In her short story, Sweat, Zora Neale Hurston writes of a hardworking and self sufficient woman, Delia, who lives in the small town of Eatonville, Florida in the early 1900s. As a wash women, Delia diligently works to support herself while receiving no support from her lazy, abusive husband, Sykes, as he is also having an affair, which is known by all the townspeople. Delia faces the dilemma of continuing to live miserably married to Sykes or file for divorce, which was not accepted by her religion or society at the time. Eventually Delia stands up to Sykes and threatens him, yet shortly after Sykes is bitten by the rattlesnake intended to kill Delia, while she listens to him suffer without coming to his aid, letting him die. The story
Sweat focuses on the oppression of women by highlighting the detriments of hypermasculinity and gender stereotypes. In her writing, Sweat, Hurston depicts Southern black culture through her writing style while also conveying her central message through utilizing various rhetorical strategies. The title, Sweat, contributes to the overall theme of difficult physical labor as the repetition of the word “sweat” creates the imagery of the hot, exhausting environment of summer in central Florida. The title reflects the unappreciated manual labor completed by Delia, that is the reason that her and her husband survive. Heat and sweat which coincides with harsh labor is a recurring theme as Delia yells out “Sweat, sweat, sweat! Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat! (18) to express her frustration with the thankless work she completes and her unappreciative husband (Jones). Another important aspect of Sweat is the dialect and colloquial written by Hurston which is used to represent the local color of the Southern black community of Eatonville. Hurston includes the contrast of the
While the contrast between Delia and Sykes is clear, Hurston portrayal of all the male characters is significant as only one male character is ever described as working. The the other men in Eatonville are only portrayed as talking and drinking, again a sharp contrast to the hardworking, Delia. These men, especially Delia husband, Sykes, attempt to constantly upkeep their facade of dominance, despite their lack of contribution to society. Throughout the story, multiple symbols appear to represent Sykes’ attempts of asserting his masculinity such as the snake and his affair. As Sykes recognizes his submissiveness to Delia he feels the need to overpower her and demonstrate his masculinity by releasing a rattlesnake into their house. Yet this plan backfires as Sykes gets bitten by the snake and ends up calling out for his wife’s aid, admitting his reliance and need of Delia for survival. Through this piece, Hurston suggests that the concept of male dominance is essentially a myth while also critiquing the damage that hypermasculinity causes (Jones). Sykes’ death results from his need to feel in control, especially since Delia’s strength mentally and financially is emasculating to him. Hurston’s view on male dominance also coincides with her depiction of the male role in a heterosexual relationship. She presents marriage as an institution of hatred,
...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."
Slavery is a term that can create a whirlwind of emotions for everyone. During the hardships faced by the African Americans, hundreds of accounts were documented. Harriet Jacobs, Charles Ball and Kate Drumgoold each shared their perspectives of being caught up in the world of slavery. There were reoccurring themes throughout the books as well as varying angles that each author either left out or never experienced. Taking two women’s views as well as a man’s, we can begin to delve deeper into what their everyday lives would have been like. Charles Ball’s Fifty Years in Chains and Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl were both published in the early 1860’s while Kate Drumgoold’s A Slave Girl’s Story came almost forty years later
In all, Tademy does a great job in transporting her readers back to the 1800s in rural Louisiana. This book is a profound alternative to just another slave narrative. Instead of history it offers ‘herstory’. This story offers insight to the issues of slavery through a women’s perspective, something that not so many books offer. Not only does it give readers just one account or perspective of slavery but it gives readers a take on slavery through generation after generation. From the early days of slavery through the Civil War, a narrative of familial strength, pride, and culture are captured in these lines.
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.
The main character in Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat” is a black woman who resides in the South that clutches on to her belief in God to help her get through the suffering that she endures from her abusive and adulterous husband, Sykes. “Sweat” is full of religious symbolism that demonstrates that Hurston was using the theme of good vs. evil in the short story.
