The Street

In Anne Petrys novel, The Street, the cheat wreaks havoc on the city and puts the city and its pedestrians in an overwhelming and chaotic state. The revolve is the antagonist in the story as it tortures the pedestrians with its pesky ways and coldness. The wind establishes a proscribe relationship mingled with Lutie Johnson and the urban setting and Pettrys use of literary devices aptly displays this relationship. Petry starts out by letting the commentator know there as a cold November wind.This wind terrorizes the street by blowing bits of paper to dancing high in the air such as old envelopes and publishers. Pedestrians were bent double as they act to walk through the wind and street to offer the least possible exposed surface to its violent assault. This use of imagery begins to give the reader an understanding of how the relationship between Lutie Johnson and the urban setting will play out.The selection of detail that the reader is given further shows how the wind is a n egative element in the novel. The wind drove most of the people off the street in the block between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. This leads the reader to debate the wind is fierce and that one shouldnt try to withstand it. The wind withal blew more than just paper around, it blew things such as dirt, grease, dust, chicken bones and pork-chop bones. All of these things blowing around can definitely bring a city to a state of chaos.These details also enhance the urban setting give allow the reader to understand what the experience is like for Lutie Johnson. Petrys use of figurative language also do the readers understanding of the urban setting more pertinent. The wind was fingering its way along the curb and the wind also wrapped newspaper around their feet, entangling the pedestrians and forcing them to bend down and remove the newspaper with their hands. This shows the reader how the wind has power over the pedestrians and Lutie Johnson.Petrys use of personification really makes the relationship between Lutie Johnson and the urban setting more apparent. Petry personifies the wind by stating, The wind lifted Lutie Johnsons hair away from the back of her neck and the cold fingers of the wind fey the back of her neck. This use of personification makes the reader feel like their experiencing the tortures of the wind for themselves with Lutie. The wind also took on the role of a bully by making a simple task very difficult.Lutie Johnson was looking for a room to stay in but she couldnt read the sign with the wind blowing. Each time she thought she had the sign in focus, the wind pushed it away. In conclusion, the urban setting has a negative relationship with Lutie Johnson. The wind do everything hectic and overwhelming. The wind kept antagonizing Lutie while she looked for a place to stay and all she could do was try to deal with it as best as she could.