Premium Essay

The Wind In Ann Petry's The Street

Submitted By
Words 734
Pages 3
In this passage of the opening in Ann Petry’s novel The Street. Lutie Johnson transverses a harsh landscape of biting cold in search of rooms of the night. Here the wind becomes alive down the blocks of 7th and 8th Avenues seemingly attacking the travelers as the world becomes filled with a cacophony of noise and movement. Through a usage of personification of a voracious wind, the final ominous image of sign and the theme of the street being in a constant state of flux the urban world becomes a hostile environment for Lutie Johnson.

In this passage, the wind has a nefarious purpose of its own. In a constant movement, its figurative fingers cause mayhem and upset wherever they roam. “ The wind blew it (papers)back again and again …show more content…
Searching for a safe place to sleep and stability, Lutie is forced to the streets in need of three rooms. However, in this passage, everything brought to her and the reader's attention is in a state of similar flux. Nothing appears constant and trustworthy. Consider the constant fluttering of curtains and forgotten papers. “Fingering its way across the along the curb, the wind sets the bits of paper to dancing high in the sky, so that the barrage of paper swirled in the faces of the people on the street”. But also the wind, not only blinding cold, is forming a whirlwind of dust and filth. “It found all the dirt and dust and grime on the on the sidewalk and lifted it up so that the dirt got in their noses, making it difficult to breathe; the dust got into their eyes and blinded them and the grit stung their skin.” Even the ground appears unstable like waves with rolling pieces of newspaper, theater handouts, announcements and wax paper. This over stimulation is not limited to sight, but also sound. Consider at the start of the passage where the wind “rattled the tops of the garbage cans, sucked the window shades out through the top of the opened window and set them flapping back against the window”. For Lutie every movement is a possible threat or distraction concealing a more sinister

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Figurative Language In The Street Ann Petry

...In the 1946 novel The Street, Ann Petry uses imagery with vivid details, and figurative language such as personification to create a negative relationship between Lutie Johnson and the cold urban setting. Petry strictly focuses on the vicious wind and its barbaric actions through 116th Street. Imagery is the most important literary device used by Petry to demonstrate to the reader what the people walking along the street, especially Lutie Johnson, have to experience in the extreme winds. The “cold November wind” foreshadowed the ominous events through 116th Street. The hard-blowing wind made it very uncomfortable for people to walk along the street. In fact Petry stated, ‘It did everything it could to discourage the people walking along the...

Words: 338 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Street Ann Petry Analysis

...violent storm sweeping over a city and destroying everything in its path. Author, Ann Petry, in the excerpt of The Street, illustrates a raging storm in which Lutie Johnson is attempting to weather. Petry's purpose is to show how Johnson was able to overcome the storm in order to reveal how she overcame her harsh struggles with society. She adopts a powerful tone in order to relate the feeling of determination Johnson has towards the storm. Through personification, similes, and selection of detail, Petry conveys to the audience that Lutie Johnson has a complicated relationship with the ruthless urban city. Petry begins the excerpt by illustrating the harsh effects the wind has on the town. The narrator reveals”[the wind] drove most of the people off the street…except for a few hurried pedestrians who bent double in an effort to offer the least possible exposed surface to its violent assault.” The speaker also recounts “it did everything it could to discourage the people walking along the street.” Petry uses violent personification to show how aggressive the wind is in order to indirectly characterize the city as a difficult place to live. The threatening figurative language used to describe the town allows the audience to understand how challenging the city is to live in....

Words: 534 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

The Street Ann Petry Analysis

...Within the first half of the opening of “The Street”, Petry personifies the wind. She then begins to introduce Lutie Johnson. Once Lutie Johnson is introduced, the focus shifts from the wind to Lutie Johnson. In the opening of “The Street”, Ann Petry uses imagery in order to personify the wind and includes detail, conjunctions and omission of conjunctions, symbolism, and loose sentence structure in order to set the scene of the story and express how Lutie Johnson feels. It becomes obvious to the reader that Petry develops the plot with an abundance of imagery. She uses specific verbs and adjectives in order to personify the wind. She includes words like “rattled”, “fingering, and “stamped” to describe the wind, rather than her blatantly...

