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  • Essay / The struggles of urban life in “The Street”

    Apparently, Ann Petry's novel The Street describes the work's breezy urban setting and introduces protagonist Lutie Johnson and her desire to find an apartment that fits her needs. On a deeper level, this novel depicts the pervasive and all-encompassing challenges of city life and the perseverance required to overcome this struggle. Through sensory language and diction, the image of a personified wind illustrates the harshness of urban life, indirectly characterizing Lutie Johnson as a determined and patient person. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The speaker's strong diction personifies the wind as the city's mischievous and aggressive antagonist. There is not a single moment of comfort with this “cold November wind” (1). From the start, he "blasts mercilessly down 116th Street" (1-2) and "[drives] most of the people off the street in the block between Seventh and Eighth Avenues" (5-7). . He “shakes the tops of trash cans, sucks blinds out of open windows and flaps them” (2-4), violent verbs implying the power of the wind and the inhospitable nature of the city . . As a result, “hurrying pedestrians must “double-bend in an attempt to provide as little exposed surface as possible” (8-9) to the “barrages of paper” (17) that “swirl across [their] faces.” (17). He even attacked “chicken bones and pork chop bones” (19-20), which evoke death. The loving acts of the wind reinforce the cruel and uncomfortable atmosphere of the city. Likewise, the detailed imagery of the wind's indiscriminate attacks makes it a symbol of the universality of the difficulties of urban life. Although the excerpt focuses on Lutie Johnson's response to wind torture, she is not the only one in conflict with the wind; rather, it is a struggle shared by all, for no person or thing is safe from its “violent assault” (9). The wind finds “every piece of paper along the street” (10), no matter how small or small. He attacks "theater disposables, announcements of balls and dressing room meetings... thick waxed paper... thinner waxed paper... old envelopes, newspapers" (11-15), the asyndeton of these objects representing the speed and chance of the wind. The “dirt, dust, and grime on the sidewalk” kicked up by the wind makes breathing, seeing, and walking difficult for innocent pedestrians, the polysyndeton of these obstructions reflecting the victims' consequently slower pace. Additionally, the wind plays with the townspeople and intimidates them, wrapping "newspapers around their feet, tangling them until the people curse...hit...kick" (28-29) and "are forced to bend down and dislodge the paper” (30) just so the wind could grab “their hats, [rip] their scarves from around their necks, [stick] fingers into the collar of their coat, [blow away] their coats away from their bodies” (31-34). Just as there is no privacy or break from the harshness of urban life, the wind does not abate as it invades people's clothes and makes it difficult to walk the streets. Ironically, the wind's determination to bother the townspeople underscores that of Lutie Johnson. tenacity and adaptability in the face of adversity. Just as the wind "took time to rush through the doors and surroundings" (18-19), Lutie waited patiently until the wind "held [the panel] still for a moment" (56-57). , in order to find out if the apartment advertised met their needs. Even though sometimes she “felt suddenly naked and bald” (36-37) when the wind lifted her “hair » (54-55),.