Ann Petry, a female Afro-American novelist, published her novel The Street in 1946. The setting of this novel is Harlem in the 1940s. The story deals with the life and trials of the Mulatto woman Lutie Johnson and her struggle to find a place in this environment for herself and her son. Hence, The Street is also concerned with different aspects of urban life.
Thus, one might also claim that Petry’s novel is about portraying the difficulties a single coloured woman and mother had in Harlem, living on 116th Street in New York City. Apart from being an urban novel, Petry also captured the symbolic character of Harlem in The Street, namely that it is a “(…) symbol of the Negro’s perpetual alienation in the land of his birth”. Hence, this novel also touches upon the topic of disillusionment in city life.
In the following analysis, we will primarily deal with the last chapters of the novel and in particular with the end of the novel, which shows Lutie Johnson leaving Harlem and moving to Chicago. On the one hand, we will be concerned with the reasons and motifs why Lutie is disillusioned and finally leaves Harlem. On the other hand, we will deal with the implications and possibilities that Lutie’s movement to Chicago brings with it.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. An Analysis of the Novel’s End and Lutie’s Moving to Chicago
2.1. The Second Part of the Novel: Lutie’s Disillusionment
2.2 Implications of the Novel’s End
3. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this analysis is to examine the final chapters of Ann Petry's novel "The Street," focusing on the protagonist Lutie Johnson's disillusionment and her eventual departure from Harlem for Chicago. The research explores the socio-economic pressures of the 1940s urban environment, the protagonist's struggle for autonomy, and how the "American Dream" serves as a catalyst for her downfall.
- Analysis of Lutie Johnson’s disillusionment and internal conflict.
- The role of the urban ghetto as a deterministic, oppressive environment.
- Examination of the cycle of poverty, guilt, and moral compromise.
- The symbolic meaning behind Lutie’s move to Chicago and the abandonment of her son.
- The impact of societal structures and racial alienation on personal identity.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1. The Second Part of the Novel: Lutie’s Disillusionment
The novel The Street can generally be divided into two parts. Whereas the first part (chapter 1-9) is about Lutie’s endeavour to maintain and to stabilize her autonomy in the ghetto, the second part (chapter 10-18) deals with Lutie’s continual disillusionment and ends with her moving away from Harlem to Chicago, leaving her son behind.
Hence, one might be justified in arguing that the first part of the novel shows Lutie’s ambivalent feelings between self-doubt and self-confidence connected with her intention to become successful in society, a success that she actually achieves (chapter 9). However, chapters 12-17 deal with her disappointment that she had been used (chapter 8). Thus, she becomes enraged and even feels homicidal hatred against her environment:
She leaned further against the wall, seemed almost sink into it, and started to cry. The hall was full of the sound. The thin walls echoed and re-echoed with it two, three floors below and one floor above.
As Lutie loses her self-confidence and her faith, she begins to feel a fierce hatred and a hard resentment as far as the White people and her Black environment are concerned. This harbours many dangers because Lutie seems to become like so many other women in the ghetto who finally resign and become disillusioned: “And the street reached out and sucked them up” (chapter 16, p. 390). Nevertheless, Lutie “(…) would never permit herself to become resigned to living here” (chapter 13, p. 324).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces Ann Petry’s novel and outlines the analysis of Lutie Johnson’s struggle against the alienating and oppressive conditions of 1940s Harlem.
2. An Analysis of the Novel’s End and Lutie’s Moving to Chicago: This section details Lutie’s shift from hope to disillusionment, exploring how external pressures and her own values trap her in a cycle of despair that leads to her violent self-defense and eventual departure.
2.1. The Second Part of the Novel: Lutie’s Disillusionment: The chapter examines the internal and external factors causing Lutie's psychological breakdown and her realization that the ghetto serves as a prison rather than an opportunity for success.
2.2 Implications of the Novel’s End: This section discusses the consequences of Lutie’s final actions, interpreting her flight to Chicago as a desperate attempt to escape an environment that she ultimately cannot overcome.
3. Conclusion: The conclusion synthesizes the findings, characterizing Lutie as a tragic heroine who is destroyed by her adherence to the "American Dream" within a system designed to keep her oppressed.
Keywords
Ann Petry, The Street, Harlem, Lutie Johnson, Disillusionment, Urban Ghetto, American Dream, Racial Alienation, Autonomy, Determinism, 1940s, Social Power, Identity, Chicago, Tragedy
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this literary analysis?
The analysis focuses on the final chapters of Ann Petry’s "The Street," specifically examining how the protagonist Lutie Johnson experiences disillusionment and is ultimately forced to flee Harlem.
What are the primary themes discussed in the paper?
Key themes include the struggle for autonomy, the destructive impact of the "American Dream" on marginalized individuals, the oppressive nature of the urban ghetto, and the resulting cycle of guilt and violence.
What is the central research objective?
The goal is to analyze the reasons behind Lutie’s disillusionment and the implications of her move to Chicago, particularly regarding the power structures of the ghetto.
Which methodology is applied to this study?
The study utilizes a literary analysis approach, drawing upon text-based evidence and secondary criticism to interpret the protagonist's development and the novel's deterministic worldview.
What does the main body of the text address?
It addresses the transition of the protagonist from self-confidence to despair, the role of external antagonistic forces like Jones and Junto, and the final climactic act of violence that seals her fate.
Which keywords define this work?
Significant keywords include The Street, Harlem, Lutie Johnson, disillusionment, American Dream, and urban environment.
How does the author characterize the "street" in the novel?
The author portrays the street as a "monstrous antagonist" that symbolizes the alienation, frustration, and eventual entrapment of Black individuals in the industrialized North.
Why is Lutie Johnson described as a "tragic heroine"?
She is considered tragic because her desire for autonomy and her belief in the American myth of success lead directly to her downfall and the abandonment of her son.
What is the significance of the train ride at the end of the book?
The final train ride to Chicago represents a desperate attempt to escape the oppressive environment, though the analysis suggests this escape may only be a temporary postponement of her inevitable struggles.
- Citar trabajo
- Dr. Sirinya Pakditawan (Autor), 2006, An Analysis of "The Street" by Ann Petry, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/284087
