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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 tell Helen Crane about her worries?

2. What color paper does Miss Strangeworth choose for the note to Don Crane about his baby daughter?

3. What job does Miss Chandler hold?

4. The narrator says that Miss Strangeworth's letters "dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion" (424). What is this saying about suspicion?

5. Why does Miss Strangeworth think that she has a right to eavesdrop on Linda Stewart at the post office?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Write an essay in which you explain why the events in the story's final few pages--the events that lead to Miss Strangeworth's downfall--are ironic. Use textual evidence to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that examines the significance of the repetition of the phrase "lovely day" in "The Possibility of Evil." Support your claims with evidence from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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