The Street: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Street: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the complex lives of individuals navigating the harsh realities of urban life, particularly in Harlem. Central to the narrative is Lutie Johnson, a young African American mother who embodies the struggle for independence and the pursuit of the American Dream. Her experiences highlight the challenges faced by those who encounter systemic barriers and the darker aspects of personal ambition.
Supporting characters like Jones, the predatory superintendent, and Junto, the slumlord, illustrate the exploitation and manipulation within their environment. Lutie’s aspirations clash with the desires of those around her, leading to tragic confrontations that reveal the fragility of her dreams. Other characters, such as Mrs. Hedges and Min, represent different responses to oppression, showcasing a spectrum of resilience and resignation. The story ultimately critiques the myth of self-made success, emphasizing how societal forces can stifle individual aspirations, particularly for marginalized individuals. The narrative paints a poignant picture of struggle, ambition, and the devastating impact of external circumstances on personal agency.
The Street: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Ann Petry
First published: 1946
Genre: Novel
Locale: Harlem, New York, and suburban Connecticut
Plot: Naturalism
Time: 1944
Lutie Johnson, a young, divorced African American mother who is characterized by independence of spirit. Lutie is greatly enamored of cultural myths of the self-made American—a figure symbolized for her by the suburban Chandlers, for whom she worked as a maid, and by the larger-than-life image of Benjamin Franklin. After her divorce and a period living briefly with her father, Lutie seeks an apartment for herself and her son, Bub. She soon discovers herself in one of the ill-kept, overcrowded Harlem tenements reserved for African Americans. Moreover, while preoccupied with notions of “pulling oneself up by the bootstraps,” Lutie finds herself prey to the desires of those around her—the sexual fantasies of the apartment superintendent, the practiced eye of the resident madame, and the lust of the white slumlord. She survives an attempted rape at the hands of Jones, the superintendent, and by happenstance is presented with the opportunity to escape her environment and realize her dreams by singing. Apparent happenstance is revealed as a plot on the part of Junto, a slumlord and ubiquitous presence, to sacrifice Lutie to his sexual appetite. Faced at the conclusion of the novel with having to solicit money from Junto's middleman, Lutie is consumed with rage at those who manipulate her and at the patent falsehood of American cultural myths in relation to herself and those who share her circumstances. Faced with an imminent rape attempt, Lutie, in her rage, murders Boots, Junto's middleman, and flees Harlem, leaving behind her son—in whose name she had so often fashioned her “American” dreams.
Jones, the superintendent of Lutie's apartment building. Jones has spent his life on board ships and in basements and boiler rooms. He views women almost exclusively as instruments for fulfilling his sexual fantasies. In his life of confinement in the basement of tenements, working for men like Junto, Jones has become an almost subhuman figure. He begins to resemble his alternately cringing and aggressive dog.
Junto, the presiding slumlord who controls the economies of both finance and desire in the environment in which Lutie discovers that she is trapped. In addition to owning the building in which Lutie lives, Junto owns the house of prostitution on the first floor of the apartment building, the bar at the corner where she seeks a momentary respite, and the band and dance hall by means of which it seems Lutie will realize her dreams after all. Much of the latter half of the plot is driven by Junto's desire to possess Lutie.
Boots Smith, the leader of Junto's band, who ultimately is co-opted into attempting to procure Lutie for Junto, despite the fact that he also desires Lutie. Boots is provided with a lifestyle and financial security that he will not risk in defiance of his employer. He has escaped the environment that Lutie wishes to escape, but, ironically, is the very figure that Lutie must kill in order to make her own tattered escape of sorts at the conclusion of the novel.
Mrs. Hedges, an unflappable tenant of Lutie's apartment building who seemingly maintains an omniscient watch over the streets and its people and events. Mrs. Hedges is employed as a madame by Junto, who owns the apartment building, and the two have maintained a long and mutually beneficial business partnership.
Min, the meek, subdued woman who lives with Jones and is thankful foremost for having secured a rent-free situation. She seems to possess little of the mythical American determination and ambition “to better oneself” that is so central a preoccupation for Lutie. She lives meekly in fear of Jones, seeking protection from his brutality from a conjureman. By the end of the novel, she finds the courage to leave Jones.
Bub Johnson, Lutie's young son, who in many ways inherits her uncritical fixation with the American Dream. Once Lutie's downfall occurs, he is abandoned.
The Chandlers, the emotionally troubled and sterile suburban family for whom Lutie worked for a time as a live-in maid. It is from the Chandlers and their constant pursuit of increasing wealth that Lutie learns her most enduring lessons concerning the American Dream. Lutie learns to imitate un-critically their hopes and ambitions, although she also witnesses the shallowness of their lives.