ipl-logo

Sweat By Zora Neale Hurston

669 Words3 Pages

”Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston tells the story of Sykes Jones, and his wife, Delia, who never strays from her beliefs. Sykes’ character traits lead him directly to his death. His cruel treatment of his wife results in her stand by and do nothing as he walks into death’s arms. His arrogance leads him to believe that he has control over things that he does not. His infidelity is a catalyst for it all, as he wants Delia out of her own house, and he will stop at no measure to get her out. In a failed plot to remove Delia from his life forever, he ends up having his own taken. Conclusion- Sykes’ brings about his own early death, which can be attributed to his character traits. Sykes’ treatment of Delia ultimately comes back to haunt him, and he …show more content…

In paragraph 65, referring to the rattlesnake that he has brought home, Sykes says “He wouldn’t bite me cause Ah knows how tuh handle ‘im” (Hurston 8). This arrogance shows that Sykes does not fear the snake in the least, which will come back to haunt him. Sykes claims multiple times that he can charm the snake, and it is clear that he thinks very highly of his snake-handling skills. Upon entering the house for the last time, Sykes believes that the snake will have killed Delia, and will be slow to attack him. Sykes thinks far too much of his meager skills with handling the snake. This will lead to his downfall, as Delia escaped the house without being bit, and he walked into a house with a hungry snake …show more content…

Sykes wants to move his mistress, Bertha, into Delia’s house, but Delia will not give way to that. Sykes tries a number of things to remove Delia, including fear tactics and intimidation, but none will work. So he decides that he would have her die if she will not leave on her own. A large part of Sykes’ death is not being able to see the attacking rattlesnake in the dark. Prior to letting the snake loose, he took all but one of the matches from the house, for his mistress of course. Due to that, when he needs to see the snake, he cannot. Sykes’ infidelity is a catalyst for his actions in the story, and leads him to his

Show More
Related

Summary Of Salvation On Sand Mountain

1084 Words | 5 Pages

During his spiritual process, Covington has a strong sense that he has somehow been a part of the snake handling culture in his past in one way or another. His intuition and his inability to shake off the notion of his connection with the snakes leads him to look into his family history and the Sand Mountain region. The more Covington looks into his connection, the more he becomes

Read More

Psychological Abuse In Sweat By Hurston

47 Words | 1 Pages

The first scene of Hurston’s short story sweat depicts a routined representation of an abusive relationship, through the interactions of main characters Delia Jones and Sykes Jones. The exemplified relationship identifies all aspects regarding abuse, particularly verbal, physical, as well as the lasting effects of psychological abuse.

Read More

Sweat Hurston Character Analysis

1101 Words | 5 Pages

Name: Lakisha Minnis Instructor: Mr. Compton English 2202-001 Date: April. 24, 2017 Sweat Zora Neale Hurston is a prolific writer famed for numerous award winning plays, novels and short stories. In this paper, I will be elaborating on a character from the novel Sweat. Her novel Sweat was first published in 1926. Sweat is a novel that tells a story about the good, evil, and domestic abusive husband.

Read More

What Is The Central Idea Of Sweat By Zora Neale Hurston

704 Words | 3 Pages

In Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “Sweat” and her essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” the African American social group is being represented in many ways. The texts have similar ways that African Americans are represented for the time period. The African Americans or “colored people” are represented in an aspect that comes from the author's point of view. The African Americans are represented as being unbothered, growing up in a closed community, playing the game with whites, and optimistic.

Read More

Critical Analysis Of Sweat By Zora Neale Hurston

1187 Words | 5 Pages

Historical criticism strives to cognize a literary work by examining the social, cultural, and intellectual context that essentially includes the artist’s biography and milieu. Historical critics are more concerned with guiding readers through the use of identical connotation rather than analyzing the work’s literary significance. (Brizee and Tompkins). The journey of a historical reading begins with the assessment of how the meaning of a text has altered over time. In many cases, when the historical context of a text is not fully comprehended, the work literature cannot be accurately interpreted.

Read More

Comparing Story Of An Hour And Sweat By Zora Neale Hurston

1184 Words | 5 Pages

Louise and Delia What do most women want in a marriage? Is it hatred and an unfaithful husband? No! Women expect to have a husband who loves and cares for them.

Read More

Summary Of Sweat By Zora Neale Hurston

457 Words | 2 Pages

Initially, Sykes placed a leather strap in Delia’s laundry basket as a fake snake to scare her which he would later replace with a real rattle snake he kept in a detergent box. When ask how he was able to catch the big snake he professed being a snake whisperer and didn’t have to worry about it biting him. One Sunday while Delia was at church miles away from home, Sykes placed the real rattle snake in one of her laundry baskets, hoping it would bite her when she returned home and started her laundry to get a jump on her work week. Witnessing the snake, Delia terrifyingly flew out the house into the barn where she spent a restless night. Sykes assuming his strategy had succeeded entered the dark house where he was merciless assaulted by the

Read More

The Things They Carried, By Zora Neale Hurston

1746 Words | 7 Pages

One major theme authors universally write their stories around concern the power of human relationships. Though writers may take different paths to communicate this, the strength that comes from these unique connections that exist between individuals resonates with everyone. Authors clearly articulate through a myriad of rhetorical devices that maintaining relationships is a fundamental part in personal growth and allows for a stronger sense of self. In finding companionship and comradery. people become capable of evolving and arriving at better understandings of who they are.

