Introduction
The Street is a novel by Ann Petry, an AAfrican American writer, whose other famous works include novels Country Place and The Narrows. The Street was first published in 1946 and sold more than a million copies. The main character of the novel, Lutie Johnson, decides to build a new future for herself and Bub, her eight-year-old son. The story ends with Lutie being unable to cope with the pressure of circumstances symbolized by 116th Street in Harlem after she loses everything dear to her. The short story “My Kinsman Major Molineux” by Nathaniel Hawthorn was first published in 1831. Hawthorne describes the journey of young Robin through the streets of a nameless town in Massachusetts in search of his uncle Major Molineux who could help him to settle in the township. This paper aims to provide evidence that the characters of Lutie Johnson and Robin both failed to fulfill the American Dream.
Critics’ View
Scientists interpret The Street novel in different ways, highlighting its most important aspects. In particular, Shockley points to the “gothic homelessness” inherent in the book – “the frightening uncertainty of the domestic boundaries that are supposed to safeguard those within its walls” (p. 439). Western mentions that The Street is a novel that “resorts to gothic conventions” and considers it as a part of African American Gothic literature (p. 163). At the same time, Lattin indicates that the novel presents the heroine’s struggle for the illusory American Dream, which is unattainable for Lutie (p. 69). Lattin points out that Chandler’s sanity on Benjamin Franklin’s commandments about hard work and frugality are useless for Lutie, as she faces quite different circumstances (69). Further, Eby pays attention to the phrase at the end of the novel that education does not bring well-being to people like Lutie (p. 33). The scholar also assumes, that the prejudices of the white society, which did not find people of color to be humans, clouded the heroine’s mind when she killed Boots and was thus dehumanized.
Comparative Analysis of the Characters of Hawthorn and Petry
The characters of Lutie and Robin are young tender people, raised in poverty, and faced with the brutality of life. In both stories, there is a Street as a symbol of cruelty and violence prevailing in cities. The symbol of the family, to which both heroes are very attached, contrasts the Street. Robin, discouraged by the inhospitable town, sits on the steps of the church in anticipation of his uncle Major Molineux and recalls simple life with his family in the forest to calm down (Hawthorne, p. 13). Lutie thinks a lot about her family as well, remembering how her husband Jim betrayed her, or how her father’s friend Lil had a bad influence on the eight-year-old Bub. Lutie is ready to do anything to give Bub a sense of home as he is her essence of life.
Interestingly, in both novels, there are symbols of Freemasonry – as a hint at the distortion of the American Dream. Robin sees the faces of the rebels who overthrew his relative Major Molineux, painted in red and black. He sees them pulling his kinsman down the Street in a cab, in tar and feathers (Hawthorne, p. 13). The face of one of the rebels, who showed him where he would see his relative, reminds Robin of the devil’s face with his hooked nose and prominent protrusions on his forehead.
The name Junto in The Street is a reference to Benjamin Franklin, who was a freemason, and the founder of the Junto Club, whose members gathered to discuss moral issues. Further, the founding father is mentioned when Lutie recalls her decision to follow the example of Ben Franklin, who needed a loaf of bread a day to survive (Petry, p. 50). A symbol of the devil is present in The Street as well. Junto’s character is similar to the devil from Hoffmann’s novels – he is small, crooked-legged, with broad shoulders and a hooked nose. Thus, both stories belong to the American Gothic genre, prominent representatives of which are Edgar Allan Poe, William Faulkner, and J.D. Salinger.
The struggle for the American Dream turns into a tragedy for Lutie, whose psyche breaks down under the pressure of the depressed 116th Street and the world in which she is forced to live because of the racial prejudices prevailing in the society. Lutie also becomes a victim of Junto’s sexual harassment, who, despite his democratic attitude towards people of color, in all likelihood, sees in them only means to make money (Petry, p. 301). When he visits Mrs. Hedges in a hospital, he confesses to her that he was delighted with how she was able to survive the fire. Mrs. Hedges is a fat, rude, ugly woman of very tall stature, who now has burns all over her body and became bald. But Junto is in love with her, because the most important value for him is the ability to survive.
This thirst for life is almost an animal instinct, and the influence of Junto leads the heroes to tragedy – Lutie becomes a murderer, and Boots dies at her hand. Although Lutie, when killing Boots, sees in front of herself, not a person, but the embodiment of everything that she hates, including the Street where she lives (Petry 308). Junto is, in some way, the creator, the founding father of this Street as he owns many buildings on it, as well as a bar, and receives a percentage from Mrs. Hedges’ brothel. Thirst for life inspires Lutie’s self-confidence as she approaches the abyss step by step, hoping to cope alone with circumstances that are stronger than her (Petry, p. 111). The same thirst for life makes Boots, a young man who can love and whose sole is delicate enough, to the mental outrage and clouding of his mind.
