Which child was the favorite in your household? In many families, there is a power structure revealing who are the favorites and who are not liked as well. This theme is carried over into literary works, as many poems, stories, and plays may show different power levels in one family. In Eudora Welty’s story “Why I live at the P.O.” this is not different. There are multiple people in the family, and each one of them has a different role in the power structure. This reality is woven through the entire story, setting the stage for much of the conflict and themes. In this story, Sister and her younger sister, Stella-Rondo, have a very one-sided relationship. Sister believes that since “Stella-Rondo is exactly twelve months to the day younger,”
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At the very beginning of this narrative, Sister doubts that Shirley-T, the little girl that Stella-Rondo brought home claiming to be her adopted daughter, is really Stella-Rondo’s adopted daughter. This makes her younger sister angry, and so Stella-Rondo retaliates. She riles their father up saying “Papa-Daddy, Sister says she fails to understand why you don't cut off your beard,” when his beard is a source of pride for him (Welty p. 1). This makes Papa-Daddy angry at Sister, even though this is a blatant lie on Stella-Rondo’s part. Then Sister and Stella-Rondo have another argument about Shirley-T and her origins, and this time Stella-Rondo sets up a huge fuss about how Sister is insulting her child to Mama. So as a result of this, Mama is turned against Sister. Finally, Stella-Rondo claims to Uncle Rondo that Sister was insulting the way he looked in the flesh-colored kimono of hers. In reality, it was Stella-Rondo who had ridiculed Uncle Rondo. This stirs up Uncle Rondo’s anger against Sister, and he sets off a pack of firecrackers in her room. Becoming the last straw for Sister, she snatches all of her possessions in the house and takes up residence at the post office. The back and forth throughout the entire story between Sister and Stella-Rondo show the dynamics that have probably been at play through their entire life. They …show more content…
The power structure between them and between them with the rest of the family in is the central pole around which the story revolves. The themes of this story are conflict, isolation, and lying, and the relationship between Sister and Stella-Rondo ties in to all three of them. Stella-Rondo clearly has all of the influence and love in the family and this leads her to believe that she can get away with anything. This means that she will lie about anything in order to get people on her side against Sister, and this adds to the conflict. On the other hand, Sister puts on a persona that she is being honest, but in reality she too bends the facts to fit her agenda better. The conflict between the two sisters leads Sister to up and leave the house to go live at the post office. Here she finds that she can feel just as isolated and alone with her family as she does when she is not living with them. The way that both Sister and Stella-Rondo exaggerate things lend humor to the narrative also. Overall, the tension between the two of them is what the story is based off
At the very beginning of this narrative, Sister doubts that Shirley-T, the little girl that Stella-Rondo brought home claiming to be her adopted daughter, is really Stella-Rondo’s adopted daughter. This makes her younger sister angry, and so Stella-Rondo retaliates. She riles their father up saying “Papa-Daddy, Sister says she fails to understand why you don't cut off your beard,” when his beard is a source of pride for him (Welty p. 1). This makes Papa-Daddy angry at Sister, even though this is a blatant lie on Stella-Rondo’s part. Then Sister and Stella-Rondo have another argument about Shirley-T and her origins, and this time Stella-Rondo sets up a huge fuss about how Sister is insulting her child to Mama. So as a result of this, Mama is turned against Sister. Finally, Stella-Rondo claims to Uncle Rondo that Sister was insulting the way he looked in the flesh-colored kimono of hers. In reality, it was Stella-Rondo who had ridiculed Uncle Rondo. This stirs up Uncle Rondo’s anger against Sister, and he sets off a pack of firecrackers in her room. Becoming the last straw for Sister, she snatches all of her possessions in the house and takes up residence at the post office. The back and forth throughout the entire story between Sister and Stella-Rondo show the dynamics that have probably been at play through their entire life. They …show more content…
The power structure between them and between them with the rest of the family in is the central pole around which the story revolves. The themes of this story are conflict, isolation, and lying, and the relationship between Sister and Stella-Rondo ties in to all three of them. Stella-Rondo clearly has all of the influence and love in the family and this leads her to believe that she can get away with anything. This means that she will lie about anything in order to get people on her side against Sister, and this adds to the conflict. On the other hand, Sister puts on a persona that she is being honest, but in reality she too bends the facts to fit her agenda better. The conflict between the two sisters leads Sister to up and leave the house to go live at the post office. Here she finds that she can feel just as isolated and alone with her family as she does when she is not living with them. The way that both Sister and Stella-Rondo exaggerate things lend humor to the narrative also. Overall, the tension between the two of them is what the story is based off