Ann Petry’s The Street Essay -- Black motherhood Petry Street Essays

Ann Petrys The Street In our society of today, there be many ambits that are portrayed through media and through personal experience that speak to the issues of dour motherhood, conjugal union and the black family. Wherever one turns, there is the image of the black woman in the projects and truly rarely the image of successful black women. Even when these positive images are portrayed, it is almost in a stylus that speaks to the supposed inferiority of black women. Women, black women in particular, are placed into a society that marginalizes and controls many of the aspects of a black womans life. As a result, many black women do not see a source of opportunity, a way to escape the drudgery of their everyday existence. For example, if we were to ask black mothers if they would change their situation if it became possible for them to do so, many would change, but others would say that it is not possible This answer would be the result of living(a) in a society that has co nditioned black women to accept their lots in lives instead of fighting against the system of white and male dominated supremacy. In Ann Petrys The Street, we are given a view of a black mother who is struggling to escape what the street symbolizes. In the end though, she becomes captive to the very social occasion she wishes to escape. Petry presents black motherhood, marriage and the black family as things that are marginalized according to the society in which they take place. The main image that Petry gives of the black mother is Lutie, though there are other images that are crucial in explaining this image. Lutie is a single black mother living on the street. Her world revolves around providing for her son, and arduous to make sure that they ar... ...courage to survive in the world. On the other hand, her portrayal of marriage and the black family appears to be negative. Marriage is seen as a convenient thingas something that is expected, but not worth having w hen times get rough. At least this is what Luties and Jims marriage became. The moral attributes that go along with marriage do not seem to be prevalent. As a result, because marriage and the black family are seen as the core of the black club, blacks become more divided up and begin to work against themselvesreinforcing among themselves the white male supremacy. Instead of being oppressed by another race or community, blacks oppress themselves. Petry critiques these issues in the black community and makes them more applicable to our lives today. These issues still exist, but we fail to realize them because of our advancement in society today.