Words: 714 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Ann Petry's The Street

...Opening: In this passage of the opening of the Ann Petry’s novel The Street. Lutie Johnson transverse a harsh landscape of bitting cold in search of rooms of the night. Here the winds becomes alive down the blocks of 7th and 8th Avenues seemingly attacking the travelers as the world becomes filled with a cacophony of noise and movement. Through a usage of personification of a voracious wind, concrete imagery of signage and the theme of the street in a constant state of flux the urban world becomes a hostile place for Lutie Johnson. Body: In this passage, the wing has a nefarious purpose of its own. In a constant state of movement, its figurative fingers cause mayhem and upset where ever they roam. CONSIDER. For Lutie its seems to have hostile and almost sexual intent as “the cold fingers of the wind touched the back or her neck, explored the sides of her head.” Its’ henchman, in the form of forgotten papers ensnare and entrap travelers. SEEN IN. At times with can seem to bring fresh breath and life to a place yet here it animates the grim and dirt....

Words: 496 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Actions Depicted In Ann Petry's The Street

...Writer, Ann Petry, in her novel “ The Street,” implies that society is similar to their physical and geographical features. Petry’s purpose is to assert that the way society thinks of themselves reflect their characterization and actions towards various situations. She adopts a determined tone in order to imply that actions reflect a person's true intentions and character. In this excerpt from the passage “The Street.” Petry seeks to emphasize the self motivated connection of Lutie Johnson towards the relentless actions of the storm through the use of figurative language and selection of detail. Petry begins her novel by describing the violent actions of the wind towards society as a whole. The narrator recounts, “...except for a few hurried pedestrians who bent double in an effort to offer the least possible exposed surface to its violent assault.” The writer also reveals that the storm “...pried their scarves...

Words: 604 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Mammitas Garden Cove

...2013B Carefully read the following excerpt from the short story “Mammita’s Garden Cove” by Cyril Dabydeen. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how Dabydeen uses literary techniques to convey Max’s complex attitudes toward place. ‘Where d’you come from?’ Max was used to the question; used to being told no as well. He walked away, feet kicking hard ground, telling himself that Line he must persevere. More than anything else he knew 5 he must find a job before long. In a way being unemployed made him feel prepared for hell itself even though he knew too that somewhere there was a sweet heaven waiting for him. How couldn’t it be? After all he was in Canada. He wanted to laugh all of 10 He continued walking along, thoughts drifting back to the far-gone past. Was it that far-gone? He wasn’t sure . . . yet his thoughts kept going back, to the time he was on the island and how he used to dream about 15 being in Canada, of starting an entirely new life. He remembered those dreams clearly now; remembered too thinking of marrying some sweet island-woman with whom he’d share his life, of having children and later buying a house. Maybe someday he’d even own 20 a cottage on the edge of the city. He wasn’t too sure where one built a cottage, but there had to be a cottage. He’d then be in the middle class; life would be different from the hand-to-mouth existence he was used to. 25 His heels pressed into the asphalt, walking on. And slowly he...

Words: 37585 - Pages: 151

Premium Essay

Mammitas Garden Cove

...2013B Carefully read the following excerpt from the short story “Mammita’s Garden Cove” by Cyril Dabydeen. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how Dabydeen uses literary techniques to convey Max’s complex attitudes toward place. ‘Where d’you come from?’ Max was used to the question; used to being told no as well. He walked away, feet kicking hard ground, telling himself that Line he must persevere. More than anything else he knew 5 he must find a job before long. In a way being unemployed made him feel prepared for hell itself even though he knew too that somewhere there was a sweet heaven waiting for him. How couldn’t it be? After all he was in Canada. He wanted to laugh all of 10 He continued walking along, thoughts drifting back to the far-gone past. Was it that far-gone? He wasn’t sure . . . yet his thoughts kept going back, to the time he was on the island and how he used to dream about 15 being in Canada, of starting an entirely new life. He remembered those dreams clearly now; remembered too thinking of marrying some sweet island-woman with whom he’d share his life, of having children and later buying a house. Maybe someday he’d even own 20 a cottage on the edge of the city. He wasn’t too sure where one built a cottage, but there had to be a cottage. He’d then be in the middle class; life would be different from the hand-to-mouth existence he was used to. 25 His heels pressed into the asphalt, walking on. And slowly he...

Words: 37585 - Pages: 151