Ann Petry’s The Street In our society of today, there are many images that are portrayed through media and through personal experience that speak to the issues of black motherhood, marriage and the black family. Wherever one turns, there is the image of the black woman in the projects and very rarely the image of successful black women. Even when these positive images are portrayed, it is almost in a manner that speaks to the supposed inferiority of black women. Women, black women in particular, are placed into a society that marginalizes and controls many of the aspects of a black woman’s life. As a result, many black women do not see a source of opportunity, a way to escape the drudgery of their everyday existence. For example, if we were to ask black mother’s if they would change their situation if it became possible for them to do so, many would change, but others would say that it is not possible; This answer would be the result of living in a society that has conditioned black women to accept their lots in lives instead of fighting against the system of white and male dominated supremacy. In Ann Petry’s The Street, we are given a view of a black mother who is struggling to escape what the street symbolizes. In the end though, she becomes captive to the very thing she wishes to escape. Petry presents black motherhood, marriage and the black family as things that are marginalized according to the society in which they take place. The main image that Petry gives of the black mother is Lutie, though there are other images that are crucial in explaining this image. Lutie is a single black mother living on “the street.” Her world revolves around providing for her son, and trying to make sure that they ar... ... middle of paper ... ...courage to survive in the world. On the other hand, her portrayal of marriage and the black family appears to be negative. Marriage is seen as a convenient thing—as something that is expected, but not worth having when times get rough. At least this is what Lutie’s and Jim’s marriage became. The moral attributes that go along with marriage do not seem to be prevalent. As a result, because marriage and the black family are seen as the core of the black community, blacks become more divided and begin to work against themselves—reinforcing among themselves the white male supremacy. Instead of being oppressed by another race or community, blacks oppress themselves. Petry critiques these issues in the black community and makes them more applicable to our lives today. These issues still exist, but we fail to realize them because of our advancement in society today.
As both Tracey Reynolds and Audre Lorde have emphasized, Black women are not perpetually passive victims, but active agents. It is totally possible for Black women to seize a form of empowerment, whether that be alternative education, or the creation of organizations that weren’t situated in either the Civil Rights movement or Women’s
The story also focuses in on Ruth Younger the wife of Walter Lee, it shows the place she holds in the house and the position she holds to her husband. Walter looks at Ruth as though he is her superior; he only goes to her for help when he wants to sweet talk his mama into giving him the money. Mama on the other hand holds power over her son and doesn’t allow him to treat her or any women like the way he tries to with Ruth. Women in this story show progress in women equality, but when reading you can tell there isn’t much hope and support in their fight. For example Beneatha is going to college to become a doctor and she is often doubted in succeeding all due to the fact that she is black African American woman, her going to college in general was odd in most people’s eyes at the time “a waste of money” they would say, at least that’s what her brother would say. Another example where Beneatha is degraded is when she’s with her boyfriend George Murchison whom merely just looks at her as arm
Historically, the job of women in society is to care for the husband, the home, and the children. As a homemaker, it has been up to the woman to support the husband and care for the house; as a mother, the role was to care for the children and pass along cultural traditions and values to the children. These roles are no different in the African-American community, except for the fact that they are magnified to even larger proportions. The image of the mother in African-American culture is one of guidance, love, and wisdom; quite often the mother is the shaping and driving force of African-American children. This is reflected in the literature of the African-American as a special bond of love and loyalty to the mother figure. Just as the role of motherhood in African-American culture is magnified and elevated, so is the role of the wife. The literature reflects this by showing the African-American man struggling to make a living for himself and his family with his wife either being emotionally or physically submissive. Understanding the role of women in the African-American community starts by examining the roles of women in African-American literature. Because literature is a reflection of the community from which it comes, the portrayal of women in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) and James Baldwin's Go Tell it on the Mountain (1952) is consistent with the roles mentioned above.
The Street by Ann Petry was first published in 1948, and it gives an account of the lives of black women in the World War II era. Being a black woman herself, Petra gives a firsthand commentary about the social injustices that face the main character in the novel, Lutie Johnson. Lutie is a black single mother who faces social challenges such as sexism, racism, and classism in her chase for the American dream. In her chronicles of raising her son, Bub, she believes that if she works hard, and saves wisely she will realize her dream of gaining financial independence and in 116th street, Harlem, where she lives. The novel gives the streets a personality as if it were a humans being. This personification and other literal styles including naturalism
He discusses LaJoe's parents, how they met and married and why they moved to Horner. He depicts LaJoe as an extremely kind-hearted yet tough woman who will do anything to help not only her own family, but all the neighborhood children as well. LaJoe feeds and cares for many of the neighborhood children. For this, she is rare and special in an environment of black mothers who are prostitutes and drug addicts. She sticks by her children when most mothers would be ashamed and disown them.
The role of women in a black society is a major theme of this novel. Many women help demonstrate Hurston's ideas. Hurston uses Janie's grandmother, Nanny, to show one extreme of women in a black society, the women who follow in the footsteps of their ancestors. Nanny is stuck in the past. She still believes in all the things that used to be, and wants to keep things the way they were, but also desires a better life for her granddaughter than she had. When Nanny catc...
