The Street By Ann Petry Essay - 1576 Words

Ann Petry’s novel The Street (1946) is a commentary on the social injustices that confronted the protagonist Lutie Johnson. Lutie is a single African American mother who lives in segregated America during the 1940’s. Throughout the novel, we see that during this time period Lutie is confronted by racism, sexism, and classism on a daily basis while in her pursuit of the American Dream for herself and her son Bub. Lutie is convinced that if she follows the example of Benjamin Franklin, by working hard and saving wisely, she will be able to achieve the dream of being financially independent and therefore be able to move out from the Street in which she is confined to. Benjamin Franklin is embodied in the text through the character Junto. It is Junto that is supposed to get Lutie closer towards her dream. However, Junto, through his secret manipulations tries to possess Lutie sexually, ultimately leading Lutie towards her path of destruction and she ends up committing the m urder of Junto’s henchman, Boots. Junto represents the writer Petry’s deep disillusionment with this cultural myth of the so-called American dream. In Richard Wright’s novel Native Son (1940), The protagonist Bigger Thomas, is a 20-year-old African American youth who grew up in segregated America during the 1930s. Throughout this novel, we see Bigger also striving towards the pursuit of the American Dream. Bigger risks everything to not compromise his pursuit towards success. Unfortunately, he ends up fallingShow MoreRelatedFeminist Feminism : The Street By Ann Petry Essay2332 Words   |  10 PagesLooking at this from a feminist theoretical lens, liberal feminism plays a major role throughout the novel The Street by Ann Petry. Women are being seen as sexually objectified throughout the novel. In other words, â€Å"women are being viewed primarily as an object of male sexual desire.† (Wiki, 2016) Martha Nussbaum (1995, 257) has provided several ideas pertaining to the act of treating a person as an object, which includes; the idea of giving the person no self-worth, stripping them of their freedomRead MoreThe Theme Of Anger And Violence In The Street By Ann Petry1016 Words   |  5 Pagesto disenfranchised members of the urban community. Day to day life is pervaded by these two things, making them seem almost inescapable to those trapped in their vicious cycle and this is explored by author Ann Petry in her novel, The Street. Petry tells the story of residents of 116th street in Harlem during in 1940’s America and how the constant whirlwind of generational poverty and violence and the pent up anger that comes from living in a stifling and unfulfilling environment combined with theRead MoreThe Street By Ann Petry And The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1854 Words   |  8 PagesThe class system is a prevalent form of oppression in both The Street by Ann Petry and T he Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald as the characters aspire to change their lives. Lutie Johnson is a black woman trapped in the cycle of poverty with her son living in Harlem during the 1940s and Gatsby is a man of new money who attempts to woo his past lover, Daisy in the 1920s. Prejudice against people from a different class leads to classicism being one of the main themes of these texts. Classism isRead MoreAngelas Ashes Poverty Analysis1007 Words   |  5 Pages Every minute, eleven children under the age of 5 die from poverty, in Angelas Ashes, Frank McCourt must make sacrifices to make sure he gets enough food to survive. In the memoirs Angelas Ashes by Frank McCourt and The Street by Ann Petry show that poverty provokes actions, not usually committed. In Angelas Ashes Frank McCourt show how poverty affects peoples actions by showing actions Frank McCourt committed in the past due to poverty, such as stealing food. He states We dont laugh longRead MoreAngelas Ashes Th eme Analysis817 Words   |  4 Pages Theme. A lesson in a novel or story that is not directly stated in the book. Between the excerpts Angelas Ashes by Frank McCourt and The Street by Ann Petry is a common theme. The theme that desperate times call for desperate measures. For instance, both the excerpts have evidence that proves these themes through the characters. I might as well take the whole box. My mother would say you might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb, (McCourt 9). Angela was desisive whether or not to take theRead MoreThe Street Brought The Story Of A Young Woman900 Words   |  4 PagesIn 1946, Ann Petry’s novel The Street brought the story of a young woman’s spirited struggle to break the cycle of poverty, violence and racism. Racism has long been a major force in the lives of black men and women; Lutie Johnson’s journey conveys just how powerful of a force racism is. Lutie Johnson is characterized by the prevalence of racial and gender discriminations; Ann Petry contrasts Lutie’s with the reality behind Miss Rinner’s hatred for blacks. Lutie Johnson is a young black woman livingRead MoreThe New Mirror, By Ann Petry1635 Words   |  7 Pagescommunity are manifested within the works of Ann Petry, an African American writer whose short stories reflect her own perspective on the results of discrimination. The short stories, The New Mirror and In Darkness and Confusion conjunctively display the negative psychological consequences linked to racism, such as loss of personal identity, social reflectiveness, insecurity, anxiety/paranoia, weakened family bonds, and violent outbreaks. As a writer, Ann Petry is known to use her own experiences, racialRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Angelas Ashes And The Street1170 Words   |  5 PagesThere are many books, written by numerous authors, containing similar themes and elements. Two such stories fitting that description are Angela’s Ashes and The Street. The former takes place in Ireland and is written by Frank McCourt; the latter is set in New York and is written by Ann Petry. The characters seem like they would not have much, if anything, in common. Frank McCourt’s main character is a child, born into a large, impoverished family; Petry’s is a single mother trying to get by. AdditionallyRead MoreThe Street Is So Much More Than A Story Of Ethnicity961 Words   |  4 Pages Ann Petry’s The Street is so much more than a story of ethnicity; it s equally a tale about the struggles of women, and more so the sad plight of anyone who lives in poverty. What we see is that despite heroic determin ation, the system is structured to wear down and push against Lutie, the protagonist’s very best efforts. The Street takes us on a journey that helps us experience the dynamics of poverty and understand the thought processes of people trapped in it. The Street is a truly hauntingRead MoreComparison Of Chapter One Of Ann Petrys The Street846 Words   |  4 PagesThis reading response will be covering chapter one of Ann Petry’s 1946 novel The Street. The first chapter introduces us to the character Lutie Johnson who is trying to create a stable life for her and her son. Using Lutie Johnson story as a medium, Ann Petry paints a picture of the struggles of being a woman in the inner city. The story opens with a few paragraphs talking about the wind. The wind is perceived under the view of naturalism. This means it’s denoted with a negative connotation. Lutie’s