A small-town post office in Kansas. This story is set in Mississippi, however.
1. Sometimes the narrator says apparently random things, things that don’t directly connect with what she was just saying. For example:
“He’s Mama’s only brother and is a good case of a one-track mind. Ask anybody. A certified pharmacist.” (33)
“You ought to see Mama, she weighs two hundred pounds and has real tiny feet.” (63)
Comment.
2. The narrator seems to feel the need to point out what she sees as the truth—about Stella-Rondo’s child not being really adopted, about the same child not being able to talk (65)(it turns out she can--at least she can sing the words to "Popeye the Salilor Man"). Is this a good quality? If it gets the narrator in trouble, what makes her keep trying to point to reality (as she sees it)?
3. Consider the dialogue at 68-77. Comment.
4. “So that made Mama, Papa-Daddy, and the baby all on Stella-Rondo’s side.” (80) Can you relate this sentence to the title of the story?
5. Why would Uncle Rondo put on Stella-Rondo’s “flesh-colored kimono”?
6. Same question as I’ve been asking about the poems we’ve been looking at: what does this story sound like? That is, what does the sound of this story sound like?
7. Find a sentence you like or find interesting and comment.
13 comments:
I'm answering question #4.
The narrator lives at the Post Office because of her family’s ludicrous behaviors. Her parents dote on Stella-Rondo too much that they listen to every word she says. The father bought her a pearl necklace but Stella-Rondo tossed it away. When she told her father that her sister claimed to bash his beard, he turned against the narrator without any patience. The mother believes that Shirley-T is not Stella-Rondo’s biological child even though she is in denial. Also, Stella-Rondo, herself, is immature for a mother to the point out claiming her own daughter to be adopted and refusing to call her own flesh. Only the narrator tries to rationalize the situation but her family would not try to listen to her.
Hey Guys
Today, I'll be answering question #7. One sentence that particularly stuck out was "She always said no earthly power could hold one anyway on the fourth of July, so she wouldn't even try." Although it may seem plain and "simplistic" (using Eric's terminology), I think it holds deeper meaning that portrayed at first read. I think not only is it saying that the fourt of July is an exciting time and everyone knows it, but it's also saying that no earthly power could hold them down. In this time period and in this particular location, fourth of July must have a very powerful effect on their lives and it's not all about the balloons, food, friends and beer. The two words "earthly power" is just such a striking clause and I feel it's important to note.
Thank you
Mason
In response to number 2:
I feel that the narrator keeps trying to point the truth out because she wants her opinion to be heard. It seems like her sister gets more attention, or her words are valued more than her's. I think she might be trying to point out her opinion, because she wants her opinion to be right, and she wants her family to respect what she has to say. I feel that she just has to have what she thinks the truth is, accepted as the truth by others. Even after her mother has said she believes Shirley-T to be adopted, she continues trying to come up with ways proving she is not adopted. I think it can be a good quality sometime, but only if you are certain what you are saying is true and you have proof to back it up. She is saying things without proof, and hoping what she says will prove itself.
Adressing to question number one, yeah, the narrator of the story "Why I live at the P.O" says some pretty random things. I laughed at the part when the narrator says “You ought to see Mama, she weighs two hundred pounds and has real tiny feet.”(63)
The narrator is funny and she reminds me of another character in a book titled "Junie B. Jones" by Barbara Park. Junie B. says some random and crazy things just like the narrator.
1. Sometimes the narrator says apparently random things, things that don’t directly connect with what she was just saying. For example:
“He’s Mama’s only brother and is a good case of a one-track mind. Ask anybody. A certified pharmacist.” (33)
“You ought to see Mama, she weighs two hundred pounds and has real tiny feet.” (63)
Comment.
In response to this, I feel that the narrator may have some kind of mental disorder, or possibly an extremely eccentric personality. Her mind seems to be all over the place and these random thoughts remind me of the way a child goes from one subject to the next quickly and without warning, especially when telling a story. The way she randomly says"You ought to see Mama..." reminds me of the way a child would describe something that is familiar to them. It makes me think that possibly the narrator had a mind that hops around the way a child's does. Maybe it is not fully developed, or maybe she has some kind of mental disorder that causes her to have a childish point of view on life. This may explain her feeling that everybody is out to get her. From her point of view everybody is against her, and that is often how children feel when they are upset with their parents or siblings.
Just a thought =]
I'm going to respond to questions 4. and 6.
4.) Stella-Rondo clearly gets her way, she's the princess and everyone is on her side. The narrator wants to get away from the drama of her crazy family and who would blame her? She lives at the post office to be mature and independent.
6.) I think this story sounds like a rapid train. I remember hearing the tape version of someone narrating this story last year in class. The tape made much more sense to the context by the sound. It was all very fast and hard to follow.
Hey everyone,
I am going to answer question number 6 tonight. I think that this part of the story sounds like a big crowd of poeple at a protest. I think this is because there seems to be a lot of "noise" and different conversations and things happenning throughout this part of the story. Also because there is a dispute about who is on Stella-Rondo's side and who isn't, similar to that of a protest. These are my thoughts and I can't wait to hear others response. The story is slightly confusing to me so I hope to sort things out through the blog. Have a Good Night!
