Why I Live At The Po Analysis

Eudora Welty’s “Why I Live at the P.O.” is a story about the isolation of an individual through acts brought upon herself because of jealousy and sibling rivalry. The narrative is told through the older sister’s perspective and she is simply referred to as “Sister”. All of the characters in "Why I Live at the P.O." show a family that paints the reader a picture of comical dread: The narrator who leaves her family to live alone because of an argument that stems from sibling rivalry and a family that instead of showing comfort, love and togetherness further push her away by verbally and physically abusing (Mama slapping Sister after mentioning Cousin Flo(98)) her to the point where she had to move out.

. The story is told to the reader through Sister and her single perspective. She only shows the reader what she sees, understands and experiences. Being that the story is narrated from one point of view; the reader must be prepared to not fully trust what Sister says because of the fact that she is the only one telling of what happened and why she now lives in a post office. The story shows the interactions and causations of the other family members, but only Sister’s version of how events took place is what is visible to the reader. Upon a closer inspection of the story, the reader can begin to make out what might really be happening between

Whitaker. Stella does this when both of them are in Stella’s room. Stella-Rondo talks about methods Mr. Whitaker used in photographing her in the kimono. She tells Sister of how nervous she was in having to hang up her negligee and brags to her about how many photos were taken, “several dozen” (96) . This is an example in the opposite form, that to get Sister riled up and possibly instigate another fight from her. Stella-Rondo wants Sister to stay curious. She wants to stay the center of attention, which is what Sister wants to