In the first paragraph, Sister mentions her relationship with Stella-Rondo giving more meaning to her reappearance and the impact it has on Sister, “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 687). Sister explains the nature of her relationship giving the reader more of an idea for the reasons Stella-Rondo’s reappearance causes such family drama and somewhat introduces the plot of the story, “Stella-Rondo is exactly twelve months to the day younger than I am and for that reason she 's spoiled. She 's always had anything in the world she wanted and then she 'd throw it away” (Welty 687-688). This favoritism shown to Stella-Rondo not only produced the her spoiled nature, but also the jealous nature of Sister. Consequently, their relationship alone is what causes the drama and consequently the conflict throughout the story. The sense of …show more content…
She largely uses setting, symbolism, and characterization as the main conveyors of the theme of the importance of freedom as the story shows though through its opposite extreme of suffocation. Welty emphasizes Sisters constant rejection by her family by way of their favoring and siding with Stella-Rondo to illustrate and highlight the only way of recognizing the beauty of individual expression, freedom, and peace through the constants of their antonyms. Thus, what can be gained in knowledge from “Why I Live at The P.O.” is not only the joy that can be found in embracing the independence granted in the pursuit of freedom, but also the necessary knowledge that without taking the next step, the joys of moving forward will be forever unknown leaving in its wake the comfort-disguised sorrow of stagnation and missed