Psychotic manliness Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “Sweat” presents the efforts and endurance of a very strong yet miserable wife over the course of fifteen years of marriage with an abusive, disloyal, and odious husband who thinks he has lost his power and control over his wife and try to get them back by mistreating, beating and cheating on her. Sykes’ continual abuse against Delia stems from his psychological issues of insecurity related to both not being able to provide and the racial intolerance of the times. The story takes place during a time period of racial segregation when black people were abused and mistreated by white people. Caucasians were in total domination and consider themselves the superior race. This can imply that Sykes as a black male who was disrespected and humiliated in the outside world, demands the feeling of domination, superiority, and manliness in his house in order to reassure himself of his power and control. Therefore, the last willing of every black man at that time was repression of his thoughts and desires by his own family. Sykes’ first reaction …show more content…
towards the subject of racial discrimination can be clearly seen in the beginning of the story where Sykes mistreated Delia for washing White people’s clothes inside of his house. “He stepped roughly upon the whites pile of things, kicking them helter-skelter as he crossed the room”(Hurston 104). This is because he considered this act to be a sign of disrespectful attitude towards him. Zora Neale Hurston’s descriptions of Sykes character also presents that Sykes has been dealing with the feeling of being a loser in his personal life throughout the story, because Delia has always been the breadwinner for their family and he basically just lives off of her hard-work and sweat.
The reader can almost tell that Sykes felt extremely uncomfortable and irritated when he was reminded that he had failed to make a real family and be its sole provider. Sykes is frequently exposed to his failures and downfalls over the course of the story by his wife, which makes him become more greedy and wicked towards/against her. As a result, apart from resorting to violence Sykes also teases and uses Delia’s biggest fear against her in order to show her his manliness which was a common method for African American male to try to assert their dominance over their women at the time
period. Later on in the story, Sykes’ relationship with his mistress called Bertha is revealed to the reader. And one would believe that by cheating on Delia, Sykes feels more empowered and manlier, since he would see himself a more desirable and wanted man. Additionally, By providing and giving Bertha whatever she asks, Sykes will in return feel like a provider to somebody, a man, and more in control. The short story “Sweat" showed us that it was not only a story about an abusive man mistreating and harming his wife to seize control and gain power in his house, but also a revealing of a struggle of a man,who has mentally affected by racial discrimination, and tries to find his real place in an average, normal society at the time.
...lia Jones endured fifteen years of violence, disrespect, and infidelity, and only in those last few months was she able to muster some form of resistance. Until Sykes threatened all that she had, her home and her job, she was content enough just sweating it out. However, Sykes made that grave mistake on his own accord, and when leaving Delia with nothing to lose, he found that he had set himself up for a losing battle. Delia had surrendered to him in all those years, but Sykes had finally found a way to bring out the worst in his wife, and her aggression was finally realized by defending all that she had. After such pain and endurance, one can easily recognize how Delia Jones played the lead role in a short story called "Sweat."
Zora Hurston was an African American proto-feminist author who lived during a time when both African Americans and women were not treated equally. Hurston channeled her thirst for women’s dependence from men into her book Their Eyes Were Watching God. One of the many underlying themes in her book is feminism. Zora Hurston, the author of the book, uses Janie to represent aspects of feminism in her book as well as each relationship Janie had to represent her moving closer towards her independence.
Sykes not only abused Delia emotionally but also physically. One night after an argument between the two where Delia actually had the courage to stand up to him, Sykes got into to bed and threatened that, '[he] oughter mash [her] in [her] mouf fuh drawing dat skillet [on him].'; After they been married only a short few months he gave her the first beating. Others in town knew of the abuse Delia suffered from. One gentlemen from town made the comment one day, '[Sykes] done beat [Delia] 'nough tuh kill three women.'; Many people in the town had little to no respect for Sykes because he beat Delia and Sykes even tried making offers with presents to some of the other mens' wives.
As James matures, issues of race in his life became too apparent to ignore. His multiracial family provides no clear explanations on prejudices and racism, and when "[James] asked [Ruth] if she was white, she'd say, No. I'm light skinned,' and change the subject." Ruth avoiding addressing racial issues causes confusion within the siblings, which "perplexed [James] to the point of bursting. [He] took the question to [his] elder siblings Are we black or white?' [He] asked [his] brother David one day. I'm black,' said David. But you may be a Negro.' " James' family of a rainbow of color perplexes the ideals of race for James, causing questioning and insecurities within himself, noting that "being the token Negro was something I was never entirely comfortable with " As James begins his search for identity, he is halted by his mother's avoidance of rac...
