Zora Hurston Sweat Summary

Words: 1032
Pages: 5

“Sweat” is a short story in which Zora Hurston, the author, takes you through the life of a woman in an abusive marriage. The main character Delia spends most of her life attending for her home as well as get all her work done during the week. Unlike Sykes, her husband, who physically and mentally abuses her constantly while causing numerous complications in order to get under her skin. In the story “Sweat” race takes a big role on showing how Delia has to spend every day of her life with the neglect and abuse as she tries to remain positive, Zora uses numerous amounts of symbolism, irony and romanticism.
Throughout the story it is clear that Delia has a passion for getting work done and making money and that all shows in how the clothes are
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Even local men that live around there speak of Sykes abusing and cheating on her, one by the name of Elijah Moseley. He states “He done beat huh ‘nough tuh kill three women, let ‘lone change they looks”(37) with this being said why would none of them help her if all this is being done. They even speak on how hard of a worker she is and how Sykes does absolutely nothing to earn money but doesn’t even try to change it and neither does Delia. Her working as hard as she does Sykes doesn’t deserve her, she knows it, everyone else knows it, but nothing is done about it. In an article Demonizing the Devil by Fetrow, Fred states, “it is Delia who bears the brunt of their fallen status, providing their living through the sweat of her labor; Sykes seems to represent the demonic re-introduction of evil into their post-lapsarian world” This proves that being a good person on numerous things doesn’t change the fact that there are bad people, things will happen which is what’s happening with Delia. When this was said I immediately felt sympathy for Delia, which is exactly what Zora wanted us to