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Analysis Of The Street By Ann Petry

494 Words2 Pages

Cities can be bustling centers of opportunities; however, they can tear apart a person’s hopes and dreams. Writer, Ann Petry, in her novel, The Street, depicts a woman, Lutie Johnson, trying to find a place to rent out, but struggles due to the impenetrable city winds. Her purpose is to showcase how certain individuals have the ability to fight the barriers in their ruthless environment in order to succeed. Through the use of imagery, personification, and selection of detail, Petry depicts how Lutie Johnson tries to adapt to the harsh conditions of the city. Petry begins the selection by depicting the winds as an intrusive force. The narrator recounts that the winds “drove most of the people off the street” in its “violent assault.” The speaker also reveals that the wind got “dirt...into their noses, making it difficult to breathe” and “dust...into their eyes and blinded them.” Petry indirectly characterizes the wind as a terrorizing force in order to reveal the difficult obstacles people in the city have to endure, which is symbolized by the wind. The tantalizing diction utilized to characterize the ruthless winds informs the audience how not every person is capable to thrive in the urban environment as not everyone has the strive to be prosperous. …show more content…

The speaker reveals that “the cold fingers of the wind touched the back of her neck” and “blew her eyelashes away from her eyes so that” they were “bathed in a rush of coldness.” The invasive personification employed to characterize the winds as intrusive to Lutie’s well being articulates how the wind is imposing a challenge upon her as she is struggling to find a place to rent out in the city. The power-hungry diction utilized to depict the interaction indicates the continuous struggle Luttie will have to endure as she continues her journey in finding a flat to rent

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