'Sweat' by Zora Neal Hurston and Religion

Who among us has not been shaped to some degree by our life experiences and religious or moral beliefs? The main character in the short story “Sweat” by Zora Neal Hurston is no exception to this rule, and Hurston demonstrates this very effectively throughout the story with the use of symbolism. The deeply religious, hard-working Delia seems cursed with the burden of a lazy and morally bankrupt husband, however she is able to persevere through the trials of her everyday life because of the strong influence of religion on her life. Hurston shows that Delia is shaped and grows stronger due to her religious beliefs time and time again throughout the story; not only through the biblical references made throughout, such as referring to Gethsemane, the rocks of Calvary, and the river Jordan, but also through describing Delia’s devout religion when detailing her Sunday church activities and her fear of snakes which is symbolic of evil.

When we are first introduced to Delia, we find her sorting laundry for wash the next day after spending her Sunday morning in church. Although it was late at night, Delia was still up sorting and soaking the laundry, preparing for her busy day on Monday. This is where we first see evidence of Delia’s devout faith. To many religious people, particularly in the South during this time period, the Sabbath (or Sunday) is considered a day to be devoted to attending church worship services. It is of great importance to Delia that she be able to devote her Sunday to worship, so “she collected the soiled clothes on Saturday when she returned the clean things. Sunday night, after church, she sorted and put the white things to soak” (Hurston 563). Even when her violent husband, Sykes, comes in and kicks her freshly s...

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...n with her day to day life and endure her mistreatment at the hands of her husband knowing that she will one day be free from it all, and her wicked lout of a husband Sykes. After a day of worship in church on Sunday, Delia finds the strength to stand up to Sykes by not taking any action to save him from his fatal snakebite, which was caused ultimately by his own evil actions. How fitting that this man who was portrayed as a slimy snake was killed by an actual snake, one of God’s creatures.

Works Cited

Hurston, Zora Neale. “Sweat.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 563-571. Print.

Works Cited

Hurston, Zora Neale. “Sweat.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 563-571. Print.