Zora Neale Hurston's Sweat

The short story “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston tells the story of a meek woman named Delia who stands up and becomes courageous as the story progresses. This is shown through the story as she stands up to her husband and became stronger than she was before. In the introduction, Delia is a calm and hardworking woman who is in a strained marriage with a husband who has no respect for her. This is shown by her doing everything to clean the house and take care of her husband. She stated that she “been takin’ in washin’ for fifteen years. Sweat, sweat, sweat! Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat!” Delia is tired of doing the same routine with her husband who treats her with no respect. In the end, when Sykes was bitten by the