Summary Of Sweat By Zora Neale Hurston

“Sweat”, written by Zora Neale Hurston, is about the story of a couple who is suffering throughout their unhealthy relationship. Hurston describes to her readers the amount of emotional and physical abuse a woman is able to handle. Similarly, Hurston also shows how men during this time, viewed women in such a negative way with no respect. Despite the fact that both the husband in the story, Sykes, and the wife, Delia, are both unhappy with their marriage, Delia suffers the most throughout the story. Sykes is a very controlling and abusive husband to Delia, regardless of how hardworking she is to be able to take care of her husband. While reading about the hostile life that Delia lived with her husband for fifteen years, I did admire her

She obeys everything her husband says and takes care of him by cooking as almost all wives were expected to do. Though the difference in this marriage is that instead of Sykes providing for the household by working while Delia stays home, like the traditional wives during this time would, Delia was the provider of the house. There came a point in Delia’s life that she felt she finally had to transition from staying silent, to taking the pain Sykes gave her and using it to her advantage to overcome her suffering by standing up for herself. I saw the change in her character first, when she gave Sykes her opinion on how horrible her life had turned out because she had married him,and also told him how she deserved a better life. Delia jones exclaims, “Ah been married to you fur fifteen years, and Ah been takin’ in washin’ fur fifteen years. Sweat, sweat, sweat! Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat!” (560). This shows that Delia is finally releasing her anger to her husband after fifteen years of her suffering to make Sykes realize how much she has put up with for years. I believe this also stands as a warning to Sykes saying Delia will not be accepting that behavior as she had, for times to come. Ms. Jones bravery by changing her attitude with her husband in an instant reflects her turning point and the breakdown that all the abuse that Sykes controlled her