Sweat

Zora Neale Hurston

I was quite wrong in my initial thoughts about this story. For the first page I thought that Sykes very child-like and playful. I perceived that he was threatened by Delia's need to do laundry to contribute to their finances, and his reaction of kicking the laundry about was an outlet of his aggravation that he was insufficient. However, the tonal shift in paragraph 13 ("Two months...her, lovely") took my view of the scene from infantile bullying to full blown spousal abuse.

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The dialect in this story made it more difficult to read; in fact I found it necessary to read it out loud at times. Despite the draw back of slowing down the reading, the dialect was needed to fully establish the setting (in the south) and to contribute to the development of the characters. “Of course I knew! That’s why I did it. If you’re such a big fool that you must have a fit over an earth worm or a string, then I don’t care how badly I scare you” just does not have the same effect as, “Course Ah knowed it! That’s how come Ah done it. If you such a big fool dat you got to have a fit over a earth worm or a string, Ah don’ keer how bad Ah skeer you.”

The scene with the men on Joe Clarke’s porch shows how Sykes behavior was beyond the cultural norm of the time. From their conversation the question of who is “Bertha”, the woman Delia mentions in paragraph 13, is answered. Clarke’s speech where he compares a beaten woman to sugar cane is key to this story. This analogy is proven true in a few ways throughout the story. Yet, his speech still shows the view that women are weak and only objects of pleasure. Through the story it is clear how strong Delia is overcoming the abuse and taking jobs to provide for both of them. The next thing discussed is how to serve justice to Sykes and Bertha, once again with the assumption that Delia is too weak to withstand him. In the end Sykes does get justices served to him, as foreshadowed by Delia in paragraph 14. He was punished by his own doing, a very ironic death. Delia’s part was very small, based on her inaction rather that any vehement action, thus maintaining the woman’s innocence.

The snake is a well known symbol of the Devil. Delia tries to resist the snake, and for this reason is not harmed by it. Delia says in paragraph 14, “whatever goes over the Devil’s back, is got to come under his belly. In the last paragraph the story goes full circle with Syke "on his hands and knees," his deed now "under his belly." Delia did however pity him, especially as he was dying he could see the wash tubs, a reminder of his insufficiency in life. In the last sentence says "She could scarcely reach the Chinaberry tree, where she waited in the growing heat while inside she knew the cold river was creeping up and up to extinguish that eye which must know by now that she knew." The Chinaberry tree reminds me of the shed outside the house in Beloved that was the place of protection (from Schoolteacher and from Beloved) and death (for Beloved as a baby). The tree is protection from Syke to Delia, and also a symbol of the Sykes' death. On a side note according to dictionary.com "Skye" means "a gully or ditch, esp. one that fills with water after a heavy rain." Perhaps the "cold river" means the poison from the snake, but I think it also means Sykes' evil intentions. The end was hopeful, "She never moved, he called, and the sun kept rising." It was a new day for Delia when the torment of Sykes was over.