Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Why I Live at the P.O. by Eudora Welty

“Why I Live at the P.O.”

Eudora Welty was able to capture a small town family in an exceptional way. There is so much drama in this story. I have to wonder, was there incest? When Sister mentioned how Shirley T looked like Papa-Daddy, she must have thought there was a sexual encounter between her dad and her sister, Stella-Rondo. No one jumps out to say anything about Papa-Daddy as far as incest is concerned. Wouldn’t you think someone would have made a “stink” about that if it were not happening???? Could Stella-Rondo have been pregnant with her daddy’s baby when she left and really never married Mr. Whitaker? Oh, and the pearl necklace, that sounded strange to me. It did not say her mom and dad gave it to her, it only said Papa-Daddy. Hmmm, sounds suspicious to me. What about the sentence, “Stella-Rondo just calmly takes off this hat, I wish you could see it?” Why doesn’t Welty say, “her hat?” What is up with that??? There has to be something there.Could this mean her past? Maybe she took it off and put it behind her, just as someone might put their past behind them. Once Stella-Rondo came on the scene, life for Sister changed. She could see how her family thought the sun rose and set on Stella-Rondo. I cannot help but think about the Prodigal Son in the Bible. He went off and lived it up while the others stayed home and worked. When he came home there was a feast and excitement from his father. I see the Post Office as Sister’s refuge. In this story the antagonist would be Stella-Rondo. The protagonist is Sister. The conflict is easy to see in this story. We see it as soon as Stella-Rondo comes home. The point of view must be Sister’s because the story is told from a first person view point.

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