The Possibility of Evil by Shirley Jackson Missing Works Cited Your outlook on life can be greatly influenced by past experiences and those experiences you only dream about. These perceptions are windows into our thoughts about life. In the story "The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson, Jackson develops the idea that the way one perceives the world can have a great impact on one's beliefs and values. If put into practice based on these beliefs, they can determine how you can choose your destination in life. This impacts not only oneself but also others. Adela Strangeworth perceives the world and her city as full of evil. He believes it is his duty to protect his town and his home on Pleasant Street, where his ancestors lived generations before. She is seen as an advisor and monument to the city due to the contribution her relations with Strangeworth made to its society centuries earlier. She feels she needs to "create" her mark, to bring acceptance to her life, as well as be the guardian of Strangeworth's legacy. In turn, Adella is not the only one affected in the small town. Since Adela holds the Strangeworth legacy, her family has done so much for the town that she feels they own the little town, Pleasant Street, its roses, and everyone who lives there. “My grandfather built the first house on Pleasant Street…sometimes he found himself thinking the city belonged to him.” (Jackson 211) Adela believes that it is her responsibility to her citizens what kind of evil exists in her modest town, and that she will help her neighbors as her ancestors did. "The city he lived in had to be kept clean and sweet, but the people everywhere were lustful, wicked, and degraded, and needed to be watched; the world was so large, and there was only one Strangeworth left in it.".