Judgment of Others The Most Wicked of all Evils
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Possibility of Evil” Miss Strangeworth feels that it is her civic and moral duty to banish her town of anything the slight bit wicked. This story presents a character that passes judgment upon her fellow townspeople. ... Because judgment is discretionary, in that it is based on the views of a particular person, one should hold judgment of others until they themselves are without reprove. ... There wouldn’t have been a town here at all if it hadn’t been for [him]” (463). ... There are many rumors in a small town, many things that get covered up in order for peace and tranquility to exist between all the citizens of the town. With all good intentions, in her own mind, Miss Strangeworth feels it is her duty to thwart evil at all cost. ... The problem came because “Miss Strangeworth never concerned herself with facts; her letters all dealt with more negotiable stuff of suspicion” (467).