Janie sets out on a quest to make sense of inner questions. She does not sit back and
In the beginning, Delia is a meek, quiet wife who takes whatever her abusive husband, Sykes, throws at her. Despite Delia begging Sykes to stop tormenting her with her worst fear, snakes, Sykes refuses and instead says “Ah don’t keer how bad Ah skeer you.” By listening to the men gossip on the porch, the audience learns that Delia has been putting up with Sykes’ abuse for a long time, he’s even started cheating on her with another woman. At this point in the story, Delia is innocent because she still hopes to make her marriage work and even hopes that Sykes will one day value the work she’s invested into their life together, as she’s the sole provider. Her being loyal to Sykes despite years of ridicule is a very important detail because it shows Delia’s hope and perseverance. The first time the audience begins to see Delia’s innocence fade is when she tells Sykes she’s moved her church membership to Woodbridge. After Sykes brings a rattlesnake to the village, Delia hates him so much that it’s a chore to even see him. She also tells him that he can lay around with his mistress, Bertha, all he wants, but he has to get his things and leave her home. Delia no longer considers the house their home, now it’s only hers and she wants nothing to do with Sykes. This shows Delia losing her innocence because she begins to see Sykes for what he is; not a tough husband,
From the beginning of society, men and women have always been looked at as having different positions in life. Even in the modern advanced world we live in today, there are still many people who believe men and women should be looked at differently. In the work field, on average women are paid amounts lower than men who may be doing the exact same thing. Throughout the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston brings about controversy on a mans roles. Janie Crawford relationships with Logan, Joe and Tea Cake each bring out the mens feelings on masculine roles in marital life.
Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “Sweat” is about a woman, Delia who is physically and emotionally abused by her husband, Sykes, whose actions she struggles to overcome towards her. Through all the abuse, Delia takes pride in her hard work and her religion. In this story, Hurston uses religions and moral symbolism that controls the character’s actions throughout the plot.
Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat” is a distressing tale of human struggle as it relates to women. The story commences with a hardworking black washwoman named Delia contently and peacefully folds laundry in her quiet home. Her placidity doesn’t last long when her abusive husband, Sykes, emerges just in time to put her back in her ill-treated place. Delia has been taken by this abuse for some fifteen years. She has lived with relentless beatings, adultery, even six-foot long venomous snakes put in places she requires to get to. Her husband’s vindictive acts of torment and the way he has selfishly utilized her can only be defined as malignant. In the end of this leaves the hardworking woman no choice but to make the most arduous decision of her life. That is, to either stand up for herself and let her husband expire or to continue to serve as a victim. "Sweat,” reflects the plight of women during the 1920s through 30s, as the African American culture was undergoing a shift in domestic dynamics. In times of slavery, women generally led African American families and assumed the role as the adherent of the family, taking up domestic responsibilities. On the other hand, the males, slaves at the time, were emasculated by their obligations and treatment by white masters. Emancipation and Reconstruction brought change to these dynamics as African American men commenced working at paying jobs and women were abandoned at home. African American women were assimilated only on the most superficial of calibers into a subcategory of human existence defined by gender-predicated discrimination. (Chambliss) In accordance to this story, Delia was the bread victor fortifying herself and Sykes. Zora Neale Hurston’s 1926 “Sweat” demonstrates the vigor as wel...
The story begins with Delia, a working Black woman in Florida, who is a wash woman. It is a warm spring day and she is sorting and soaking the clothing she washes for the white residents of her town. Her husband walks into the house and is immediately looking for a confrontation. It is throughout this confrontation that the exploitative and abusive nature of Delia and Syke’s relationship becomes clear.
Zora Neale Hurston’s writing embodies the modernism themes of alienation and the reaffirmation of racial and social identity. She has a subjective style of writing in which comes from the inside of the character’s mind and heart, rather than from an external point of view. Hurston addresses the themes of race relations, discrimination, and racial and social identity. At a time when it is not considered beneficial to be “colored,” Hurston steps out of the norm and embraces her racial identity.
In Hurston 's short story “Sweat”, the theme is expressed in many ways throughout the story, though most prominently by way of domestic violence and ungratefulness shown
...e discussion, the husband takes on what appears to this reader as a condescending tone towards his wife. The tone of his words “The whole question is ridiculous. If you had been black we probably wouldn't even have met.” His opinion on the matter is entirely self-serving. He says he’s not a racist, but turns around and states that the idea of marrying a black person is ridiculous. He also says that the color of one’s skin changes who they are. While this may be true only in the matter that if his wife was colored, she might not have been raised by the same parents, it is terribly callous to imply that it could change. After his wife pesters him, he admits to her in honesty that he will not marry her. Only after a fit of pouting does he say he’ll make it up to her, though he isn’t sure how at the moment, it is with this statement that she leaves him to his thoughts.
Mark Twain and Zora Neale Hurston are two writers who have specialized in folktales and humor. Zora and Mark write from different perspectives. Zora writes about African American folklore, while Mark usually writes humor or social satire. How the Snake Got Poison and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County contain two completely different subjects matters; however, the use of dialect to portray characters is what links these two stories together.
The two readings that will compared in this essay is Zora Hurston’s Drenched in Light and Mark Twain’s Diaries of Adam and Eve. Both of these readings demonstrate that the kindness from other humans for companionship is necessary for some to reach the good life while unkindness that may come from companionship may diminish the good life a bit. This companionship can be built off of similarities or differences and still help others reach the good life from human affection.