Read More

Figurative Language In Hamlet's Soliloquy

741 Words | 3 Pages

In Act 2, Scene 2, a theatrical troupe arrives at the castle to perform a speech from Aeneid. Impressed with the player’s performance, Hamlet asks that the player act out a short speech he has written for the next day. Once alone, Hamlet undergoes an introspection that sheds light to his cowardly disposition. The soliloquy is divided into three sections: problem, cause, and resolution. Through his initial self-condemnation for being passive, Hamlet realizes the essence of his internal struggle and devises a plan to take action without having to go against his true nature.

Read More

Hamlet Compare And Contrast Hamlet And Ophelia

932 Words | 4 Pages

The story of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a story of betrayal, revenge, and intrigue. Hamlet, the title character discovers that his uncle killed his father and married his mother effectively stealing the throne. Hamlet decides he must kill his uncle Claudius as revenge for what he had done. However, as the new king, Hamlet isn't sure how to get to him, so he decides to fake madness, but his plan backfires as Claudius doesn't trust him and makes sure he is always watched. In his fumbled plan for revenge, Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, forces Polonius's son Laertes to seek revenge against him, and drives Ophelia crazy causing her to kill herself.

Read More

Similarities Between Frankenstein And The Handmaid's Tale

1593 Words | 7 Pages

Society would never accept him as society treats outcast and people that are any 'different ' atrociously. The monster acquired books of "Paradise Lost", "Plutarch 's Lives" and "The Sorrows of Werter", which "gave him extreme delight" as he studied and exercised his mind. When he came across the DeLacey family, hope sparked inside of him as he believed he would finally be accepted by at least a small part of society. Intelligently enough the monster made his move and approached the blind old man, in which he knew wouldn 't be able to see him or judge him by his distorted appearance. He finally grasps the chance into talking to the old man, De Lacey and he acknowledges that if he fails in being accepted by them he will be "an outcast in the world for ever".

Read More

Feminism In Zora Neale Hurston's Sweat

713 Words | 3 Pages

The short story Sweat written by Zora Neale Hurston takes places in Florida in the 1920s about the marriage of a black couple named Delia Jones and Sykes and how she is trapped in this marriage and is constantly being abused by her husband and uses her fears to his advantage to effect their relationship. There are many themes throughout this short story but the main one that stood out was the strong feminism. Feminism is portrayed in Sweat by the main character Delia Jones which is the breadwinner in the relationship and works as a washwoman and is stuck in a toxic marriage and has to provide for her insecure husband Sykes. Just like how Delia is not privileged due to her race and her gender in Sweat, African American women are also by the same reasons, since slavery they have struggled individually and in groups to overcome the multiple injustices that they and their communities face. The term Black feminism was not a widely used term until the Black women 's movement in the 1970s.

Read More

Examples Of Deception In Hamlet

407 Words | 2 Pages

One of the major themes in the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is deception. In Act I Scene IV, one of the characters, Marcellus, claims: “Something is rotten in the State of Denmark” (1.4.100). This is referring to the act of deception, where everything may look fine to the naked eye, but there are underlying problems occurring in the state of Denmark. In utilizing diction and metaphors, Shakespeare adds more depth to one of the major themes of the play. Metaphors are used by Shakespeare to compare Claudius to a deathly creature, while nobody realizes his mal intentions.

Read More

Manipulation Of Power In Hamlet

977 Words | 4 Pages

Power is what drives mankind, it was what lead various leaders like Julius Caesar and Adolf Hitler to conquer and manipulate others into what they wanted. It is said that power can do wonders to many people who possess it; with great power comes great responsibility. Too much power can lead to a person’s corruption and inability to comprehend their wrong doings. In Hamlet, there is much evidence of this manipulation with each character in different ways. They all seemed to be pawns of a chess game, not knowing when to strike until someone made a move.

Read More

The Unstable Mind In Hamlet

218 Words | 1 Pages

In the play Hamlet by Shakespeare the events that surround Hamlet’s parent’s, such as the death of his father, mistrust/frustration with his mother, and the lack of communication, lead to the Hamlet’s unstable mind set. Hamlet’s unstable mind set starts with his uncle replacing his father. The fact that his uncle is trying to replace his father not only as king but as his actual father. This drives Hamlet insane. Because of this he , Hamlet, wants to get rid of Claudius, his uncle.

Read More

More about Sweat By Zora Neale Hurston

Related Topics

Open Document