A recurring theme in, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, is Harriet Jacobs's reflections on what slavery meant to her as well as all women in bondage. Continuously, Jacobs expresses her deep hatred of slavery, and all of its implications. She dreads such an institution so much that she sometimes regards death as a better alternative than a life in bondage. For Harriet, slavery was different than many African Americans. She did not spend her life harvesting cotton on a large plantation. She was not flogged and beaten regularly like many slaves. She was not actively kept from illiteracy. Actually, Harriet always was treated relatively well. She performed most of her work inside and was rarely ever punished, at the request of her licentious master. Furthermore, she was taught to read and sew, and to perform other tasks associated with a ?ladies? work. Outwardly, it appeared that Harriet had it pretty good, in light of what many slaves had succumbed to. However, Ironically Harriet believes these fortunes were actually her curse. The fact that she was well kept and light skinned as well as being attractive lead to her victimization as a sexual object. Consequently, Harriet became a prospective concubine for Dr. Norcom. She points out that life under slavery was as bad as any slave could hope for. Harriet talks about her life as slave by saying, ?You never knew what it is to be a slave; to be entirely unprotected by law or custom; to have the laws reduce you to the condition of chattel, entirely subject to the will of another.? (Jacobs p. 55).
Hurston begins the essay in her birth town: Eatonville, Florida; an exclusively Negro town where whites were a rarity, only occasionally passing by as a tourist. Hurston, sitting on her porch imagines it to be a theatre as she narrates her perspective of the passing white people. She finds a thin line separating the spectator from the viewer. Exchanging stances at will and whim. Her front porch becomes a metaphor for a theater seat and the passers
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.
Marriage is a concept that society takes extremely inaccurately. It is not something one can fall back from. Once someone enter it there is no way back. In Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “Sweat” she tells the story of Delia, a washerwoman whom Sykes, her husband, mistreats while he ventures around with other women and later attempts to kill Delia to open a way for a second marriage with one of his mistresses. By looking at “Sweat” through the feminist and historical lens Hurston illustrates the idea of a sexist society full of men exploiting and breaking down women until men dispose of them.
Zora Neale Hurston’s short story Sweat is a visceral reminder of the acute oppression and sexism women have always faced in American society. The protagonist of the story, Delia, is married to a cruel and angry man named Sykes. Through a depiction of their married life, this short story shows that despite patriarchal oppression, women have exercised their agency and resisted in a myriad of ways. The story begins with Delia, a working Black woman in Florida, who is a white woman. It is a warm spring day and she is sorting and soaking the clothing she washes for the white residents of her town.
For this very reason Jacobs uses the pseudonym Linda Brent to narrate her first-person experience, which I intend to use interchangeably throughout the essay, since I am referencing the same person. All throughout the narrative, Jacobs explores the struggles and sexual abuse that female slaves faced on plantations as well as their efforts to practice motherhood and protect their children from the horrors of the slave trade. Jacobs’ literary efforts are addressed to white women in the North who do not fully comprehend the evils of slavery. She makes direct appeals to their humanity to expand their knowledge and influence their thoughts about slavery as an institution, holding strong to the credo that the pen is mightier than the sword and is colorful enough to make a difference and change the the stereotypes of the black and white
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
The everyday life of a slave was a harsh reality. The typical slave working on a plantation would wake-up at sunrise and start picking cotton. Much of the cotton cultivated in the South was sold to England, fueling their industrial revolution and enriching the plantation owners. A “privileged” slave might be seen working in the house of a plantation owner as a nurse to their children, a cook, or a housekeeper. While it may appear that working in the home of the slave owner was preferred over the grueling physical labor taking place in the hot and humid Southern climate, such was not the case. In the book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs recounts her experiences working in the home of Dr. Flint.
"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".
Throughout history men and women have been put into the rigidly defined roles of feminism and masculism. This box that society has created has push back the true people and presented us with the societal image of what men and women should be. This is gender stereotyping. Through these stereotypes a feminist movement and a masculine movement have arisen to try to break those stereotypes.