The Author of this book (On our own terms: race, class, and gender in the lives of African American Women) Leith Mullings seeks to explore the modern and historical lives of African American women on the issues of race, class and gender. Mullings does this in a very analytical way using a collection of essays written and collected over a twenty five year period. The author’s systematic format best explains her point of view. The book explores issues such as family, work and health comparing and contrasting between white and black women as well as between men and women of both races.
McGuire, Danielle L. At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance- A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power. New York, New York: Vintage Books. 2011.
In Ann Petry’s The Street, Lutie Johnson is an amicable African American woman as she navigates through a hard life of poverty and motherhood. With regards to Black Feminist Theory, Petry’s illustration of the fictional Lutie Johnson hits hard on the concept that there is an intersectional oppression regarding race and gender, and how this oppression simultaneously assaults both womanhood and racial identity. Furthermore, several characters and the neighborhood that Lutie moves into symbolizes the multiple oppressions against Lutie. African American writers such as Paula Giddings and Patricia Collins discuss the history and application of Black Feminism which directly correlates to what Petry prescribes to her readers in The Street. Overall,
To be labeled as a feminist is such a broad classification therefore it is divided into various subsections, one such subsection is known as hip hop feminism in which Ruth Nicole closely associates herself with throughout this essay I will thoroughly discuss this form of feminism. Ruth Nicole is a black woman that categorizes herself as a girl, by her definition a girl is far from independent. Black girlhood discusses the shared experiences of the ever-changing body, which has been marked as vibrant, Black, and female, along with memories and representations of being female. As a result, Ruth Nicole wrote Black Girlhood Celebration in order to share her personal and political motivations of working with black girls within the community. A conversation that is not often articulated about due to a language barrier. In which this discussion accurately details a means to work with black girls in such a way that does not control their body or pilfer black female individuality. Under those circumstances, Brown believes that black girls are being exploited for their physique through the use of music and instructed to conform to white norms constructed by society.
Like many other African-American families of the past, Peggy would insinuate herself into a family. While the white community may see this family structure as lacking because there is a lack of a nucleus or male leadership, in Gender, Economy, and Kinship, we discover that much of the African-American community do not see the lack of a nuclear family as a detriment, but “Rather a source of strength, not weakness, in surviving structural adversity and disadvantage (Blumberg 2005). I would have to agree, for it would be the strength of community that would allow Peggy and her husband Paul to take in a child who was not their own and teach her the value of community. This community or “good segregation” as June calls it, would give June a place to be herself without having to question where she fit. June would eventually say that it was Peggy’s rules and decorum that would shape her ideals and open her political consciousness of race. Peggy would use the story of the Ugly Duckling to cement in June’s consciousness that while race was binding, class could be overcome. Much like June Jordan’s mother in Patricia Hill Collins article Shifting the Center, Peggy would also show June the value of hard work in creating a new line of work for up and coming black women, while providing for June the opportunities to “Pursue the privilege of books”
In Claudia Rankine’s piece “The Condition of Black Life Is One of Mourning”, she discusses how African American women, whom are mothers or are expecting, feel living in this country. Rankine asked one friend, “What’s it like being the mother of a black son”, and her response was, “The condition of black life is one of mourning”. This response shows that African Americans feel mourning all day everyday. They feel that there is no escape or way out, and just learn to live with constantly being aware of what is going on around you. These women worry on a regular basis not only about themselves, but the precious lives that they have brought into this world. Motherhood is supposed to be centered around happiness, joy, and just simply something that
In the story, Like a Winding Sheet, author Ann Petry depicts a tale of a hard working man and his internal battle with anger, self-realization and the daily woes of being black in America. At the end of the story his wife, Mae Johnson, becomes the recipient of the anger Johnson has held so. close to him. Through symbolism, style, and mood, Petry allows the character to embrace the world around them, leaving me questioning the subject of violence, racial discrimination, and hate. Although Like a Winding Sheet is a short story, it bears witness to a generation of men, who during this time, had very little voice and power
Feminist theory is a term that embraces a wide variety of approaches to the questions of a women’s place and power in culture and society. Two of the important practices in feminist critique are raising awareness of the ways in which women are oppressed, demonized, or marginalized, and discovering motifs of female awakenings. The Help is a story about how black females “helped” white women become “progressive” in the 1960’s. In my opinion, “The Help” I must admit that it exposes some of our deepest racial, gender, and class wounds as individuals and social groups, and that the story behind the story is a call to respect our wounds and mutual wounding so that healing may have a chance to begin and bring social injustice to an end. The relationship between Blacks and whites in this novel generally take on the tone of a kindly, God-fearing Jesus Christ-loving Black person, placidly letting blacks and whites work out their awkwardness regarding race and injustice. Eventually both the black and white women realize how similar they are after all, and come to the conclusion that racism is an action of the individual person, a conclusion mutually exclusive of racism as an institutionalized system that stands to demonize and oppress people based on the color of their skin and the location of their ancestry.
The author expresses how black women are not the reason for black men’s experiences with racism, poverty, or oppression. That it is time to stop placing blame and taking responsibility for their own actions. Her feelings are that a plan should be made by black women and men to review these attacks on the communities and women in general. Mclune emphasizes that there is no excuse nor will she accept any excuses that black women should be degraded in this way. The author also welcomes the idea of refusing profit from this type of degradation with money and attention by those she refers to as thugs and self-proclaimed players. “As a black woman who views sexism as just as much the enemy of my people as racism, I can’t buy the apologies and excuses for