The Street: A Tale of Social Injustices & Lutie Johnson's Pursuit of the American Dream

Ann Petry's novel The street 1946 centers on the glaring social injustices that met Lutie Johnson, the protagonist. Lutie, a single mother of African American origin, lives in the highly segregated American society in the 1940s. In the entire novel, the period is accompanied by a great sense of racism, classism, and sexism, which did not spare Lutie in her quest to pursue the American dream. This paper aims to address the various questions drawn from the novel as follows.

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How Ann Petry's novel "The Street (1946)" forces the reader to reconsider the concept of the "American dream."

The American dream is the ideology of equality in every available opportunity to all the Americans, thus creating a conducive environment for the nation's goals to be realized. Moreover, the American dream expresses the need for freedom and upward social mobility. Above all, to achieve the American dream, society needs to be free of barriers like racism, sexism, and classism, which collectively hinder freedom. In the novel "The Street (1946)" by Ann Petry, the street is portrayed as a perfect barrier to the American dream, which both Mrs. Hedges and Lutie Johnson significantly believed in. The notion of the American dream drives Lutie, a single mother of African American origin, to work hard. Furthermore, the expression of Mr. Chandler that America was regarded as the "Richest damn country in the world...Hell! Make it while you're young" (Petry 42), which further drives Lutie to work hard and meet the American dream. However, the street elucidated the effect of racism and classism in the economic region that Junto played a crucial role in exhibiting the white power system. Consequently, Lutie felt like a slave and had no freedom "Her eyes wandered over the room...she was aware that old man Junto was studying her..." (Petry 148). The lack of freedom and the racial segregation worked against Lutie and her faith about the American dream slowly diminished. In the end, it becomes eminent to Lutie that the riches Chandler referred to did not apply to the African Americans, specifically a woman from the African American origin. Therefore, according to the text, living the American dream calls for struggle against racism, sexism, and classism as they immensely contribute to the socioeconomic factors that bur the American dream.

How Systemic Racism, Sexism, and Class Oppression Affect Human Relationships in Ann Petry's the Street 1946

The several economic opportunities available in the urban centers often attract a diverse group of individuals. Moreover, individuals pose a distinct opinion about sex, race, and class. As a consequence, people relate differently to one another. In the novel "The street (1946) by Ann Petry, it is undoubted that racism, sexism, and oppression due to class significantly influenced how people related in the street. For instance, sexism is eminent, especially on the women of the African American descent, widely displayed trough the obstacles surrounding Lutie in the play. Lutie is unable to work freely in Junto's premises due to her sexuality. Moreover, Boots knows the plan about Junto making Lutie his mistress and takes Lutie to his place so that Junto can propose. The statement, "I figured it out...Juno's the answer. He'll give it to you...all you have to do is be nice to him" (Petry 421) critically reflected on how sexism was used as a tool of relation in the street. This meant that as a woman, Lutie had to be submissive to maintain a good relationship with her employer. Nonetheless, the racial influence in the relationship of the characters in the street is seen when Boots comments, "It was any city where they set up a line black folks stay on this side and white folks on this side" (Petry 206). Undoubtedly, the sentiments show segregation within the street; the whites were expected to relate only to their fellow whites, and the black Americans to their fellow black Americans.

How Ann Petry's The Street (1946) critique patriarchal ideology and how race intersects with both socioeconomic class and gender in creating women's experience

Patriarchal ideology is the idea that men are primarily in charge of everything within society and that women are only required to act as secondary assistants. In the novel "The Street (1946)" by Ann Petry, the ideology is much criticized through the creation of a resilient woman, Lutie, who defies every obstacle between her dreams. For instance, Lutie says, " The women work, and the kids go to reform schools...the women work because for years now; white folks haven't liked to give black men jobs that pay" (Petry 389). The oppression of the black men forced women like Lutie to go against the patriarchal ideology as she looked for work at Junto's premises so that she can pay her son's school fees. Furthermore, critical scrutiny of the statement by Lutie insinuates that only men were expected to work. Nonetheless, the novel carefully integrates the aspect of race and gender to define the various experiences the women underwent in the streets. Lutie has the will to work towards living the American dream. Nonetheless, the lessons in Lutie's life as an African American woman drive her to the conclusion that black women have the roughest time in trying to realize their space within the street.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the novel "The Street (1946)" by Ann Petry elucidates on the various effects related to social injustices like racism, sexism, and classism. Furthermore, the novel substantially criticizes some know ideologies like the patriarchal ideology and empowers women. The book also delves into various socioeconomic issues that collectively hinder the fulfillment of the American dream, as discussed in the questions above.

Work Cited

Petry, Ann. "The Street. 1946." Boston: Houghton Mifflin 1 (1991): 974.