'You sho' is one aggravatin' nigger woman!'; this is only one example of the abuse in Zora Neale Hurston's short story, 'Sweat'. Spousal abuse is a very common issue in today's society. Hurston represents this form of abuse through the way the husband talks to his wife and the way he treats her.
Delia is a hard-working woman who is very obedient and faithful to her husband, Sykes. Through harsh words, he cuts her down about her work of washing white folks clothes and her looks saying that he 'hates skinny woman';. Delia's appearance resembles her hard work, with 'knuckly hands'; from using the washboard. Delia has put many hard- earned tears, blood, and sweat into her house while supporting Sykes' habits and taking all the abuse he could dish out. On many occasions Sykes has cut down Delia and her kind nature, even to her religious beliefs, accusing her of being a 'hipocrite'; because she worked on the Sabbath day.
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.
Besides physical and emotional abuse Delia had to put up with mental abuse from her husband. At one time, Sykes put a snake into a soap box to scare Delia. Knowing that Delia had an enormous fear of snakes, not to mention anything as small as an earthworm. Other mental and emotional abuse was that Sykes ran another woman in town, making it known to Delia and everyone else in town. He made it no secret when he was going to see Bertha, his mistress. The only thing Delia ever said about his affair was, 'that ole snaggle-toothed black woman you runnin' with ain't comin' heah to pile up on mah sweat and blood.
Tea Cake becomes the center of both her speech and her interior thoughts in fact. Her
In Karen Horney's "The Distrust Between the Sexes," she attempts to explain the problems in the relationships between men and women. She writes that to understand the problem you must first understand that problems stem from a common background. A large amount of suspiciousness is due to people's intensity of emotions.
Today, women are not typically seen in higher levels of position in the work force than men. In Anne-Marie Slaughter’s article “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”, she uses her own experience to convey why it is not possible for a woman to work in a higher position, due to women being more emotional than men. People still believe it’s a women’s place to stay at home to cook, clean and take care of the children, while the men go to work to pay the bills. And it’s considered odd if the man is a stay at home father and the woman is working 24/7 and is never home. Even though it is rewarding to be able to always be there to see your child’s milestones in their life. It is always nice to get away from that life for even a moment. I don’t mean going out with the girls or guys, while you hire a babysitter, but helping your husband or wife pay the bills, so you have two rather than one income coming in at the end of the month. In Richard Dorment’s article, “Why Men Still Can’t Have It All” he states that both men and women can’t have it all. I agree with both Slaughter and Dorment, but not entirely. I believe if you want to be a good
Sweat by Zora Neale Hurston At the time when African Americans writers were struggling, Zora Neale Hurston was realized by her fresh and utterly distinctive language of text. Her style was not so much invented, but it is cleverly brewed together with the poetry of black folk speech. "Sweat", one of the most enduring of Hurston's work, explored many levels of martial conflicts and female exploitation. This story is around Delia, a symbol of Southern black woman in the early 20th century. Delia, an abused wife, has many conflicts deep inside which make her change: from being abused to defend, from shouting helplessly to anger then to a scary calm, and from accepting to revenge.
Zora Neale Hurston's 'Sweat' is a short story about the struggles and hardships in the life of an African American woman living in the south. The short story talked about the treatment of women in these times. Many women of present times can identify with the hardships that Delia encountered in her marriage. The story also deals with adultery in relationships and the dishonesty and heartache it brings to a relationship. The story gives many women of domestic violence the strength and the courage to stand up for themselves and against their husbands.
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...
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
Mother Shipton was another character who was looked upon and she was exiled for being a prostitute as well. Later on the group is joined by Tom Simpson and Piney who wanted to get married in Poker Flat because Piney’s father was against this marriage.
“Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston, is a very powerful story about a young woman named Delia overcoming her harsh and abusive husband Sykes. Throughout the story Delia displays the attributes of what it means to be a real Christian. I believe that her faith and hard work throughout this story is the reason that she overcame her hardships in her relationship. It seems that at many times in the story Delia is getting pushed around and abused but always keeps her head up and maintains a good attitude. In the short story, the theme of faith is rewarded through Delia’s faith in god, the interplay of light/dark, and the death of her husband Sykes.
