Sweat tells a short story about a black, washerwoman, Delia that lives in Florida with her abusive husband, Sykes. Sykes is a very unkind man because he likes to physically and mentally abuse Delia. Delia was abused early into the marriage, but never seek to escape. Furthermore, Delia works really hard to earn money to support both Sykes and herself since he is unemployed. Yet, Sykes still have the audacity to resent Delia for cleaning “white folks” clothes in their home. He also uses her hard earned money on his mistress, Bertha. Sykes, as practical joker, knows that Delia has an intense fear of snakes and still brings it around to constantly scare her. Eventually, the people in the town started noticing their relationship and led Delia to the conclusion that she did not need Sykes in any way and no longer wants to be in a marriage with him. Coincidentally, Sykes was getting fed up with the marriage and decided to kill Delia by putting a poisoned rattlesnake in her washing clothes. Ironically, the rattlesnake ended up biting Sykes in the neck badly and it was evident that Delia did not make an attempt to help her husband because the hospitals were too far. So he laid there suffering and dying in pain while pleading for help. The story ends with her waiting for his time of death quietly under the chinaberry tree…
While Janie and Tea Cake stayed in the marshes of Southern Florida to farm on the bean plantations, Tea Cake educated Janie in the ways of shooting a gun hunting. These are both valuable skills to have when you are low on money and in need of food. Tea Cake also had Janie work in the fields with him during the day, which allowed Janie to see what real labor was like. If Tea Cake were ever to leave Janie, she would easily be able to fend for herself with her new knowledge of farming and hunting, two key factors in self-preservation and survival during their time. Hurston is expressing to the reader through these experiences that even though one learns to take care of someone else in marriage, they also learn how to take care of themselves in…
Janie was in an arranged marriage with Logan Killicks, a financially stable, crop-owning farmer. Janie believed love revolved around marriage, but she was greatly disappointed when she had realized what a fool she was to be so naïve. Logan was soon exempted from what Janie believed to be true love. “She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman” (Hurston, 25). After marrying Logan, Janie was forced to work like a slave because Logan viewed Janie as what a “typical wife” would do with and for their husband; work, clean, and cook. The internal racism led Janie to feel like a tool of her husband, to use and abuse only for his working matters. “Her [Nanny] dreams of a better life …ended…Nanny transferred her hopes to Janie” (SparkNotes Editors). Nanny believed a woman will become successful if she married a wealthy man and “sat on the front porch” all day. Nanny did not realize her mentality was battling reality. Nanny’s fantasy of good living contradicted with what Janie had to do; work alongside her husband in the…
Sweat is a great short story written in the 1920’s by Zora Neale Hurston that centers on an abusive marriage. Delia Jones, the protagonist in this story enters into a marriage of love only to have her husband change drastically two months later. When you read this story you can see several themes at work including good versus evil, hard work, marriage, oppression and karma. The central idea of this story demonstrates a good women’s struggle within her marriage against an evil, oppressive husband and how eventually her good karma wins out in the end.…
Mallard. Delia is hardworking, the breadwinner of her family, and lives a life full of both verbal and physical abuse from her husband Sykes. Unlike Mrs. Mallard, Delia has been working day in and day out for the past fifteen years to make money and does so by washing clothes. “She was on her feet; her poor little body, her bare knuckly hands bravely defying the strapping hulk before her” (Hurston 17). Unlike the description of Mrs. Mallard, we can clearly see that Delia has been steady at work over the years and relies on herself to make money. Delia plays the role of the breadwinner in her marriage which is very uncommon for women during this time in society. Delia has purchased the home that she and Sykes live in, pays for the food that they both consume and her clothes washing business is the only source of income. On a daily basis Sykes both verbally and physically abuses Delia and makes her days a living hell. Not only is being abusive apart of Sykes everyday routine, he openly cheats on Delia also. Despite all of this, Delia continues to work hard and make the money she needs to so that she can provide for both herself and Sykes. "Ah been married to you fur fifteen years, and Ah been takin' in washin' for fifteen years. Sweat, sweat, sweat." (Hurston 18). Even though Sykes hasn’t contributed towards any of the money earned in the past fifteen years, Delia is still casted in her husband’s shadow because like Mrs. Mallard, they are both trapped in a time where a woman can not be themselves and are only seen by the lives that their husbands live. “Mah tub of suds is filled yo' belly with vittles more times than yo' hands is filled it.” (Hurston 20). Delia has fed Sykes for fifteen years and receives no thanks. Sykes has become accustomed to sitting around, cheating on his wife, and causing havoc for Delia. Sykes plays many tricks on Delia and finally after fifteen years Delia has had enough and speaks up for herself.…
It's always amazing how much pain one human being is able to endure, and Delia Jones in "Sweat" is no exception. She runs her own household, works full time, feeds and clothes her husband, and deals with his daily verbal, mental, and physical abuse. How could anyone keep on with their lives given such dire circumstances? For Delia, it's all thanks to G-O-D. Delia's faith is a big part of her life, and Hurston's story is ripe with allusions to religious symbols, themes, and metaphors. In fact, the story itself could be seen as one big testament to the power of faith, as Sykes' sins catch up with him in the end while Delia's devotion brings her to a better…
