Throughout these lines, Petry uses words like “dirt and dust and grime,” to negatively characterize the setting and make it seem unappealing to the reader. In-class essay Question #2 Fasting, Feasting. Home All categories Order Now. The linehere, segregationrecurs in The Street as that which spatially separates the safe from the dangerous, agency from passivity, selfhood from anonymity. '” (237) and Petry describes the swelling power of her voice: “Her rich, pleasant voice filled the hallway, and at the sound of it the dog slunk away, his tail between his legs” (237). After finding Bub running a makeshift shoeshine stand, she lashes out, as Petry details, “She slapped him sharply across the face. Even the walls, as Petry describes, “were reaching out for her – bending and swaying towards her in an effort to envelop her.” (The Street 12) This haunted woman, the protagonist, Lutie Johnson, stands as a perfect example. The metamorphosis comes about through immersion in the new, larger space, but for women, it is clearly a dependent reaction. There is not a single moment of comfort with this “cold November wind” (1). “There was a cold November wind blowing through 116th Street.” You’re alone in an unfamiliar, grimy and bitter city, just looking for a place to spend the night. The repeated word “there” is crucial; the sentence does not require the first instance, but its superfluous entry makes presenceand its provisional obliterationthe focus of Lutie’s singing, just as when Lutie sings a note so low and sustained that “it was impossible to tell where it left off” (148), rather than when it left off. “Rape of the Lock” which, while without a key, pun on this through its castration themes), on a “long, stout chain,” is able to open up all boxes simultaneously the masculine fantasy of sexual omnipotence and omnipresence”thrust[s]” its missives inside, and is able to lock them away from anyone else’s touch before he exits the scene. The balustrade does not offer protection, and her clothing once again proves useless in defense. Unable to find companionship based on terms of mutual respect and affection, she has little choice but to isolate herself emotionally after the collapse of her marriage. Constantly overwhelmed by people and the stress of daily activity, the city provides very little privacy or solace. The imagery of “theater throwaways, announcements of dances and lodge meetings” (11-12) blown around shows some of the city’s local color and—with the asyndetic structure—identifies and emphasizes the large scope of the wind’s area of effect. Her voice, as part of herself that emanates outward in waves and echoes, can expand beyond her personal space. The Street. 114 0 obj <>stream The wind is described negatively by its actions towards pedestrians further, as driving people off the streets and doing “everything it could to discourage the people walking along the street.” (Lines 21-22) By giving the setting human-like qualities, it makes it easier for the reader compare it with Lutie, and find the relationship between the two. Of course, Lutie hopes that her own pleasant voice literally translates into riches. This alienation, coupled with an escalating culture of violence, ultimately plays a critical role in pushing Lutie towards her most life-altering decision of the novel: the brutal murder of Boots Smith. The titular antagonist of the novel is, of course, the greatest enemy Lutie faces and, as do Jones, Junto, and Boots, it treats her and everyone else as objects, amalgamating and de-individuating them: “It was any city where they set up a line and say black folks stay on this side and white folks on this side, so that the black folks were crammed on top of each otherjammed and packed and forced into the smallest possible space” (206). Though it may seem a resentful overstatement, the behavior of the men, white or otherwise, around her gives the impression of a more literal translation. Just as there is no privacy or break from the harshness of city-life, the wind does not relent as it invades people’s clothes and makes it difficult to walk through the streets. In The Street, Petry uses imagery as a tool to establish a relationship between the setting and Lutie. These prejudices manifest themselves at times in puzzling, yet deeply cutting misconceptions, as Petry bitterly muses, “Apparently it was an automatic reaction of white people – if a girl was colored and fairly young, why, it stood to reason she had to be a prostitute” (The Street 44). Tutor and Freelance Writer. endstream endobj startxref Petry’s blatant protest against societal restrictions placed on women, especially black women, is underscored by a subtler portrayal of the omnipresent claustrophobia that physically confines Lutie. The sagging leather pouch that was swung over his shoulder bulged with mail. The score reflects the quality of the essay as a whole—its content, its style, its mechanics. It only takes seconds! Be sure to review the Chief Reader Report (2019 versions available later this fall). One excerpt from Anne Petry’s novel The Street demonstrates this conflict through the image of a personified and forceful wind against city folk and the protagonist Lutie Johnson, who is characterized as she struggles to find an ideal apartment in the city. Download free-response questions from past exams along with scoring guidelines, sample responses from exam takers, and scoring distributions. � {�s�B�����Ù��!��,���Eq��Ƹ��(�)�x�Pv� The streets of Harlem are a welcome change from the subway, and although the homogeneity of race would seemingly further compromise individuality, the opposite is true, as pedestrians ironically accrue differences when placed in an environment of supposed similarity: “Up here they are no longer creatures labeled simply colored’ and therefore all alike.
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