ipl-logo

Compare Hurston Sweating For Political Racial Awareness With Sweat

1040 Words5 Pages

Hurston Sweating for Political Racial Awareness with “Sweat” Zora Neale Hurston, novelist, anthropologist, feminist, and short story writer, grew up in Notasulga, Alabama. Her views on the stereotypical African American image in society during her time aligned with W.E.B. Du Bois. She opted for change and wittingly encouraged it through her writing. Her famous short story “Sweat” concerns a washwoman named Delia Jones, who endures her abusive husband’s wrath both physically and socially. Delia is plagued with the fear of snakes, which ultimately leads to the death of her husband, Sykes, after he attempts to pull a dangerous prank on her. “Sweat” was originally published for the magazine FIRE!!, a popular magazine of the Harlem Renaissance in 1926 (Ryan 2). Readership of this magazine included mainly younger African Americans and African American critics (Britannica). While reading Barbara Ryan’s essay “In/visible Men: Hurston, ‘Sweat’ and Laundry Icons,” she brings up a good question that I found very interesting: Does Delia care about her house “too much?” (Ryan 1). And if she does, why would she feel the need to put so much effort into her job as washwoman to afford the house she is staying in? I came to the conclusion that she could possibly be using her home-loving as a diversion from …show more content…

“Fire!!” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 4 Jan. 2012, www.britannica.com/topic/Fire-American-magazine. Oates, Joyce Carol, and Zora Neale Hurston. “Sweat.” The Oxford Book of American Short Stories, Oxford University Press, 1992, pp. 1019–1030. Ryan, Barbara. "In/visible Men: Hurston, ‘Sweat’ and Laundry Icons." Short Story Criticism, edited by Lawrence J. Trudeau, vol. 219, Gale, 2016. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420120468/LitRC?u=sfsu_main&sid=LitRC&xid=f4d43d81. Accessed 19 Jan. 2018. Originally published in American Studies, vol. 51, no. 1-2, 2010, pp.

Open Document