evil" and allowing the residents of "her" town to make their own choices about how to respond. Offer textual support from the story to support your claims.

(see the answer keys)

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