"Powerhouse" by Eudora Welty

My Reflections on “Powerhouse” by Eudora Welty

            “Powerhouse” is written by Eudora Welty. It is a little difficult to understand but she uses great description. This story is about a black musician and the troubles he faces in life. He is a powerhouse and nothing seems to bother him much.

            Powerhouse is described as being a very talented musician. He plays the piano and bangs on the keys like a powerhouse. His fellow musicians seem to really respect him. The audience seems to appreciate his talents as well. His fellow musicians seem to support Powerhouse. They talk over what he has been told about his wife not being alive. They also listen to his instructions on how to play.

            I found it rather interesting that they began a conversation during a performance. The discussion involved whether or not his wife had died. It seemed unclear to me where she had went and why he didn’t know she was missing and presumed dead. I thought that was a little odd. It seemed hard for Powerhouse to believe that she was dead. He kept stating scenarios in which it could have happened. He didn’t seem to like the person that delivered the information as well. 

            The end of the story has the song “Somebody Loves Me” being requested. Powerhouse seems to think this song has meaning and appears to be missing his wife. He doesn’t seem to think she is dead. He finds the person that delivered him the information to not be a very trustworthy person. 

            This story seemed to be the most difficult for me to understand. I am not sure why. I have enjoyed reading all of them though. This is definitely a different style of writing. I think it may take reading a few times to really understand the symbolism in the story.