A theme of “Why I Live at the P.O.” is that
sometimes a lie is better than the
truth.
This story is about a family
squabble. Sometimes families have to tell each other lies, and accept believing one
another’s lies, in order to keep the peace and save face. Stella-Rondo had to leave her
husband Mr. Whitaker. She is trying to make the best of the situation by telling
everyone that her daughter Shirley-T is adopted. The narrator refuses to believe this
lie, but all of the other family members seem to accept
it.
Stella-Rondo just calmly takes off
this hat, I wish you could see it. She says, "Why, Mama,
Shirley-T.'s adopted, I can prove it."
"How?" says Mama, but all I says was,
"H'm!"
Mama seems willing to
accept this explanation, and the other family members accept Shirley-T. The narrator
does not, and Stella-Rondo is annoyed at her and uses it to turn things she says against
her to antagonize other members of the family, such as when she says the narrator wanted
to know why Papa-daddy did not shave his beard. Papa-daddy is very proud of his beard,
and this infuriates him. The narrator denies it, but he continues to believe
Stella-Rondo.
Family members’ continued acceptance of
Stella-Rondo’s word over the narrator’s is an example of how they have accepted that
sometimes it is better to tell a little lie than to tell the truth. If Stella-Rondo
admitted that she had a child out of wedlock, it would be intolerable for other family
members. It is much easier for everyone to accept both of them into family and ignore
the narrator’s objections.
No comments:
Post a Comment