'The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 95% of the victims of domestic violence are women, and they also estimate that a women is beating by their partner everyone 15 seconds in just the United States alone. ' [ (Domestic Peace) ]. Domestic violence is something that is very prevalent in today 's society. What makes it such an awful crime is that most people never really witness it because it happens behind the close doors of people 's homes. Also, what makes it worse is that most of these women, who are the victims to these crimes, don 't go and seek help, they just bottle up their emotions and angers and keep to themselves. In "Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character, Delia, is a hard working wife in Florida who makes ends meat from her job cleaning other peoples clothes. She is a very good women but her husband, Sykes, is always trying to pick fights with her and harasses her with more methods than one. He treats her with no respect what so ever and even has a girlfriend that Delia knows about on the side. Sykes complains frequently about the size of Delia 's figure claiming that she is too skinny. One day Sykes captures a rattlesnake and places it in their home, which scares Delia, who is terrified of snakes, to death each time she sees or hears it. Then when arriving home one day she sees the snake has gone missing from its cage and she immediately leaves her house. Skyes comes home not too long later and Delia watches him and he gets bitten by the snake. Delia could have gone and tried to get help but instead she just watched him die there because she did not love him what so ever anymore. Hurston truly captures all the feelings and emotions felt by Delia throughout the story. Hurston also gives a different perspective of the characters in the book by looking in on local people in the towns conversations about Delia…
Money is the root of all things evil. When a person put money before their beliefs and values a lot of things can go wrong. Delia and Missie May are the two women Hurston wanted you to see what money do to two different type if people, one self-made and one depended on money given. Delia was the woman that had to work hard for everything she wanted and have. She is not a person who let money define her, whereas you have, Missie May, a housewife and her husband gives her everything she wanted and needed. It’s Funny how Hurston depicted two different kind of bad marriages. In “The Gilded Six-Bits” the wife cheats on the husband where as in “sweat” the husband cheats on the wife. In both stories, Hurston tested a Woman’s strengths and weakness…
“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.…
Set in the 1920s American southern state of Florida, Delia Jones, an African American working class wife, lives a life full of brutality. As a woman, she is a victim of an abusive husband in a culture where no one steps in to define females. During the early 20th century, society expects women to defer to men and be subordinate to men. In Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat”, the fictional short story alienates Delia from society due to her gender which highlights the masculinity during the 1920s, the assumed weakness of working class women, and the expectation that women were supposed to be discriminated.…
The treatment of women was extremely negative; most were expected to stay home to fulfill domestic responsibilities. Mrs. Beazley’s issue involved her husband selling land and property that was willed to her by her father. She signs the legal documents due to feelings of force from her husband. At one point Mrs. Beazley says to her husband after he exclaims, “You’ve signed the deeds,” she replies, “Yes, I know I have- you made me” (389). Mr. Beazley brings home a tenant to keep his spouse occupied and distracted from his escapades only to have the woman legally advise her of her rights. The author wrote “Mrs. Beazley’s Deeds” to shed light on how women were treated in the nineteenth century society and how they are still treated to this day in time. Gilman writes this story to appeal to American men and women and make them aware of how men and women are equals.…
Delia Jones had to work to earn her keep, with regard to her home life which was abusive. “Ah’ll throw ‘em out and put mah fist up side yo head to boot” (350), her husband display his intentions striking her. She fulfilled her obligation as a committed employee which allowed her the luxuries during that time. “Mah sweat is done paid for this house and Ah recokon Ah kin keep on sweatin’ in it”(350). Though the title for her job was laundry maid she was a really an entrepreneur.…
During the post-civil war era, most “colored people did not know how to be free” (Houston Hartsfield Holloway). The abolishment of slavery was a major event that led blacks to desire fulfillment in life. Zora Neale Hurston demonstrates this through Janie’s life and the people she encounters. Each character provides a different outlook on life and their values are distinct from Janie’s. The novel questions what true happiness is via Janie’s influences and her quest to find love.…
The very essence of childhood is never forgotten. A memory, a scent, a certain feeling will never be lost in time, as the child transforms from the younger years of bliss to an older life of enduring hardships and burdens. Yet with his aging, memories are still alive in everyone. Many of the memories etched in the brain forever are caused by a parent or parents in the way they choose to raise their young sometimes creating a negative memory and also creating very positive, pleasant memories. Torn between the beliefs of two parents, Zora Neale Hurston is able to show both sides of childhood memories in her autobiography. Through diction and manipulation of point of view, Zora Neale Hurston conveys not only a plentiful and satisfying childhood within the bounds of her own childhood but also a sense of a childhood restricted by fears of the outside worlds and the fears that was apart of it.…
Did women of the 1920s deserve to have rights or were they merely hopeless beings who needed the help of men to guide them in life? In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God she touches on the subject of how women of the 1920s were expected to act. Women of the time period were regarded as their husband’s wife and not as individual people. Women weren’t allowed to speak freely for themselves either. The book is a representation of the ways in which the typical American Dream has profoundly failed the women of the time period. Through her significant use of symbolism, Zora Neale Hurston utilises the main character to demonstrate a woman’s expected obligation to the home and her husband and the disrespect that was received in turn.…