The short story, "Sweat", was composed by Zora Neale Hurtson in 1926. As of now in South America, there was a position of racial division. It was composed in a period when ladies were dealt with unequal, particularly in their relational unions. Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat" is a bewildering work of fiction. It caught the pith of getting what you merit at last. The perspective of Hurston's "Sweat" depicted, adds to the topic and significance. In the event that the perspective was distinctive, it could degenerate the significance and after that the story would lose it control. I surmise that the significance is impeccable and made clear. Moreover, the voice change before all else changes the perspective radically and drastically. When you read the story, despite the fact that the matter of race is not predominant in the story, it is pervasive in the psyches of the characters. Delia gets herself stuck in an excruciating marriage. Her better half, Sykes, abuses her, leaves all work to her, and is unfaithful. Subsequent to being hitched to Sykes for a long time, Delia has lost all expectation in the marriage. The innumerable beatings and agonizing demonstrations of Sykes have brought her over the edge.
focuses on how women of color are powerful. After, several years of abusive marriage Delia learned how to defend herself when her husband that physically abused her. “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” (Hurston 2). Sykes was surprised when Delia tried to protect herself for the first time when he tried to attack her. She has been quiet for the past fifteen years, but she had enough so she had to defend herself in some way. People in her town knew that Sykes cheated on Delia, but she did not care what other people thought about her. Also, all the men that knew about Sykes cheating did not do anything at all and it shows how men react to the situation. Men do not involve into other families businesses and they help each other by protecting them. Delia thought about forgetting what happened with the snake when she thought that Sykes got rid of the snake, but the snake was still there and ended up hurting Sykes the person who have first brought the snake into the house. She has been inferior to her husband for about fifteen years and this shows how powerful Delia is because she endured all the things that happened to her. It is very powerful of thinking about forgetting the thing that Sykes have done to her which shows her true identity as a powerful woman who can forgive something that hurt her for so many years. This shows how women forgivers while being powerful at the same time.
The poem “Ironing their Clothes” is written by Julia Alvarez. This poem focuses solely on the young girl’s family and their affection. Alvarez tells the reader how this young girl relies on ironing her family’s clothes to imagine being unified with her family. Alvarez goes to show how the girl ironing her family’s clothes is a way of her showing them love, and while the girl irons, she imagines her family giving her affection back.
Zora Neale Hurston's work had plenty of issues, one in which contains of African American people. Race and gender has interacted tremendously with religion. According to the "Preeminence of American Protestantism", "[…and] [n]owhere was this upheaval felt more acutely—as both an opportunity and a cause for anxiety—than among African Americans”. This showed that many americans eventually started to write about how the did or can come out of slavery. The diverse of symbolism conveyed of feminism. It did this through Delia Jones's actions in which where they we both religious and symbolic. Later being from a masculine point of view concerning labour, slave relation and the soul. As stated by Scholar Gordon E.
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
“Spinster” by Sylvia Plath is a poem that consists of a persona, who in other words serves as a “second self” for the author and conveys her innermost feelings. The poem was written in 1956, the same year as Plath’s marriage to Ted Hughes, who was also a poet. The title suggests that the persona is one who is not fond of marriage and the normal rituals of courtship as a spinster is an unmarried woman, typically an older woman who is beyond the usual age of marriage and may never marry. The persona of the poem is a woman who dislikes disorder and chaos and finds relationships to be as unpredictable as the season of spring, in which there is no sense of uniformity. In this poem, Plath not only uses a persona to disclose her feelings, but also juxtaposes the seasons and their order (or lack thereof) and relates them to the order that comes with solitude and the disorder that is attributed with relationships. She accomplishes this through her use of formal diction, which ties into both the meticulous structure and develops the visual imagery.