<P> Dave: A likable boy who accidentally exposes Miss Strangeworth . Critics have commented Dave to be an anti-villain, that is to say, hated in the eyes of the protagonist, yet truly a good person . He has also been commented to be both Miss Strangeworth's savior and her destruction . </P> <P> This book often demonstrates many points that are noticeable in other Jackson works: teasing the reader with what the reader knows in comparison to the narrator is shown in We Have Always Lived in the Castle, for example . It is also written with casual style, odd owing to the seriousness of many of the situations . As with The Lottery, many believed this to be non-fiction for precisely this reason . It also deals with the "casual cruelty in the everyday" that Jackson explores in almost all of her short stories . </P> <P> This short story explores many themes, usually mentioned in Analysis, such as a person having two sides to them, the dents that people make upon a community, and how they restore them, and the revenge of the fallen . </P> <P> There is also a frequently commented upon debate on the symbolism of the roses . The most common metaphor is that the roses represent Strangeworth's impression on the rest of the community, how they all respect her . However, upon her discovery, her roses are tarnished . However, some argue that the roses represent the guilt that Strangeworth hides behind a much polished and examined display of non-knowing . </P>

The possibility of evil by shirley jackson theme