Introduction
The story Sweat, written by Zora Hurston, and the 1993 film What’s Love Got to Do with It focus on life stories of women going through a difficult time and their relationships with partners. Next, considering the timeless themes in literature, both works feature the themes of domestic abuse, where women cannot escape abuse because of their fear of their spouses. Furthermore, both works convey similar ideas of women’s empowerment as both main characters eventually find the strength to confront their abusers. Lastly, the works have similar relationship dynamics between characters, where men live a dependent lifestyle, clinging to their wives’ earnings or success.
Delia Jones’ story in Sweat
The story Sweat focuses on the life of Delia Jones and her marriage to Sykes. Delia works as a washerwoman, and her hard work or “sweat” presents the main source of income for the household (Hurston 27). Her husband Sykes lives dependent on his wife’s earnings and tries to compensate for his dependence by increasing control over his wife. Sykes is cheating on his wife with Bertha and spends money earned by Delia on Bertha’s rent. Delia tries to overcome her unhappiness by making her home a better place. Lastly, Sykes manipulates Delia through her big fear of snakes and tries to kill Delia with a snake.
Literary Devices in Sweat
The author uses different literary devices to capture the readers’ attention effectively. Firstly, there are symbolic elements in the story that plays a vital role in the plot. The sweat symbolizes Delia’s hard work and her efforts to accept her unhappiness. Even if she tries to distract herself from the unhappy marriage, her body’s sweat represents the terms of her constant indivisible crying at heart. Delia’s fear of snakes represents her fear of her husband, who possesses negative qualities often associated in the literature with snakes, such as wiliness and deceitfulness. The author also uses foreshadowing in Delia’s prays that Sykes will someday be punished for his actions to hint at Sykes’ fate at the end of the story.
Tina Turner’s story in What’s Love Got to Do with It
The film What’s Love Got to Do with It centers on the story of Tina Turner and her relationship with her husband, Ike Turner. Before becoming Tina Turner, Tina’s real name was Anna Mae Bullock, and under Ike’s mentorship, Tina became a part of his band and later his wife. The pair became a successful musical duo, but with most of the public’s attention focused on Tina, Ike soon became insecure. Ike’s insecurity in the couple’s relationship manifested in the form of violence. Tina took a long time to gain the courage to escape Ike, as he did all the work for the duo’s performances, and without Ike, Tina was left with no money and no place to live.
Filmmaking Techniques in What’s Love Got to Do with It
Compared to Hurston’s story, the film uses different directing techniques and approaches instead of literary devices. The film starts with Tina’s flashbacks about her childhood when she was singing peculiarly in a church choir to emphasize her connection with music from a young age. In the scene where Ike’s girlfriend Lorraine shoots herself out of jealousy, the camera focuses primarily on people in the hallway trying to help injured Lorraine, while Tina’s reaction is filmed through a mirror. The technique demonstrates the character’s detachment from reality, empathizing that there was no way for Tina to predict such a terrible reaction to her actions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, comparing the main themes and story aspects allowed defining the similarities between Sweat and What’s Love Got to Do with it. Exploring different techniques writers and filmmakers use to create a more compelling story defined two significant conclusions. First, authors use literary devices to capture readers’ attention effectively. The literary devices used in Hurston’s story provide a better understanding for the readers of the idea of women’s empowerment. Furthermore, different directing techniques improve the actors’ ability to display different characters’ emotions. Thus, filmmakers utilize complex shots and scene designs to present literary devices in renewed ways.
References
Hurston, Zora Neale. Sweat. Rutgers University Press, 1997.