Answer:
The theme of "Looks can be deceiving" is best supported throughout the story "The Possibility of Evil" by showing how Miss Strangeworth, the protagonist, appears to be a kind and respectable old lady who loves her town and her roses, but in reality she is a malicious and self-righteous person who writes anonymous letters to spread gossip and suspicion among her neighbors. Two details from the text that support this theme are: • Miss Strangeworth's use of different types of stationery for her letters. She uses elegant stationery with her name on it for her regular correspondence, but she uses multicolored stationery that is popular in town for her anonymous letters. She also writes in a childish block print and does not sign her name to them. This shows how she tries to conceal her identity and deceive the recipients of her letters. • Miss Strangeworth's reaction when one of her letters is exposed. She drops one of her letters on the street and it is picked up by Dave Harris, a young man who works at the newspaper office. He reads the letter, which accuses his boss of being involved in a scandal, and confronts Miss Strangeworth about it. She denies writing it and tries to snatch it back from him, but he runs away with it. She then realizes that he might tell everyone about her letters and expose her as the source of evil in town. She feels terrified and humiliated, and runs back to her house, where she finds that someone has destroyed her roses as a revenge. These details show how Miss Strangeworth's outward appearance of being a benevolent and respectable lady is contradicted by her inner nature of being a spiteful and judgmental person who causes harm to others. She is deceived by her own sense of superiority and righteousness, and she does not realize the possibility of evil within herself until it is too late.