Ostensibly, Ann Petry's novel The Street describes the play's windswept urban setting and introduces protagonist Lutie Johnson and her desire to find an apartment that suits her needs. On a deeper level, this novel portrays the ever-present and all-encompassing challenges of city life, as well as the perseverance needed to overcome this struggle. Through sensory language and diction, the image of a personified wind exemplifies the harshness of city life, indirectly characterizing Lutie Johnson as a determined and patient individual. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The speaker's strong diction personifies the wind as the city's spiteful and aggressive antagonist. There is not a single moment of comfort with this “cold November wind” (1). From the beginning, he is "exploding mercilessly across 116th Street" (1-2) and "[running] most of the people off the street in the block between Seventh and Eighth Avenues" (5-7). Hoarsely "[slams] garbage can lids, [sucks] shutters across the tops of open windows and [makes] them rattle" (2-4), the violent verbs implying wind power and inhospitable nature of the city. As a result, “hurried pedestrians must “[bend] double in an attempt to provide as little exposed surface area as possible” (8-9) to the “paper bars” (17) that “swirled in [their] faces” (17) . He even attacked “chicken bones and pork chop bones” (19-20), which connote death. The affectionate acts of the wind confirm the cruel and uncomfortable atmosphere of the city. Likewise, the detailed images of the wind's indiscriminate attacks make it a symbol of the universality of the difficulties of city life. Although the piece focuses on Lutie Johnson's response to the torture of the wind, she is not the only one in conflict with the wind; rather, it is a struggle shared by all, since no person or thing is safe from its "violent assault" (9). The wind finds “every piece of paper along the way” (10), no matter how big or how small. He attacks “theater scraps, announcements of dances and lodge meetings…heavy waxed paper…thinner waxed paper…old envelopes, newspapers” (11-15), the asyndeto of these objects representing the swiftness and randomness of the wind. The "dirt, dust and grime on the pavement" that the wind kicks up makes it difficult for innocent pedestrians to breathe, see and walk, the polysyndeton of these obstacles reflects the consequently slower pace of victims. Furthermore, the wind plays with and bullies the city's residents, wrapping "newspaper around their feet and entangle them until the people cursed...stamped...kicked" (28-29) and " was forced to bend down and remove the newspaper" (30) just so that the wind could catch "their hats, [peel] their scarves from their necks, [stick] their fingers in the collars of their coats, [blow] them away their coats from their bodies” (31-34). Just as there is no privacy or respite from the harshness of city life, the wind does not diminish as it invades people's clothes and makes walking the streets difficult. Ironically, the wind's determination to disturb the city's inhabitants underlines Lutie Johnson's attitude. tenacity and adaptability in the face of adversity. Just as the wind “took its time to rush into doors and areas” (18-19), Lutie waited patiently until the wind “held [the sign] still for an instant” (56-57), so to find out if the advertised apartment met his needs. Although sometimes she “suddenly felt naked and bald”» (54-55),.