Similarities Between Sweat And Their Eyes Were Watching God

As Delia’s “shoulders sagged further” (Sweat 1), Janie “pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net” (Their Eyes 193). Notice a difference in these two characters? The first, Delia, is at the beginning of her journey, and the second, Janie, is at the end of hers. Although both are from different stories, they share a common journey of growth. In “Sweat” and Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, the protagonists embark on journeys of personal growth. While both stories focus on growth, “Sweat” looks at growing self confidence, whereas Their Eyes Were Watching God focuses on a growing love for life. Both stories have elements of a maturing growth and self awareness of their protagonists, Delia and Janie. Hurston uses symbolism

When Sykes aggravated her, Delia “seized the iron skillet from the stove and struck a defensive pose, which act surprised him greatly, coming from her. It cowed him and he did not strike her as he usually did.” (Sweat 2). This powerful moment displays the focus of Delia’s growing self confidence. To start, the repetition of strong verbs, such as “seized”, “struck”, and “cowed” show how unusual this is. Clearly, Delia never fights back against Sykes, but now she is. Finally, after years of torture, she’s resisting his torment. Along with the idea of strong verbiage, there is the “struck” and “strike” parallel. As Delia “struck a defensive pose”, she was able to metaphorically “strike” Sykes without having to touch him. Undoubtedly, Delia possesses a newfound confidence that seemingly has much more room to prosper. Secondly, as Sykes parades around with Bertha, his mistress, “Delia’s work-worn knees crawled over the earth in Gethsemane and up the rocks of Calvary many, many times,” (Hurston 4). This allusion to the Christian Bible and faith compares Delia’s struggle to those of Jesus. In the Christian faith, Jesus spends his final prayers at Gethsemane and then begins his trek towards his crucifixion at Calvary. Delia did this journey not once nor twice. She did it “many, many times,”. One can see that she did not give up, and her courage and perseverance only grew.

When talking to her friend about her adventures, Janie says, “Ah been a delegate to de big ʼssociation of life. Yessuh! De Grand Lodge, de big convention of livin’ is just where Ah been dis year and a half y’all ain’t seen me.” (Their Eyes 5). In this instance, Janie admits to sitting with life. While she’s been away, Janie discovered life and her call to live it. A “delegate” is a person sent to represent others. From her transition from Eatonville to the ‘Glades, Janie took example of the people trapped in their lives. She was able to represent them and their hopes, dreams, and appetites for life. Janie was not only able to live her life, but she was able to live it for her friend back home. Then, Janie “Pulled [her horizon] from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see” (162). As this is the final part of the book, one can truly see the theme of it. As Janie was able to conquer and discover her life, she grew into it and fully lived