What Comes Around Goes Around Symbolism, society, and characterization help create the theme of the short story Sweat. The symbolism of many objects such as the bed, clothes, iron skillet help develop Delia’s character which contributes to the theme of the story. Characterization of Sykes and Delia help to build the theme of Sweat by knowing what goes on in their lives. The setting of the short story helps create the tone of Sykes’ and Delia’s society which adds to the theme as well. The symbolism of Sweat begins with the role of Delia, the spouse of Sykes Jones. Delia is a hard-working wife that hardly ever has time to do activities for herself because she’s too busy waiting for her unfaithful husband. Delia is a washwoman, which entails loads of clothes to wash. By washing the clothes and making them clean, symbolizes Delia’s purity. Sykes doesn’t appreciate Delia’s hard work at all though. “Sykes, you quit grindin' dirt into these clothes!”, Said Delia. In a marriage, a bed for a …show more content…
husband and wife is a symbol of love and trust. Although, the bed Sykes and Delia share is everything but trust and love. The bed is a place where Sykes abuses Delia. Delia sees the bed as a symbol of a failed marriage. Although, at the time Sykes doesn’t know that the bed represents his literal deathbed. Another symbol of Sweat is the iron skillet. For Delia, the skillet is a weapon and a symbol of her finally standing up for herself against Sykes. “She seized the iron skillet from the stove and struck a defensive pose, which act surprised him greatly, coming from her. It cowed him, and he did not strike her as he usually did,”. Along with symbolism of the story comes the society. In Sweat, society plays an important role. Sykes and Delia Jones live in an all-black town in Eatonville, Florida. White women had gained the right to vote in 1920, although at this time in life, African American women didn’t have much say in life. Women were expected to have dinner ready for their husbands whenever they came home from work and did all the house chores, like the laundry and tidying the house. Delia was an excellent example of a household wife. She was a hard-working wash-woman. Delia did chores around the house and even did “mans work” in the field. Sykes Jones wished Delia would work even more than she already did for him. He abuses her when he feels she has done wrong, which back then men could practically do anything to their wife as they pleased. Men even laughed as they saw Delia being beat. The society also helps set the tone for the two main characters in Sweat. Characterization in Sweat helps with the theme of what goes around comes around.
Sykes Jones is an unfaithful, conniving, and an abusive husband. Sykes cheated on his wife, Delia, and never felt sorry for his sin. Sykes even had the nerve to ask Delia to move out of their house so Bertha, his mistress, could move in with him. Delia was beaten by Sykes when she did no wrong. Sykes became so upset with Delia that he brought a snake into the house to run her out of the house and never come back. Delia is a hard-working, strong, and smart. Delia worked for white folks across the railroad tracks and washed clothes for them for a living. Whenever Sykes beat Delia, she decided to stay in the house because she wanted to stand firm and stand her ground. When Delia saw the snake in the in her laundry basket, she ran in the barn and stayed until Sykes was killed by the snake later that night in his bed. Delia was quick-witted by staying away from the house until she knew the coast was
clear. In conclusion, symbolism, society, and characterization help build the theme of Sweat. Delia went from being hard-working to realizing the terrible marriage she was in and standing up for herself. The society Delia and Sykes live in helps create an idea of what it was like in the 1920’s for the readers to comprehend better, which helps with the theme of the story. Finally, the characterization in Sweat helps with the theme of what comes around goes around. Sykes made the bed he lied in.
In every short story there is always a deeper meaning to the literature work, any author wants to communicate a multi-layered idea, to their readers, they wants their readers to connect to the short story that they are telling. The authors of these types of literature writings are able to take their readers on a journey within their writings. When a person reads these literary works, they begin to unravel and interpret the symbolic nature of the character’s journey throughout the short story. Also, the journey is
Foulcher’s Summer Rain represents a juxtaposed view of suburbia towards the natural environment throughout his poem, as he explains societies daily repetitive tasks. This idea is expressed through Foulcher’s use of simile, in the stanza “steam rising from ovens and showers like mist across a swampland.” This simile makes the comparison between average tasks completed in the urban world, such as cooking or showering to a natural situation such as a swampland, creating a feeling of bother and discomfort for the readers, as swamplands are generally humid, insect ridden and muddy. This effectively makes the readers feel this way, not of the swamplands that are compared, but of the tasks in the home that are conveyed. Similarly, Foulcher uses simile in “clutter on the highway like abacus beads. No one dares overtake,” to illustrate the lack of free will in society as abacus beads are on a set path, there is no freedom or individuality. This demonstrates how where everything is busy and cramped, there is no room in society to notice the small simplistic divinities in the natural world around them. The complexity and mundanity of society causes the simplistic beauties of nature to be
“Sweat” is a short story written by Zora Neale Hurston. It is a story where the husband, Syke, does terrible things to Delia, the wife. Such terrible things are being abusive, and having an affair with someone else. However, this does not hurt Delia any more than it could have. Delia possesses strong characteristics. She is a hard working person, who basically earns for both of their livelihoods, and also very courageous. In order to reveal Delia’s character, Hurston adds in symbols and allusions.
“Lather And Nothing Else” by Hernando Tellez, shows suspense in many ways, by using key elements. The key element that Tellez uses, develops suspense in the story. Tellez uses many different elements to show suspense like using mood and tone to make us feel something. In "Lather And Nothing Else” Tellez used style, the point of view, and pace to build suspense into the story.
