Comparing Their Eyes Were Watching God And Sweat By Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston was a well-known anthropologist and novelist in the 1920s, whose works of literature became popular throughout the Harlem Renaissance. One of her most famous works was Their Eyes Were Watching God, which she wrote while traveling in Haiti. It follows the life of Janie Crawford, a mixed-race girl looking for true love in post-slavery Florida. An important aspect of this novel is Janie’s three marriages, none of which worked out the way she wanted them to. Another one of Hurston’s works was a short story entitled “Sweat”, which is also about a black woman named Delia who has issues with her husband. Despite both of these pieces being different in length, they do share some similarities. More specifically, they share similarities

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s most significant relationship issues come with her second husband, Joe Starks. In Chapter 6, Janie is forced to deal with Joe’s controlling nature, in which he will not allow her to spend time with the people of Eatonville or even show her hair in public. The turning point of their relationship occurs in the next chapter, as Janie and Joe get into a public argument. After Janie had made a mistake while cutting tobacco for a customer, they argued and Joe said, “T’ain’t no use in gettin’ all mad, Janie, ‘cause Ah mention you ain’t no young gal no’. Nobody in heah ain’t lookin’ for no wife outa yuh. Old as you is.” (Hurston 79) So, Joe not only disallowed Janie from being able to express herself, he also publicly humiliated her. Similarly, in “Sweat”, Delia’s husband Sykes is very harsh when he talks to his wife. Delia complained when he dirtied the clothes she had just cleaned, and he responded by saying, “Well you better quit gittin’ me riled up, else they’ll be totin’ you out sooner than you expect. Ah’m so tired of you Ah don’t know what to do. Gawd! Ah hates skinny wimmen.” In both Hurston’s novel and short story, Janie and Delia are wrongfully mistreated by their husbands, even though their reasons for becoming annoyed were