Appearance
The Street
This book, "The Street," was, as many have written, an intriguing insight into the culture in which the book is set. The reader is allowed to follow the main character Lutie through the perils of daily life in Harlem. The setting of a hard-knock life in the streets gives the reader a look at a life that very likely has little in common with their own. This is the book's best characteristic. This setting, along with the extensive character development, make this book well worth reading but perhaps a little overhyped. With what is in my opinion a rather abrupt and disappointing ending as well as an overabundance of details Ann Petry makes what could've been one of the great books of the twentieth century simply a good book.
The Street
A haunting reminder of the tortures suffered by African Americans in the United States during the early half of the 20th Century, The Street is effective in conveying people's motives. The novel starts off with immense details of "the street." At times, it seems as if the details overwhelm the plot. For example, Petry spends much detail in the first chapter describing the wind that bellowed through the street. Creating the atmosphere of the street while boring the reader. Therefore, it is difficult to find Petry's motive in the novel. However, her motive soon becomes evident as she goes on to describe the troubles suffered by the African Americans searching for housing. Petry does a tremendous job developing empathy for the characters from the reader. In essence, the characters are brought to life through the thick details. The unexpected ending leaves the reader in a mild shock. But the clear description of each character's motives, leaves the reader believing the ending was just a part of life. In all, Petry did a great job surrounding the characters with details. At times the details are overwhelming, but the ending proves the details to be just. The Street is a fair representation of African American's in a society dominated by Caucasians in the early 20th Century.
The Street
Though I approached this book with some trepidation, thinking I would have nothing in common with its characters, my fears were allayed after a few pages. Petry's insight into the psyche of her characters creates a haunting picture, for her characters often reflect aspects of everyone's personality at one time, from the crazed manics to the stoic and determined. Even the street itself, personified here, becomes a timeless reminder of the darkness within the human soul. The plotline and literary devices employed by Petry are effective, drawing us deeper with each page into her own reality, which, though fictional, seems entirely plausible given the depth of her insight and detail. The story of one woman's struggle to better herself despite enormous odds and her subsequent end remind us never to take our lives for granted, and to appreciate the struggles of those that came before.
The Street
The Street by Ann Petry is a book that is well worth your time to read. The insight you gain about Harlem in the 1940s broadens your horizons and makes you think about what it was like to struggle to make ends meet. I felt like I knew these characters by the end of the book through Petry's descriptions, and I could share in their pain and sorrow as a few windows of opportunity where opened and then slammed in their faces. At the end of the book I could understand Lutie's choice and empathize with her. The Street is a book that will open your eyes and make you take another look not only at yourself but at the world you live in.
The Street
I came across this book as a 1970 edition paperback, with a 'blaxploitation' looking woman dressed in colorful clothing c. 1970... It looked like a 1960s ghetto story... I was surprised to see the 1946 publishing date after I read a few chapters and found out that the story takes place in 1944...Anyone who wonders about race relations, the 'ghetto', the plight of black men finding jobs and fitting into society should read this book; it lays it all plain, and the fact that it takes place in 1944 is all the more revealing in that the ghetto has probably been here all along since after slavery, as an extension of slavery... The book could very well have taken place in 1970, just with different vices and prices and popular music; the story would be the same...This book is truly haunting for anyone who wants to know what America is really like underneath; there is a color barrier, and a land of haves and have nots, and not enough decent jobs to go around...Also surprising is that this book was not already made into a movie, since it screams out cinematically... even with its rawest of subject matter, I could picture Halle Berry as the lead, a Morgan Freeman as Jones, Wesley Snipes as Boots, etc. It would be surely controversial, since a lot of its strongest lines and ideas are a bare condemnation of the America societal system, history, economy, and the creators of the 'United States' and the Euro-American cultural millieu...As an observer of American history and life, I have come to realize that the African American Black experience may in the end turn out to be the quinessential one, what with the old world slavery in the new world, the Civil War, jazz and blues forming the great part of America's truly original music, continued discrimination from much of 'mainstream' society in forms of integration... Ann Petry's THE STREET is one of America's great novels written by anyone of any color, but it really tells the whole truth, and nothing but, and all that no one wants to hear or admit...America still has many problems, and this book is certainly a reminder of that... Let it be read by all walks...
The Street
I find it telling that everyone who has something bad to say about this book mentions that it is either depressing or about black or poor people. It makes me sad that people cannot appreciate an intricate and complex novel because it reminds them of things they don't want to think about. This novel deals with the complex and varied perspectives that exist within the smallest units of urban space, and the how our lives can be affected in powerful ways by the actions of people who are only peripheral to our daily existence. Since some people have a problem with reading sad or realistic books, I would say this one is for grown-ups of any age.