“When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty.” -George Bernard Shaw. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Possibility of Evil” Miss Strangeworth has this idea that it is her “duty” to remove all of the evil from her town. In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” Phoenix Jackson’s“duty” is to get medicine for her sick grandson.
In “The Possibility of Evil” and “A Worn Path” the protagonists both have a portrayal of “duty”. In “The Possibility of Evil” Miss Strangeworth has this idea that it is her duty to remove all evil from her town. She writes anonymous letters to the towns people telling them the evil within them. Throughout the story you get the idea that she thinks it's her duty because of her thoughts. “Many People seem disturbed recently, Miss Strangeworth thought.” “Mr. Lewis looked worried, she thought, and for minute she hesitated…” These thoughts prove that she was observing the way people were acting and looking deeper into it. She thought it was her town sense her family has always lived there and that it was her duty to keep it presentable.…show more content… This path she traveled took her a very long time and it was a very hefty task. The author first gave it a duty feel when it was titled “A Worn Path” because it tells you right away that this trip has been made multiple times. “Oh, that's just old Aunt Phoenix” she said, “She doesn't make these trips for herself-she has a grandson. She makes these trips just as regular as clockwork.” The nurse said that she makes these trips all the time for her grandson which is also showing how often she travels it. It is Phoenix Jackson's duty and responsibility to make these trips so that her grandson