In the very beginning of “Sweat” one can see that Delia possesses a very strong work ethic, by the way that she is working vigorously to wash the clothes for the white people that she worked for to put food on the table and a roof over her and Sykes’ head. The white clothing that Delia washes in the story represents her character. White signifies her virtuousness and wholesome spirit. Delia has a docile personality and a prevailing belief in God. Delia’s body may be physically broken from all the years of tough labor and mistreatment from Sykes, however her spirit remains unbroken. Delia is a church going woman that is inspired by her trust in God. She has confidence that God will steer her the right way and shield her from Sykes cruel physical and emotional abuse.
The constant struggle present in the novel is the conflict between the native world and the white world. It is a struggle between community and isolation, between the natural and material. Silko uses the characters in the novel to show the positive and negative influences of the contact of cultures. Specifically, the characters Tayo, Emo, and Betonie are prime examples of the manifestation of the two worlds and the effects it has on each characters actions, dispositions and beliefs.
Diametrically opposite to Delia's character is her husband Sykes. Sykes Jones seems to oppose Delia in his every word and action. He is physically abusive toward his wife, non-virtuous in that he is adulterous, and he takes advantage of Delia's hard work by spending the money that she makes on his lover. While Sykes is physically strong and has no virtue or faith in God, Delia's strength lies in her religion and humble tolerance of her husband which proves, in the end, prevalent over his brute strength and abusive attitude.
Ultimately, the story “Sweat” expresses an unusual concept that helping others may not always be the best idea since there is a risk of being harmed; especially if the person is different from others. On the other hand, Webster might be hinting another theme that destiny cannot be changed through any action. This leads to believing that destiny is not something that humans can control totally; “Sweat” implies implicitly that nature controls many things such as appearances, abilities, behavior and many more. This proposition leaves most people questioning themselves again on their actions in to control their destinies.
She kept washing her father clothes time to time, and she still remember how he used to wear them. Washing her father’s shirt was a daily habit that she did for her father. It also shows that she is very care about him. Then she states, “From among all bodies in the world, / animal, human. / Only one exuded that sweat. / I breath it in/ for the last time.”, this part shows the solid relationship that only has with her special father. From all around the world the “smells of sweat” on her father’s shirt was the only one that was so special to her. It clearly reflects the uniqueness of her father and their binding relationship. She tries to breath the “smells of sweat” from the “shirt” for the time because she will never have change to smell that sweat again. this is the only time that she could smell and memory about her father. The action also indicates deeply the daughter’s love for her
Hurston uses symbolism as a key understanding of the story. The vivid use of the objects plays the vital role to give the deeper meaning and enlighten the readers about justice. The title itself “Sweat” is regarded as the most apparent symbol used in
One of the key components of literature is the usage of elements, these elements of literature provide readers with underlying themes that authors put into their story. Without these elements of literature, the author would have no way to convey their true messages into their works. In Zora Neale Hurston’s story “Sweat”, Hurston uses many elements of literature to convey the seriousness and true relationship of couples that have a history of domestic violence. However, a specific element of literature that Hurston uses are symbols which give readers a clearer understanding of domestic abuse and most importantly, the characteristics of the victim and perpetrator of an abusive relationship. The symbols that Hurston uses in her story are what fortifies her plot and characters in “Sweat”.
Sykes, in the story, tormented Delia in many ways throughout the story. One incident was with the bull horn when he tried to scare Delia while she was sorting the white clothes. Sykes also kicked all the clothes she had sorted all over the floor. Through all the pain and torment she goes through with Sykes, she still goes to church on Sundays and prays and comes home to go back to working around the house. Sykes, on the other hand, who is completely opposite to Delia’s character, seems to oppose Delia in every word and action.
Effectively using these elements in a piece of literature enhances the reader’s curiosity. One prime example of such usage of these elements is seen in Kate Chopin's writing. Her use of foreshadowing and use of emotional conflicts put into few words in the short piece "The Storm" adds an element that is alluring, holding the reader's interest. In this short piece of literature, a father and son, Bobinot and Bibi, are forced to remain in a store where they were shopping before the storm, waiting for the storm to pass over them. In the meantime, the wife and mother, Calixta, whom is still at home, receives an unexpected visit from a former lover named Alicee. The two have an affair and the story starts to come together. The story shows us how we tend to want what we beli...
"Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston is filled with symbolism ranging from images that are easily captured to things that require a little bit more insight. Religion has apparently played a major role in Hurston's life, readily seen in "Sweat" with the references to a snake and Gethsemane. Symbolism plays a big part of this story and after analyzing these, they give the story a deeper meaning and can enlighten the reader as to the full meaning of "Sweat".
The symbolism in “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway is vivid and dynamic, and in the novel the rain and other factors, symbolize despair. The symbols all are presented in varying forms. The other symbolic factors include; lakes, rivers, snow, ice, mountains, plains, night, seasons, weather, Catherine’s hair, Frederic’s beard, officer stars, riding crop, the painted horse and the silhouette cutter. The symbolic concepts are; the baby, war, love, wounds, and the enemy. The different symbols have an effect on each character in the novel, in a special way. When a reader opens up the novel from the first page to the last page some of the symbols are made obvious, while some symbols are insightful.