A Triumphant Indifference

A Triumphant Indifference

1 Gene Giraudoux, the French playwright wrote “If two people who love each other let a single instant wedge itself between them, it grows—it becomes a month, a year, a century; it becomes too late.” [Source?] Based on the introduction of the author F[Z]ora Hurston, it is possible this story Sweat [Titles] is about the lives of real people in the South. The story focuses on one type of relationship that can exist between husbands and wives. The men can be abusive and the women will try to survive by working from their homes from dawn to dusk to make ends meet. The theme of this story is survival in the face of (or in spite of) adversity. [New paragraph] The main character’s key to survival is her triumphant indifference to her husband's aggression.

2 [No paragraph] From the beginning of the marriage Delia learned to live with adversity. [Topic sentence appears to be from a plot summary.] She comes to realize Sykes is not a person she can count on for a home, support and income. His cruel sense of humor is manifested in the scenes where he places the whip on Delia’s shoulder leading her to believe it is a snake, a creature that fills her with terror. He demonstrates his carefree and careless nature, [no ,] by spending money that Delia earns to court another woman.

3 African American women have a history of being church going, God fearing individuals who are content to work hard for a living. To survive they learn to be well organized and efficient with time and money. The opinions of the townspeople lead a person to question what Delia was like before she got married and became indifferent to Sykes jealousy and resentful attitude toward her working for white folk. Sweat and religion are her keys to survival.

4 Why does Delia remain passive through all the turmoil in her life? She knows that physically she is no match for Sykes. She thwarts his attempts to draw her into confrontations by remaining indifferent to his abuse. It states in the beginning of the story that she gave up on love when Sykes started cheating on her. Without love Delia needs to focus her energy on other things to make her life worthwhile.