Petrys View of Victimization in The Street

A detailed Summary of Petrys View of Victimization in The Street

In The Street, by Ann Petry, Lutie and her son Bub, as well as most of the characters, are clearly portrayed as victims. One is ultimately led to believe that their victimization and the barriers they face are because of race. Race is clearly the main obstacle for Lutie and Bub. It is what holds them back from leaving "the street". Born into prejudice, they are basically prescribed a future. The three characters which best represent the victimization of African-Americans and women are Bub, Lutie, and Min. The main obstacle facing Lutie is obviously the color of her skin. This prevented her from being able to advance the way she wanted to. The fact that Lutie is a woman contributes to her struggle even further. Women have to deal with male dominance and being victimized by men, in addition to being a minority. Both Lutie and Min try to break free these constraints, but ultimately fail because the task lies deeper than within themselves. This story is a perfect example of the struggles African-Americans, and in particular, women, have to endure, and a perfect illustration of the vicious cycle that keeps them unable to achieve the lives that they wanted and worked so hard for. There was a force that was keepi

Lutie wanted Bub to have a better life and rise above the street. She worked very hard to provide this for him. "She could do it, too- bring him up so that he would be a fine, strong man"(Petry 72). There is a double standard here, though. Lutie, raising Bub, alone was responsible for all aspects of Bub's life as well as her own. Many times Bub was forced to stay home alone because they could not afford a baby-sitter. This is evidence that the home is where the cycle of victimization hits the most. Bub is left home alone some nights, forced to care for himself. He realizes that his mother needs to work, so he attempts to be strong, but at the same time, he feels neglected. He was often frightened at night, and slept with the lights on to give him comfort. Those nights he lay awake in bed, trying to figure out a way he could earn money to help his mother. "It occurred to him that she wouldn't mind the light being on if he could figure out some way of earning money so that he could help pay the electric bill"(Petry 219).

Lutie needs a job because she is a single mother and must support herself and Bub. The irony is that she is also supposed to be the caretaker and cannot find a balance, so Bub, fatherless, spent many nights alone forced to take care of himself. In order to break the mold of the stereotypical African-American, Bub needs more attention in the home, and because she needs to support them, Lutie cannot be there to stop the pattern of victimization that he is falling into. Instead, Bub turned to Jones, who manipulated him for his own evil intentions. Bub is perhaps the most innocent of victims. He was never given the opportunity to explore his full potential, and one could attribute this to many factors. In school, he was unable to get an education that would provide him with the knowledge to advance himself. In school, Bub was also a victim of the racist system. The school system was not designed to give African-American children any room for advancement. We are shown the point of view of the teacher. "...she came to think of the accumulation of scents in her classroom with hate as _the colored people's smell, and then finally the smell of Harlem itself-bold, strong, lusty, and frightening" ( Petry 328). The teacher has such a disdain for the children, there is no possible way she can pass on to them any type of knowledge that may be able to save them from "the street".

When she is finally able to break free, her future is left ambiguous. We will never know if she fell back in to the cycle, and found another man who would victimize her, or if she actually grew t

Some common words found in the essay are:
Jones Min, Lutie Bub, Bub Jones, Ann Petry's, Lutie Min, Lutie Mom, Jonathan Chandler, Min Min, Petry Lutie, Prophet David, led believe, nights forced care, innocent victims, nights forced, raising bub, lutie min, forced care, lutie bub, money help, african-american woman, break free,

Approximate Word count = 1770
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English