“From the time she was born, she had been hemmed into an ever-narrowing space, until now she was very nearly walled in and the wall had been built up brick by brick by eager white hands.”
In the story, Lutie seems not to catch a break as she moves into the neighborhood in Harlem. She has faced and continues to face the challenges of being a single black mother in mid-20th century America. She is part of a disenfranchised community but rather than find a sense of family or community she faces constant abuse. As a woman, she has to deal with sexual predators and men with ill intentions. But mostly the obstacles of systemic oppression and racial prejudice that she has had to struggle with all her life and it does not get any easier.
“Her voice had a thin thread of sadness running through it that made the song important, that made it tell a story that wasn’t in the words – a story of despair, of loneliness, of frustration.”
Lutie is an embodiment of the people of color, women, and economically disadvantaged people who have suffered social injustices. Her community is an assortment of individuals that want the American Dream but have to overcome hurdles that seem impossible. Poverty is a shared problem in her neighborhood but it has also created a culture of abuse, exploitation, and crime. Therefore, Lutie feels alienated and is frustrated by the scheming people around her. The disillusionment from unattainable dreams and social injustices only contributes to the depression and despair they suffer from.
“The street did more than that. It became both mother and father and trained your kid for you, and it was an evil father and a vicious mother, and, of course, you helped the street along by talking to him about money.”
The novel explores the idea of the street in how it can offer a sense of community but can also be a source of hopelessness in your life. Lutie’s child Bub being an ignorant child is prone to manipulation, which does not help since the people are vulturine in nature. As a single mother trying to make ends meet she cannot be available for her child at all times. Thus, the streets become their teacher and parent which end up molding their personality for the worst or better. In the long run, Bub emulates the attitude of the exploitative residents to make some cash and is detained.
