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Tiffany Le

8/13/12Per. 4

Mrs. Schaeffer

AP Literature & Comp.

The Street by Ann Petry10 Dialectical Journals

1 it drove most of thepeople off the streetexcept

for a few hurried pedestrians

who bent double in an effort

to offer the least possible

exposed surface to its violent

assault (5-9).

The weather was so harsh thatthe citys inhabitants knew

better than to brave it on the

streets. Those who failed to

avoid it could only brace

themselves for the lashing

wind while attempting to

maximize what little protection

they had.

PersonificationThe author portrays the windas a perpetrator inflicting violent assault on

unlucky pedestrians, giving it a terrorizing

persona that wields control over the population

of the city. The November wind assumes the

role of an invisible aggressor not to be

reckoned withthose who failed to avoid it

must cower and take the punches, as retaliation

is not an option when confronted with this

fearsome force of nature.

2 Fingering its way along

the curb, the wind set the bits

of paper to dancing high in theair, so that a barrage of paper

swirled into the faces of the

people on the street (15-18).

The wind creeps along the

curve with its fingers, raising a

flurry of paper in the air thatflew in the faces of pedestrians

as they hurried along the street.

Selection of detail/ImageryThe detail of the

wind having fingers is chosen to enhance the

imagery of its sweeping motion along thesidewalk, since the agility of fingers parallels

the airy fluidity of the wind. The depiction of

dancing papers establishes a chaotic

atmosphere that complements the hectic visual

of papers and faces colliding at once. Theseelements contribute to the overall entropic

environment of a city with its contents stirred

by wind.

3 the dirt got into their

noses, making it difficult to

breathe; the dust got into theireyes and blinded them; and

the grit stung their skins (23-26).

The wind prevented the people

from breathing and seeing

properly by clogging theirsenses with dirt and dust,

which lashed against their skin

as they walked as well.

ImageryThe author enhances the readers

experience of the winds effects by describing

feelings of suffocation, blindness, and stingingin order to show the futility of braving the

wind, whose power exceeds not only that of

the citys but of its inhabitants as well.

3 And then the windgrabbed their hats, pried their

scarves from around their

necks, stuck its fingers inside

their coat collars, blew their

coats away from their bodies(31-34).

The wind blew away hats,unwound scarves from necks,

and peeled coats away from the

people as they walked.

PersonificationAgain, the author uses thedetail of fingers to depict the swift and

unpredictable movements of the wind. In this

case, the wind is personified as a mischievous

thief, running astray with hats, scarves, and

coats with no reason or purpose but to create

discomfort and stir unnecessary chaos.

4 The wind lifted Lutie

Johnsons hair away from theback of her neck so that shefelt suddenly naked and bald,

for her hair had been resting

softly and warmly against her

skin (35-38).

The winds sole purpose is to

remove people from thecomfort of their own bodies,and in this case, Lutie

Johnsons protective cascadeof hair is blown from its warm

resting place into disarray.

ImageryThe author uses the winds act of

blowing Lutie Johnsons hair away to emulatethe feeling of being stripped of ones defenses.Because the chaotic city environment can be

alienating to individuals, the addition of the

winds harsh effects worsens the tenserelationship between the protagonist and her

setting. The reader is forced to feel the minoryet annoying discomfort of having his or her

own body becoming a hindrance to completing

a goal.

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4 It even blew her

eyelashes away from her eyes

so that her eyeballs were

bathed in a rush of coldness

and she had to blink in order

to read the words on the sign

swaying back and forth over

her head (40-44).

The wind impaired Lutie

Johnsons most importantsense at this place and time,

stinging her eyes with coldness

so that reading the moving sign

became all the more difficult.

ImageryThe author couples the painful

sensation of having wind blown through oneseyes with the annoyance of reading a moving

sign to instill frustration in the reader. The

reader sympathizes with Lutie Johnson

through this imagery and glimpses into her

uneasy interaction with the city, constantly

magnifying whatever troubles she alreadyfaces.

5 Each time she thoughtshe had the sign in focus, the

wind pushed it away from her

so that she wasnt certainwhether it said three rooms or

two rooms. If it was three,

why, she would go in and ask

to see it, but if it said twowhy, there wasnt any point

(45-49).

Lutie Johnson attempts to

make sense of the sign, but

repeatedly fails every time she

comes close. Her trek could

end at the moment she finds

what she has been looking

for3 vacant roomsbut the

simplicity of her quest is

negated by the absurdity of the

situation.

Selection of detailThe author chooses to addthe minor details of what Lutie Johnson

wanted to see on the sign in order to mark the

frustration the character feels. Because her

goal could be met so easily at this moment

were it not for the wind, this detail magnifies

the exasperating nature of the interaction

between the main character and her city.

5 she could see that it hadbeen there for a long time

because its original coat of

white paint was

streakedand the metal hadslowly rusted, making a dark

red stain like blood (50-55).

Lutie Johnson saw that the signwore years of weather through

its streaking paint and dark,

rusting metal.

Imagery/selection of detailThe sign isdepicted as old and rusty, imagery that lends

itself to the suggestion of history and hardship.

Whereas Lutie Johnson can be inferred to be a

young woman, the sign contrasts her as an

ancient and ragged artifact, having faced years

of harsh treatment by weather such as the one

currently plaguing 116th

Street.

6 It was three rooms. Thewind held it still for an

instant in front of her and then

swooped it away until it was

standing at an impossibleangle on the rod that

suspended it from the

building (56-59).

The wind showed an

unexpected instance of

leniency and allowed Lutie

Johnson to finally see what she

had been searching for, butquickly snatched it away.

ImageryThe brevity of the moment whenLutie Johnson can finally comprehend the sign

characterizes the volatile nature of the wind.

The imagery of the sign being held still for

milliseconds then suspended into a ridiculousposition on the rod adds to the random nature

of the city and enhances the authorsdescription of it as a chaotic and discomforting

place.

6 She read it rapidly. Threerooms, steam heat, parquet

floors, respectable tenants.

Reasonable (

Lutie Johnson finds that the

signs contents met herstandards and goals, not

perfectly but reasonably.

Diction/selection of detailThe authorschoice of the word reasonable as the finalverdict suggests compromise, characterizing

Lutie Johnson as one used enough to city life

to know that pragmatic, not perfect, decisions

must be made. The selection of such details as

steam heat and parquet floors contribute tothe promise of comfort that is often advertisedbut often found lacking for many inhabitants

of large urban settings.