43 pages 1 hour read

Shirley Jackson

The Possibility of Evil

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1965

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Paired Texts & Other Resources

Use these links to supplement and complement students’ reading of the work and to increase their overall enjoyment of literature. Challenge them to discern parallel themes, engage through visual and aural stimuli, and delve deeper into the thematic possibilities presented by the title.

Recommended Texts for Pairing

"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens

  • Dickens’s classic novel about Scrooge, a wealthy man who hoards his wealth and scoffs at his neighbors
  • relates to themes of The Isolating Effects of Privilege and Morality Versus Appearances
  • “A Christmas Carol” on SuperSummary

“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe

  • Poe’s iconic story of a once-noble family’s deterioration of fortune and well-being
  • connects to themes of The Isolating Effects of Privilege, The Power of Routine and Habit, and Morality Versus Appearances
  • "The Fall of the House of Usher" on SuperSummary

“The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe

  • Poe’s short story in which a party of wealthy people attempt to carry on with their partying while the townspeople die of a plague
  • relates to themes of The Isolating Effects of Privilege, The Power of Routine and Habit, and Morality Versus Appearances.

Related Titles

By Shirley Jackson

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Shirley Jackson
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Shirley Jackson
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Shirley Jackson
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