What Are The Similarities Between Sweat And Their Eyes Were Watching God

One may believe that anyone can get power and use it wisely, and they may be correct. Rarely is this the case. Power can be given or taken, but it can be difficult to use wisely. Through the use of two different works, Hurston demonstrates how people frequently undermine those who are weaker than them in an effort to feel better about themselves. However, "Sweat" emphasizes more the notion that people decide how to use their power to create their own fate, while Their Eyes Were Watching God emphasizes how others are impacted by the appearance of a particular socioeconomic class.
The porch sitters are one example given of how both "Sweat" and Their Eyes Were Watching God display a difference in authority. Throughout both stories, we see a parallel

This paints a picture of how they are when working by using phrases like "tongueless," "earless," and "eyeless." African Americans were treated as "mules" and didn't have control over their lives during that time period, as evidenced by the fact that they were subject to the bossman's supervision during the day. Although they were under the control of the white bossman during the day, they had complete freedom at night, which they used to talk/gossip on the porch. The primary character of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie, is the target of rumors. While the men only discuss her physical characteristics, the women try to dissect her and bring up her age to cover their own inferiority. Already having lower status than white people, the porch-sitters dislike the thought of being inferior within their own race. This results in them trying to bring Janie down. Similarly, the primary character in “Sweat”, Delia, is constantly doing laundry for White folks, who are in a way, her bossmen. The porch sitters principles being discussed and the similarities in this story are the same. They

Janie’s grandmother Nanny only had Janie's mom because she was raped by her white slave owner. When the slave owner's wife finds out, she goes to Nanny and says, “N-, Whut’s [your] baby doin’ [with] gray eyes and [yellow] hair?” (17). She merely asks why her baby was white like her husband when she said this. She misdirects her wrath at Nanny because she feels she has no capacity to control her husband. Instead of fighting the powerful, she battles the weak. Once Janie weds Tea Cake, the novel subsequently provides another illustration of this. Mrs. Turner, a new character, is introduced. Despite having dark skin, Mrs. Turner is lighter than most. Since she can't oppress the white people who are more powerful than her, she utilizes the color of her skin to oppress others who are darker than her. She often says “Mis Woods, [I] have often said to [my] husband, [I] don’t see how [a] lady like Mis’ Woods can stand all them common n- [around] her place all [the] time'' to Janie because she thinks Tea Cake is to dark for her, as mentioned before (140). Ironically, she claims that she doesn't understand how Janie copes with being among dark people despite the fact that she is also dark skinned. The reality that admiring one's attractiveness can lead to thinking one is are more superior/more God-like than others is symbolized by Mrs. Turner. She