Down These Mean Streets, by Piri Thomas (born Juan Pedro Tomas), is a memoir of the author’s life growing up in in the Puerto Rican community of New York, in Spanish Harlem. There are multiple themes in the book, but the main themes deal with racism, poverty, gang membership, and drug abuse. Thomas grew up during the Great Depression, a time when racist attitudes degraded and dehumanized people of color. The Puerto Rican people living in New York, like many other ethnic groups, were denied support and assistance by the U.S. government that would help them lift themselves out of poverty and build themselves better lives. The theme of poverty in Piri’s story explains its effects on the oppressed, as Piri’s world and his personal life includes street fighting and rampant drug abuse. As a result of the street fighting and drug abuse, Piri’s life spirals downward and he...
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winds up in prison, where he writes his story.
Another major theme in the story is the feeling of displacement experienced by the Puerto Rican diaspora. The feelings Piri experienced as he struggled to fit into American society and prove himself as an accomplished writer typify the feelings of all people who came to America and faced subjugation and oppression. They found themselves fighting a system of institutionalized racism that kept them locked in lives of poverty. Ironically, it is in prison that Piri is able to build himself a life where he can be respected for his accomplishments. His book became a classic, and it contributed to the body of literature created by people of color who came into their own as artists during this time period, proving their cultural contribution to America.
Who are the characters in Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas?
The main character of Down These Mean Streets is the author himself: Juan Pedro Thomas, or "Piri." It is his coming-of-age story, the story of his life as he struggles to fit into American society, the story of his efforts to prove himself as an accomplished writer, and his account of the story of his people--most of whom remained locked in lives of poverty and oppression.
Piri wishes for light skin; during the Great Depression when Thomas wrote the book, people who were dark-skinned were devalued and dehumanized.
Piri’s parents are also important characters in his story, particularly his father, who Piri calls Poppa. Piri’s relationship with his father is strained, and it appears that, in large part, the tension arises from racism within his own family. Piri’s skin is dark, and so is his father’s. However, Piri feels that it is because of his dark skin that his father looks down upon him, just as white people look down upon his father throughout American society. In truth, Piri’s father has always been ashamed of the color of his own skin, and he projects those feelings onto his son.
Trina, Piri’s girlfriend, is also an important character in the book and plays a crucial part in Piri's journey to accept himself as a respectable man. Piri loves Trina deeply, and she is able to help him accept his own “blackness” and give up his fruitless efforts to define himself as a white man.
What is an analysis of Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas?
Published in 1967, Down These Mean Streets was a classic that continues to resonate today. It tells the story of a young Black man’s coming of age in El Barrio, the Puerto Rican neighborhood of New York City. While the civil rights movement primarily highlighted African American experiences, Down These Mean Streets importantly highlights the racial experience of a Latino Black man around the same time. It is an autobiography written by Piri Thomas. Thomas takes us through his journey growing up and the racism he experienced from within his family and on the streets of New York City. Thomas shows how his choices were limited and how he ended up involved in gangs. This led him to prison, where he showed incredible resilience and growth. Thomas took up writing in prison, and this is where his autobiography evolved.
Ultimately, the story explains the very concept of identity. Thomas is forced into a binary by society. He is identified as Black by those around him, and he feels that this is in conflict with his Puerto Rican identity. He travels the country and heads south to find answers to this. He comes to realize that his Blackness is not in opposition to being Puerto Rican. In older age, he embraces these two identities simultaneously. Furthermore, Thomas explores himself through the lens of identity. He is constantly searching for a sense of self in a world that repeatedly tells him he is worthless. In prison, he turns to education and religion to find this self. He successfully finishes high school and receives diplomas in Bible Studies. Thomas realizes that he cannot change the way the world sees him, but he can resolve how he feels about himself. Reading this book in the year 2019 is a harsh reminder of the continued racist realities of today. Over fifty years later, the United States still struggles to recognize the multiplicity of identity. Thomas’s writing serves as a reminder to youth of today that self-actualization is possible, even in "these mean streets."