Wednesday, April 11, 2012
The Street- Emily Armstrong
There
was one moment when Lutie was riding with Boots Smith and she was expecting him
to ask her if she was married. Before he does she contemplates what her answer
would be and goes on to vividly describe a table setting; “The table set with
knife, fork, and spoons, napkin to the left of the fork and a glass filled with
water at the tip end of the knife. Only sometimes the glass was a thin, delicate
one and the napkin, instead of being paper, was thick linen still shining because
a hot iron had been used on it when it was wet; and the knife and fork, instead
of being red handled steel from the five-and-ten, was silver” (156). I wasn’t entirely
sure what the significance of this passage was in relation to her being married
or not. This description seems to refer to expensive taste and the wealth that
is to come if she makes the right decision in answering Boots. He had mentioned
that she had a lovely voice and could go places with it to become famous. Would
this description of the place settings be alluding to the future she could have
if she were to gain wealth and fame? Or does it hold some other function?
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This was a great passage to point out because I think it holds a lot of symbolism. When I first read it, I did not really understand its meaning so I skimmed over it and didn’t give it much attention. Looking back at it now, I think the passage emphasizes the “pattern” in conversation that Lutie sees when she meets new men. First the men ask how long she has lived in New York, and then they ask if she was married. This relates to the pattern of setting a table because it is the same every time. Lutie compares two different table settings to represent the different types of men she meets. One setting (regular glass, paper napkin, steel silverware) represents a conversation with a “regular” man who is not wealthy. The other setting (thin, delicate glass, thick linen napkin, and silverware made of silver) represents a conversation with a wealthy man, similar to Boots Smith.
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