The Possibility of Evil

by

Shirley Jackson

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Possibility of Evil makes teaching easy.

Dave Harris Character Analysis

Dave Harris is a young man who is dating Linda Stewart. Miss Strangeworth is distrustful of him and writes to Linda’s parents to warn them of the relationship. Near the end of the story, he sees Miss Strangeworth drop one of her letters—the one addressed to Don and Helen Crane—and decides to deliver it himself. Although he is well-intentioned, he ruins the anonymity of Miss Strangeworth’s letter.

Dave Harris Quotes in The Possibility of Evil

The The Possibility of Evil quotes below are all either spoken by Dave Harris or refer to Dave Harris. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Everyday Evil Theme Icon
).
The Possibility of Evil Quotes

There was so much evil in people. Even in a charming little town like this one, there was still so much evil in people.

Related Characters: Miss Adela Strangeworth, Dave Harris, Linda Stewart
Page Number: 10
Explanation and Analysis:

“Catch old lady Strangeworth sending anybody a check,” Linda said. “Throw it in the post office. Why do anyone a favor?” She sniffed. “Doesn’t seem to me anybody around here cares about us,” she said. “Why should we care about them?”

“I’ll take it over, anyway,” the Harris boy said. “Maybe it’s good news for them. Maybe they need something happy tonight, too. Like us.”

Related Characters: Dave Harris (speaker), Linda Stewart (speaker), Miss Adela Strangeworth
Page Number: 10
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Possibility of Evil LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Possibility of Evil PDF

Dave Harris Quotes in The Possibility of Evil

The The Possibility of Evil quotes below are all either spoken by Dave Harris or refer to Dave Harris. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Everyday Evil Theme Icon
).
The Possibility of Evil Quotes

There was so much evil in people. Even in a charming little town like this one, there was still so much evil in people.

Related Characters: Miss Adela Strangeworth, Dave Harris, Linda Stewart
Page Number: 10
Explanation and Analysis:

“Catch old lady Strangeworth sending anybody a check,” Linda said. “Throw it in the post office. Why do anyone a favor?” She sniffed. “Doesn’t seem to me anybody around here cares about us,” she said. “Why should we care about them?”

“I’ll take it over, anyway,” the Harris boy said. “Maybe it’s good news for them. Maybe they need something happy tonight, too. Like us.”

Related Characters: Dave Harris (speaker), Linda Stewart (speaker), Miss Adela Strangeworth
Page Number: 10
Explanation and Analysis: