Symbolism In The Street By Ann Petry
Being a black woman raised in a white world, Ann Petry was familiar with the contrast in lives of African Americans and whites (McKenzie 615). The Street, centered in 1940’s Harlem, details these differences. While Petry consistently portrays Harlem as dark and dirty, she portrays the all-white neighborhoods of Connecticut as light and clean. This contrast of dark vs light is used in the expected way to symbolize despair vs success. But Ann Petry also uses the contrast in an unusual way by allowing the darkness to inspire, while the light exposes unexpected tragedies. Most places that Lutie Johnson goes in The Street are dark and dirty. The stairwell leading to the apartment she wants to rent appears to be symbolic of all that is wrong in Lutie’s …show more content…
Petry uses the light to expose trouble in the Chandler household. In the clean bright home, Lutie witnesses a relationship that looks to be only for appearances, and not a relationship made of love. And it is by the light of the Christmas tree that Lutie witnesses some of the horror that exists even in seemingly successful, bright homes, as Jonathon Chandler chooses this occasion to commit suicide. It is not only the light that is used contrary to the obvious. Ann Petry also uses the darkness as a vehicle to strengthen Lutie’s resolve to improve her life and be better able to provide for her son. Lutie has seen the light side of life and believes it is attainable for herself. She knows it is just a matter of trying hard enough, and working long enough, and saving enough (Petry 43). Later in Harlem, as Lutie walks past the dark, dirty storefronts, with their withered produce, her determination is strengthened to get out of her current situation; “the dark streets filled with shadowy figures that carried with them the horror of the places they lived in, places like her own apartment.” (Petry 153) Lutie seems to believe that she should do as Booker T. Washington advised and “pick [herself] up by the bootstraps” and make a new life for herself and her son. (Bressler
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853 Words | 4 PagesThroughout a majority of the novel, Lutie, the main character fights her battle of survival as her and her son Bub live through poverty. Although she continuously gets crushed every step of the way she always kept her head up as she wanted to give the best to her son. However, towards the end of the novel we see this change as Lutie gets exposed to things that become out of her control and she starts to give up. Despite Luties strength and commendable qualities, Petry sent her on a ‘journey of decline’ to her breaking point. From the start of the novel Petry describes the social issues going on throughout Harlem, and how Lutie goes about living with them.
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Symbolism In Sonny's Blues
1027 Words | 5 PagesDarkness and music have given unusual prominence that emphasises the awful life in Harlem, and how music brought those two brothers together at the end of the story. Each symbol represents its own unique sign. The light used in many forms such as moonlight, spotlight, or even the light of the car. “There isn’t any other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness” (James). Besides the fear, and despair of society in Harlem, the light seems to be glowing in the darkness, symbolizes a form of salvation and a moral life.
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