AP Exam Essay Practice #3

When describing what would initially appear to simply e a windy street, Ann Petry goes to great lengths to craft a vibrant setting in the opening of her novel, The Street.  Despite the introduction of Lutie Johnson taking place only after several paragraphs of exposition, this sequence is instrumental in establishing her relationship to the world around her.  This methodical set up is accomplished through masterful work of both vivid imagery and extended personification.

Given nothing else (as is generally the case with novels' introductions), the reader automatically adapts the initial impression given to Johnson's perspective.  This makes the imagery in the opening lines crucial to understanding Johnson.  The reader may know nothing about Johnson's character, but what is described generally could reasonably be a applied to any character.  In this case, the reader is given the information that it is a particularly windy day.  That means that Johnson is presumably not enjoying the weather.  Nowhere in the text are Johnson's feelings about the day explicitly stated.  All of this knowledge is derived from the imagery, such as the paragraph detailing the chilly touch of the wind on Johnson's neck.

Although necessary, the imagery that establishes the basic mood of the scene is not sufficient to show something more intangible, like the rage of wind.  Petry uses personification to accurately convey ow extreme the wind is.  Because of personification, phrases such as "IT found every scrap of paper along the street" become more descriptive and less fanciful.  it is also worth noting that Petry does not use any direct or simple words to show the nature of the street or how people react to it.  heavy use of personification allows the author to use indirect characterization as a fluid means of communication.  The technique also has another aspect to it.  In the process of turning the wind into a character, Petry makes the entire image of the street much more personal.  This is significant, especially when considering the attitude of a single character such as Lutie Johnson.  With the street's wind personified, the inconveniences it causes for Johnson shift from minor annoyance to willing malice.  Through this, the reader's understanding of both Johnson and the street is enhanced.

The opening of The Street is interesting in that it introduces two characters, one of which supports the other.  Fundamental imagery creates the structure of the setting, while personification puts a personal spin on it  The use of wind as a sentient being exploring the world adds significant amounts of depth as to how Johnson feels about the town, without explicitly stating anything.