Ironies in "Possibility of Evil"

Situational Irony

"Miss Chandler, the librarian, and Linda Stewart's parents would have gone unsuspectingly ahead with their lives, never aware of the possible evil lurking nearby, if Miss Strangeworth had not sent letters to open their eyes (Jackson, 253)." This is an example of situational irony because Miss Strangeworth believes that she is ridding the town of evil while in reality she is the cause of it; the letters that she writes bring and influence evil in the town. This example of situational irony has a considerable effect on the readers because it reveals a lot about Miss Strangeworth's attitude and character. It shows that Miss Strangeworth believes that she is always right and narrow-minded due to how she is unaware of how the town is reacting to her letters.

Dramatic Irony

That we, as readers, know that the letters are sent by Miss Strangeworth --who appears caring, loving, and venerable to the people of the town, that they carry evil to the town people though Miss Strangeworth isn't aware of this, and that Miss Strangeworth believes that what she's doing is right and shouldn't be punished for, whereas it is evil and should actually be penalized.

Verbal Irony

When Miss Strangeworth exclaims to Helen Crane, "Nonsense. All babies are different. Some of them develop much more quickly than others" (Jackson, 251). This is an example of verbal irony because Miss Strangeworth doesn't mean what she says at all and this is proven when she writes in a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Crane saying, "Didn't you ever see an idiot child before? Some people just shouldn't have children, should they?" (Jackson, 252). This example of verbal irony once again reveals the true nature of Miss Strangeworth and it shows...