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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. What does Miss Strangeworth's nice cream-colored stationery say at the top?

2. When Linda and Dave are seen together after school, they look "bleak" (422). How do they look?

3. Why did Miss Strangeworth stop calling Tommy Lewis "Tommy" and start calling him "Mr. Lewis"?

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

5. According to a town legend, what was Strangeworth House once mistaken for?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

9. Describe the exterior of Miss Strangeworth's house.

10. Describe Miss Strangeworth's relationship with Tommy Lewis.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the significance of Miss Strangeworth being the last of the Strangeworths. 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

Once the reader is aware of the story's "twist," many of the lines in the story take on a double meaning. Write an essay that explores these double meanings and the new dimension they contribute to a repeat reading of "The Possibility of Evil." Support your claims with direct quotations from the story.

(see the answer keys)

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