Short Story Summary
“Sweat,” a famous short story written by Zora Neale Hurston, has often been linked with the biblical perspectives of Adam and Eve. In his book, Zora comes up with a story of a wife, husband, and snake to make up the short story. Unlike Eve, who led Adam into sin, Delia leads a morally good life. She raises money for rent, goes to church, and works hard in her job of washing clothes for survival (Charles et al. 48).
However, she gets married to an immoral husband who beats her up, demeans her in public and at home, cheats on her, does not contribute to the family well-being and disrespects her work. Sykes takes a snake home to torture his wife psychologically so she will leave and make place for his girlfriend Bertha, killing Sykes in the process. (Charles et al. 48). This paper analyses the short story by Zora, exposes the writing style, and further explains the themes and their moral lessons depending on the context.
Symbolism
The title “Sweat” symbolizes Delia’s hard work to support her husband and the family. Delia is committed to her washing and laundry job as she works for the white families to survive. The income she raises, she uses to pay for the house expenses and upkeep in the family (Charles et al. 48).
Delia’s statements also depict sweat: “Ah been married to you fur fifteen years, and Ah been taking in washin’ for fifteen years. Sweat, sweat, sweat! Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat!” This statement indicates how Delia sweats while at work to enable her to survive. Moreover, “sweat” symbolizes the struggle to gain acceptance and a rightful place in society(Charles et al. 48). Other men hate Sykes because of his immoral behavior of mistreating his wife and luring other people’s women with money, thus not wanting to be in society.
Themes
Racism
Racial discrimination is also depicted in Zora Neale Hurston’s short story. This theme enables the writer to determine the traits and the inherent superiority among the characters. Delia washes the white people’s clothes for survival, a job only associated with black people. Sykes is also racially discriminated against by his people because of his continued immoral behavior towards women.
Sykes himself becomes racist against the whites as he disrespects and questions Delia about washing the white people’s clothes (Charles et al. 48). In some cases, Sykes would dirty the white people’s clothes washed by Delia because he hated them. Society does not come to the aid of Delia; instead, they only talk and mimic Delia’s discrimination. For instance, Elijah Moseley said, “Too much knockin’ will ruin any ‘oman” when he saw Delia pass by. Moreover, the story tells how women struggle for justice, equality, and freedom amidst harsh societal discrimination.
Good vs. Evil
The story also depicts the theme of virtue versus vice and ends with virtue succeeding. This theme helps establish the morals portrayed by the characters in the story and enables the reader to pursue ideal character traits in life. Hurston narrates Delia’s hard work of washing people’s clothes to get income to sustain the family and pay house bills. Delia is associated with virtue and purity throughout the story as she is loyal to her husband, goes to church, and works hard for her own money. On the other hand, Sykes is seen as a villain because of his violence, extramarital affairs, and dependency on Delia (Charles et al. 48).
Determinism
This story also depicts the theme of karma and fate. Sykes takes advantage of Delia by torturing her with the snake. At first, he threatens her with the snake-shaped whip and eventually brings the rattlesnake home.
Sykes uses the snake to threaten Delia and leave home to create room for his mistress, Bertha. He hides the snake in the laundry basket to scare and kill Delia, but the snake kills him instead. This theme is vital to the reader because it is the primary justification for leading a virtuous life and explains why evil exists.
Work Cited
Charles, Julia S. “Fraternal Fractures: Marriage, Masculinity, and Malicious Menfolk in Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat” and “Magnolia Flower.” Women’s Studies 50.1 (2021): 48–60. Web.