Why I Live At The P. O By Eudora Welty Summary

Authors who write about what they already know and their personal experiences typically are successful writers. Eudora Welty was born and raised in a small town located in Mississippi and all of her stories take place in small rural towns. Writing on what she knows, her works are filled with Southern vernacular and euphemisms. Through this unique approach, she is able to engage audiences, ranging from rural areas to urban ones. No matter where the reader is from, they can distinguish her unique writing from other authors due to her eloquence. Daring author, Eudora Welty, presents distinctive diction in her story “Why I Live at the P.O.”, through her excruciatingly Southern euphemisms and realistic word choices, which also possesses the presence

of an undeniable Southern charm; in consequence, this allows the reader to understand Welty’s purpose for writing the story.
The story begins with the return of the narrator’s sister, Stella-Rondo, who is the baby of the family.

They treat Stella-Rondo like a princess, believe everything she says, and the narrator is left to fend for herself. Along with Stella-Rondo’s return, she brings a bag of lies with her, including a lie about an “adopted” child. Of course, the ignorant family believe these lies, which causes the narrator to become extremely frustrated! The narrator is smarter than the rest of her family, and it’s not hard to be smarter, considering how simple minded they are. All-in-all, this is the common story of an endless sibling fight but with a twist, filled hilarious dialogue and copious amounts of Southern vernacular and

euphemism.
In writing there are many ways to go about a scene. Euphemisms give authors the opportunity to spice up their dialogue to basically be polite or impolite. Throughout “Why I Live at the P.O.,” Welty uses Southern euphemisms in an impolite manner. For instance, Welty writes, “kiss my foot” (page). This particular euphemism is intentionally sarcastic and impolite to make the dialogue more enjoyable. What makes these statements hilarious is that they are extremely Southern! Another euphemism is “lie down my foot”, which was said by the character Papa-Daddy. This jargon livens up the dialogue and story as a whole, while also keeping the reader actually reading! If Welty were to write this story with no euphemisms or certain diction choices, this would just be another boring story of two sisters fighting. Welty successfully captured the Southern vernacular in her euphemisms, which allowed “Why I Live at the P.O.” to flourish as story.
Sometimes for a writer to be successful, it does not matter what they write, it depends on how they write it.

This statement refers to diction as opposed to the plot, climax, or falling action. In “Why I Live at the P.O.”, Eudora Welty portrays the Southern life through her words. Simple two word phrases allow this story be amusing for its readers. For example, Eudora Welty writes “I’m poisoned” (PAGE). In translation that particular word choice actually means “I’m drunk”. A few more excruciatingly Southern phrases include, “he drank chemicals”, “I says”, and “drinking that prescription.” Believe it or not, this is how people talk in the South! Southern vernacular ranges from Southern Mississippi to Cajun. “Why I Live at the P.O.” takes place in the small rural town of China Grove, during a time when slavery still existed. Due to the fact that this story takes place in a Southern town, Welty use a realistic these word choices to coincide with the setting. She doesn’t exchange dialogue between two extremely Southern characters using the words Edgar Allen Poe would use. She uses realistic language that a Southern family during the twentieth century would use in their everyday conversation. For example, within the story Welty writes, “There I was over the hot stove, trying to stretch two chickens over five people” (1). This is realistic due to the setting. If she were to write “Here I am over the hot stove, trying to make sure that I have enough chicken for five people,” even

though only a few words changed, it still loses the realistic sense of an extremely Southern family in a rural town. If Welty were to write with embellished words as opposed to her “dressed down” words and phrases, the writing will lose every bit of realistic sense pertaining to the setting and plot. Welty victoriously illustrates the Southern vernacular of Southern Mississippi through her unique word choice in “Why I Live at the P.O.”, which livens up the scene and allows the reader to have a great time reading.
When reading this story, the words and sayings may be a bit confusing, but one cannot deny that there is a Southern charm shining throughout this story. Throughout “Why I Live at the P.O.”, Welty was able to express herself in some ways that other authors can’t. Being born and raised in Southern Mississippi, Welty knows the language spoken there and can bring it to life in her story and make it enjoyable (CITE). Yes, her writing is definitely not formal, but one may agree that the Southern charm is present in her colloquial diction. Her colloquial diction, or slang, is definitely informal, which is appropriate for the Southern Mississippi dialect. Also, her diction is extremely appropriate for “Why I Live at the P.O.” because it effectively represents the language at that time in a rural town during the twentieth century.
Welty’s Southern euphemisms, word choice, and Southern charm all combine together in “Why I Live at the P.O.” to create a one-of-a-kind story. If Mark Twain were to attempt this approach, he would fail. He has his way and Eudora Welty has hers! The author’s purpose for writing a story affects their diction choices. In Welty’s case, her purpose was to entertain and amuse her readers through her fictional story. Her word choices are playful and not serious. Her euphemisms are rude but hilarious. The Southern charm is undeniable. This story strived due to the fact that her purpose was achieved. With a combination of Southern vernacular, charm, and word choice, Eudora Welty successfully amused her readers with a realistic, yet hilarious short story about a fragmented Southern Mississippi family.