The 4th of July
The story takes place on the 4th of July. The symbolism here is the most obvious example in the story: the day that Sister decides to go live at the P.O. is the day she delivers her declaration of independence to her family.
The Prodigal
The return of Stella-Rondo can be read as alluding to the Biblical story of the return of the Prodigal Son. At least, it can be read in this manner when viewed from Sister’s perspective. From that perspective, Stella-Rondo symbolizes the leaving of an ungrateful loser whose return should ignite the same sense of resentment throughout the family that she herself feels, but instead ignites an overzealous sense of welcoming and joy.
Shirley T.
Shirley T. is a symbol of the unpleasant lies that families believe in order to cover up even more unpleasant truths. The parentage of the little girl is suspect. They are told that she has been adopted and so that is the truth. Two things indicate this is a fiction believed in place of a more unpleasant truth. The most likely is Stella-Rondo is lying about when she started seeing Mr. Whitaker and the little girl is illegitimate. Another explanation alludes to the resemblance between Shirley and Papa-Daddy which can be read as an even darker explanation for the real parentage as well as the acquiescence to an unpleasant lie: the father is Papa-Daddy and the little girl is the result of an incestuous sexual episode. Either way, Shirley T. is a symbol of the dark fictions all families transform into truth to keep things together.
"Sister"
The fact that the narrator is known only by the nickname “Sister” lends that name symbolic significance. As a symbol, this nickname provides tremendous insight into why the narrator feels the way she does toward not just Stella-Rondo-, but the entire family. Her identity to all is intricately tied to that of her sister; a sister with not just a name, but a name that connects deeply to the family. Stella-Rondo is far more deeply connected to the family than Sister and her appellation is symbolic of this distressing reality.
The Post Office
Why does Sister live at the P.O.? Because it is the center of communication for the town. Information comes in from the outside world and goes out to that world from those who live there. What Sister finds utterly lacking in living at home is communication with her family. She can’t talk to them and they can’t talk to her. The post office represents a symbolic place where not only is communication possible, but where she can symbolically place herself at the center of that communication.
