Elements of fiction - Why I live at the P.O.

Eudora Wealty
Julian Silva
Characterization:
Major characters:
-

Protagonist: Sister, who is the narrator of the story, is a girl that has lived at the
shadow of her younger sister Stella-Rondo, reason why she have harbor a
feeling of resentment all her life. She is kind cynical and outraged.

Antagonist: Stella-Rondo is a spoilt girl who has always what she wants. She
manages to catch the attention of the whole family and turn them against Sister.
She is an impetuous woman that looks always to appear perfect.

Minor Characters:
-

Pappa-daddy: Sisters grandfather. He is proud of his influences and his long,

long beard that he started to grow when he was fifteen.
Mama: She is the go-between of Stellas caprices. All that her spoilt girl does
and says is right for her, at the point that she even perpetuates lies in the
family.
Uncle Rondo: He is a temperamental old man who has the weird custom to
drink an entire bottle of prescript medicine in order to get unconscious
Shirley T: The tow year old child that comes with Stella-Rondo. Sister suspects
that she is not adopted as Stella wants to make believe her family.
Mr. Whitacker: Stella-Rondos husband, that apparently has alcoholic
problems according with Mama says.

Plot
Rising action: Stella-Rondo arrives to the family Rondo house with her two year child.
Climax: Mama doubt that Shirley T is adopted and asks Stella for the truth
Falling action: Sister decides to leave and settle in the P.O.
Resolution: Sister finally arrives at the P.O.
Point of view:
The whole story is narrated exclusively by Sister, thus is a first person narrator. This
deed make may lead the reader to think she manipulates the narration at her taste, so
it might be distorted.
Setting: All the events develops after the great depression period in United States,
which began towards the early 20s and ended in the beginning of 30s. The world was
marching towards one of the cruelest wars in human history that is the Second
Worldwide War. Many men were recruited for the U.S. army, and this forced the

enterprises to hired women and children in order to supply the army with weapons and
machinery for the battlefields.
Flashback:
"Just like Cousin Annie Flo. Went to her grave denying the facts of life," I remind
Mama.
Theme: A fact that is so notorious in the story is isolation. The most affected character
for this issue is Sister, who has been excluded by the rest of the members of the family.
On his part, Uncle Rondo prefers to get intoxicated every 4 th of july rather than bear his
tedious family.
Mood: Funny
Symbolism:
One of the symbols in this story is the radio. This is the representation of the poor
communication into the family.
Another symbol is the post office itself. That place is for sister her way out to the
problems with her family and provides her of certain kind of independence.