Cold November Wind In Ann Petry's The Street

Ann Petry, the author of The Street a Novel, does a fantastic job of setting up the overall feeling of the book in the first chapter, by utilizing detailed descriptions and comparisons as well as personifying ‘a cold November wind’ in an interesting way. The dictionary defines personification as “the attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract notions, especially as a rhetorical figure” (Dictionary.com). In this particular instance, the wind is a blockade for Lutie, the main character, in her goals at the very beginning of the novel. On top of being a blockade for Lutie, the November winds are foreshadowing a lot of the themes in the novel; nothing is easy for her especially in regards to relationships and financial status throughout the rest of the novel. The wind “even blew her eyelashes away from her eyes so that her eyeballs were bathed in a rush of coldness and she had to blink in order to read the words on the sign swaying back and forth,” (Petry 2) the wind is activley attempting to prevent her from even determining exactly where she is, it’s hard to even get started if she doesn’t know where she’s going. The wind also foreshadows the setbacks that she …show more content…
Unfortunately, throughout the first chapter, we see Lutie become a little bit suspicious and uncomfortable of Jones. She listens to and agrees with her analytical mind over her natural instincts, and decides to rent a room from Jones. Lutie, here just kicks Jones and the worry that he causes her, to the back of her mind. Later, we see the entire situation from Jones’ point of view, and it turns out Lutie was right to be a bit on edge, his feelings toward her are instinctual, like the lust of a dog for his prey. Overall, he teaches us that you need to be wary of instincts and let them guide you, and he is the most representative in the novel of this