“Why I Live at the P.O

602 Words3 Pages
Sister, the narrator of “Why I Live at the P.O. is a very resentful, bitter and jealous character in this short story. She has many reasons to act as she does. Her family consists of four people who do not seem to be very sane. Her mother seems to be constantly taking up for her sister, Stella-Rondo. Stella –Rondo is always antagonizing Sister and lying on her to cause problems within the family. Also, Uncle Rondo seems to be the family drunk. Last but not least, Papa-Daddy seems to be an old and cranky gentleman. Her dealing with these individuals has caused her to become very resentful, bitter and jealous. She was very jealous of her sister Stella-Rondo. In the text Sister stated “I was getting along fine with Mama, Papa-Daddy and Uncle Rondo until my sister Stella-Rondo just separated from her husband and came back home again” ( Welty, 367). This statement that Sister made insinuates that she does not want her sister around. And would be thankful if she went back to where she came from. She now feels that she has to compete with her sister now that she is around again. She also felt as if her dad favored Stella-Rondo as well. Sister stated, “She’s always had anything in the world she wanted and then she’d throw it away. Papa-Daddy gave her his gorgeous Add-a-Pearl necklace when she was eight years old and she threw it away playing baseball when she was nine, with only two pearls” (Welty, 367). She was jealous of the fact they gave it her sister and not her. Also, she was mad because she would not even take care of the necklace. These are some of the examples that showed her jealousy she had for her sister. She was also resentful of her sister’s relationship with Mr. Whitaker. Sister made the statement, “Of course I was with Mr. Whitaker first, when he first appeared in China Grove, taking “Pose Yourself” photos, and Stella-Rondo
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