Resisting Double Marginalization: Lutie's Struggle in Ann Petry's The Street

Abstract

The present research work focuses on the racial and gender discrimination in Ann Petry's remarkable first novel,The Street.It studies how a Black woman tries to resist double suppression as she finds herself in a vicious circle of conflict and discriminations meted out by the white and Black males in connection with her struggle for freedom in Southern America. The protagonist, Lutie Johnson, is doubly subordinated as she isa Black female. As she is an educated woman, she becomes conscious of her situation and struggles hard to lead an independent life. But racial prejudice and gender discrimination make her a rebel.