Hello,
Answering question one.
I definitely see what Maggie is saying about how the narrator almost has a child's mind in that it jumps around a lot. However, I think a child's mind is naturally like that, whereas I think the narrator in the story has a deeper meaning for everything she says. Even though the story is highly confusing I feel that the narrator says these things for a reason. I have a few things. One, I feel that in a way the author of the story definitely knows the story is confusing. One part of me feels like the narrator is just saying these random things on purpose just to confuse whoever is reading the story. Also, I think the author is trying to get across the character of the narrator. I think the narrator definitely has random thoughts going through her head. I think this makes the narrator a round character. It is interesting that the things she thinks are so random because I almost see the narrator as one-track minded. She seems to be against her sister in that she obviously doesn't believe her sister's child is adopted and she is consumed in this almost "war" with her sister to see who can convince the family. I find that her randomness presents a totally contrasting aspect to her personality because it is so unlike the one track-ness that dictates all her encounters with her sister and most of the encounters with her family.
Sometimes I think the narrator says these random things to mimic the people she is talking or thinking about. I feel that the narrator is the type of person who blatantly points out people's faults of the obvious things. I feel that in some cases the narrator is simply mocking these people in her head and kind of saying, "look how ridiculous this person is." For example, the part where the narrator is talking to Mama and she says "you ought to see Mama, she weights two hundred pounds and has real tiny feet." Right before that Mama says, "I prefer to take my children's word for anything when it's humanly possible." I almost feel like the narrator finds this statement by Mama ridiculous and through the comment she says about Mama she is almost trying to convince the reader about how ridiculous Mama is and that we as readers should take her side and believe Mama is ridiculous also. It's sort of like, "hey, let me make this person look bad so that people will see my side." In this way, the narrator is a lot like her sister which I think is ironic just because she seems to try so hard to put up an image that they are completely different.
I want to add that I definitely see the mocking aspect when the narrator is talking about her uncle too. Right before the narrator makes a comment about Uncle Rondo being one-track minded, she comments that he "was too dizzy to get turned against me for the time being." This is talking about him being drunk. I find it very ironic that the narrator makes a comment about how is so one-track minded right after she is saying he is drunk. Obviously because he is drunk he is not going to be able to focus on one thing. In fact, he is probably the polar opposite of one-track minded at that time. Because of that, I feel like she is almost mocking him or making fun of him. Again it's the, "well look how funny he is- he's drunk and he can't even pay attention to what anyone is saying. He's one-track minded, that's for sure." I feel that the narrator is being incredibly sarcastic and definitely using these small comments to make fun of characters and silently mock them in her head.
Sorry that was sort of a lot to process. Thanks!
In response to question 6:
- This story sounds like a story I read when I was little called "Louisiana Sky". It has a lot of the same southern language and slang and the plot was a bit strange as well. The characters had weird names too. For some reason this story reminds me of my dad reading to me in different character voices while I sat on his lap in the rocking chair on our old porch. It's comical, entertaining, and gets me to pay attention and care about the characters and get frustrated for the "sister"- just like my dad did when he performed as he read to me.
In response the question 2,
I think the narrator has a deep want for the truth to come out. The narrator constantly makes it clear that stella-rondo is a spoiled child. The narrator seems to be hurt about how Stella-Rondo seems like the favorite. She gets way more attention and her word is taken more seriously. This reminds me with my own life. My voice seems to be taken more seriously when in arguements with my older brother. I am "spoiled" in a sense because I am more "innocent" and young. This shouldnt be the way the world works but oh well.
I am responding to prompt number seven.
A sentence that I found interesting was in line fifty. "So I merely slammed the door behind me and went down and made some green-tomato pickle. Somebody had to do it. Of course mama had turned both the Negroes loose; she always said no earthly power could hold one anyway on the Fourth of July, so she wouldn't even try."
Though that is a collection of sentences I felt they should be noted for their point of view and diction. The point of view of the narrator seems to be contrasting with the ideas of the mother on if the "Negroes" should have to work on this holiday.
For diction- I found the words slammed, Negroes, loose, earthly, and power to be very effective and strong words. They do flow but add a sense of the characters personal voice to this part of the passage, helping me to make further character analysis. GOOD WORD CHOICE!! Yay!
Pall
#5
Why would uncle rondo put on stella rondo's flesh colored kimono? Because he's spaced out on some prescription drug and is acting completely bonkers that's why! He's obviously hi or drunk (probably hi). I don't know if anyone has seen it, but uncle rondo reminds of the cat from Red Dwarf. If you've seen it, you know, if you haven't, it's not that important. In addition, seeing as a kimono is kind of a girls thing to wear (right?) uncle rondo's flamboyant side is probably just coming out. (maybe he's a little gay) whatever. In the end Uncle Rondo's just a crazy dude doing as he sees fit.
Hi everyone,
My comment is about question number 1.
I believe the narrator does this to give a personal feel to the readers. I feel very invested in a story once the author invites me in. I don't know if this is exactly what the narrator is going for, maybe she is just venting about a true life experiance she has had, or something. However in my opinion the narrator seems to be digging herself in a hole of what seem to be insults.That is strictly my opinion, I loook forward to seeing what everyone else has to say!
Thank you!
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