A striking difference in the life path of Lutie and Robin is the greater freedom and greater optimism inherent in Hawthorn’s character. Robin, in general, is free to choose whether to stay in the city, return to the countryside, or find some other way (Hawthorne , p.14). And Lutie suffers primarily from predestination – over and over again, she faces hopelessness, a complete lack of alternatives for herself and Bub.
Thus, racial prejudices create radically different worlds in which Lutie and Robin have to survive. While Robin, despite his poverty and youth, is taken as an equal, Lutie cannot expect such an attitude. The doors that are closed for Robin he copen by harsh pulling. But these same doors are closed for Lutie tightly and forever, even though affairs in “My Kinsman Major Molineux” take place in the nineteenth century, and events in The Street are dated 1944 (Petry, p. 19). It is noteworthy, the hatred prevailing in society, which destroys Lutie’s life and disappoints Robin’s expectations, may have one common origin.
Most likely, this origin lies not only in the distortion of the American Dream by the freemasons but also in human nature. It should be noted that the representatives of the Gothic genre, in contrast to the realists, believe that there is some kind of darkness inherent in man and inalienable from him. This idea explains the surreal and eerie atmosphere of Hawthorne’s work. Besides, a similar surreal fleur appears at the end of The Street novel, when Lutie kills Boots (Petry, p. 308). A sense of superstitious horror also accompanies the reader when Lutie sees how the feet of Jones, standing with a lamp in the middle of a dark apartment, turn into hooves.
There are also gender prejudices that distinguish Lutie’s circumstances from Robin’s ones. Lutie is a woman, and this fact creates a lot of problems for her. In the course of history, she is subjected to sexual harassment several times – by Jones, Boots, Junto, the man who organizes fake auditions. She is also actively condemned by white women, such as Mrs. Chandler and her friends, who belong to the middle class so that their dislike can be described as class-racial prejudice.
As for harassment by men, they should be interpreted in different ways. White men, such as Mr. Chandler, the audition organizer, or Junto, are mostly in solidarity with white women. They do not see individuals behind the skin color, but only vague figures called black people. Shockley notes that while white women are partially protected by the halo of idealized femininity, “symbolized by ‘Madonna’ side of the feminine dichotomy,” black women lack this protection (p. 439). From the conversation between Junto and Boots, when Junto demands Boots to leave Lutie, it is obvious that he does not perceive Lutie as a person, but rather as a thing that can be borrowed or transferred from one owner to another.
Moreover, Mrs. Hedges secretly tells Min that Junto needs the Lutie not so much for herself, but as a new star for a brothel. Noteworthy, Mrs. Hedges is alien to female solidarity, as she persuades Lutie to solve problems with the help of Junto (Petry, p. 173). Fortunately, Lutie does not know about these intrigues that would certainly upset her, and besides, she dares to protect herself from sexual assaults.
Further, the rape attempts by Boots and Jones should be considered. In both cases, we see people who degraded to an animal state and discarded what makes them people – reason and conscience. This dehumanization of the black men characters is accompanied by a change in the tone of the narrative. Moreover, it is precisely these parts of the plot that make it possible to attribute The Street to the American Gothic genre. Nonetheless, most of the novel is written in the genre of realism. It, therefore, provides the prerequisites for a discussion of the reasons that brought Boots and Jones to such animal impulses. One of the main reasons for the destruction of Jones’ psyche is racial injustice, because of which he could not find a better job than the work of a sailor or a night watchman, and had to spend most of his life alone in closed spaces. The same goes for Boots, who betrays Lutie for fear of returning to the work of a station porter boy.
Conclusion
Thus, a summary of Ann Petry’s novel The Street was presented, and the characters of Robin and Lutie Johnson were compared and contrasted. To summarize it, Lu and Robin are young, kind, and have inner strength. Both of them are determined to the future and see it favorably. However, Robin’s fate will be different from Lutie’s, since he is not a hostage to circumstances. Despite the rudeness and ridicule of the townspeople, Robin has hope, while Lutie steadily moves in the direction of hopelessness, which she cannot escape.
References
- Eby, Clare Virginia. “Beyond Protest:” The Street” as Humanitarian Narrative.” Melus, vol. 33, no. 1, 2008, pp. 33-53.
- Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “My Kinsman, Major Molineux.” Independently Published, 2019.
- Lattin, Vernon E. “Ann Petry and the American Dream.” Black American Literature Forum, vol. 12, no. 2, 1978, pp. 69-72.
- Petry, Ann. The Street. Hachette UK, 2019.
- Shockley, Evie. “Buried Alive: Gothic Homelessness, Black Women’s Sexuality, and (Living) Death in Ann Petry’s “The Street.” African American Review, vol. 40, no. 3, 2006, pp. 439-460.
- Wester, Maisha. African American Gothic: Screams from shadowed places. Springer, 2012.