"Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat" is usually read as a story of Delia and her troubles. The paper demonstrates, however, how it is also Sykes' story. The paper portrays how Sykes, the otherwise tyrant husband of Delia, suffers from an extreme loss of pride that resulted from the kind of economic and social conditions the black community faced during the early decades of the 20th century. The paper shows how, stripped of his pride, Sykes uses Delia to vent his frustration and anger. The paper points out how Sykes could have improved this situation by altering his mental state, his mindset and his behavior. The paper concludes that with a positive frame of mind, sometimes even the impossible turns a lot easier.

From the Paper:

"The story opens with Delia sorting clothes as Sykes returns from a day with his mistress, Bertha. On the one hand we have Delia who is condemned to "sweat, sweat, sweat! Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat!" (75) And on the other, you have Sykes who ridicules his wife, torments her and represents oppression and still gallivants with his mistress. So on the surface, Delia is the victim and she really is. But when we study the life situation in which Sykes had found himself, we could see how the circumstances were torturing and tormenting his pride and his masculine self. He wanted to be the provider for his family but still Delia got to be the chief breadwinner. This was something Sykes couldn't come to terms with and hence his behavior. By this, we absolutely do not want to justify Sykes' behavior but rather we want to be able to study the other side of the situation shown in the story."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Hemenway, Robert E. Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography (1977). Rpt. Wall 149-152.
• Hurston, Zora Neale. "Sweat." Norton Anthology of Southern Literature. Ed. William L. Andrews. New York: Norton, 1998.
• Seidel, Kathryn Lee. "The Artist in the Kitchen: The Economics of Creativity in Hurston's 'Sweat.'" Rpt. Wall 169-181.
• Hill, Lynda Marion. Social Rituals and the Verbal Art of Zora Neale Hurston. Howard University Press. Washington, D.C. 1996

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