Why?
In a story titled “Why I Live at the P.O.” one would expect that the only question which must absolutely not be left unanswered is why the narrator lives at the post office. Although the events that Sister narrates provide context for understanding her move to the post office, it doesn’t really answer why. Those events are the reportage of a typical family holiday quarrel. Nothing particularly life-changing seems to have occurred and most readers would likely have moved back home after a few days. So it remains an open question outlined in irony: why, exactly does Sister live at the P.O.
“It’s usually so quiet here.”
Late in the story, after being subjected to a childish prank involving firecrackers, from out of nowhere Sister asserts that she is susceptible to loud noises; more than most people. The irony, of course, is that this is the first mention of this alleged sensitivity despite just describing a series of events punctuated by loud voices and loud domestic noises. The irony was already ankle-keep, but in suggesting the full depth of Sister’s lack of self-awareness, she actually writes “It’s usually so quiet here.” We have no way of knowing for sure, of course, how things usually are there, but the idea that the merely arrival of Stella-Rondo is enough to cause that household to go from quiet to too loud for Sister’s delicate hearing is far too much to take seriously.
Self-Centered but Lacking Self-Awareness
The great irony of the narration if that Sister is profoundly self-centered. She constantly views things from her own perspective and has trouble applying any semblance of objectivity to any situation. While constantly concerned with self, however, she reveals a terrifying lack of self-awareness. This absence results in the Sister’s desperate desire for the reader to take her side being engulfed by the irony of making it more and more difficult to do just that. With each new accusation that everyone else in the family is against her, the reader is ironically moved more and more to disbelieve her account and question the veracity of practically everything she claims.
Communication Central
Where does Sister wind up? At the post office. The central headquarters of the small town’s ability to communicate with the rest of the world. And who’s in charge and living there? The character who seems least able to communicate effectively with anybody else. That just might be an irony enacted daily at many post offices around the country.
Jealousy
A virulent strain of jealousy toward her sister for “stealing” Mr. Whitaker exudes from Sister toward Stella-Rondo. It is a recurring complaint and the source for most of the underlying and explosive tension in the household. And yet, here seems to be another example of Sister’s utter lack of self-awareness. She is the lucky one! The irony is that while she is still simmering with envy over Stella-Rondo’s winning Mr. Whitaker, the truth right there in front of her is that Stella-Rondo has slunk back home with what is probably an illegitimate daughter who will never know—maybe even never see—her father again. Mr. Whitaker is no prize; he’s no catch. Yet Sister still seethes at the thought of losing him to her sister.
