Zora Neale Hurston Sweat

New criticism is a literary theory that goes against the Historicism and Autobiography theory. This theory allows the reader to interpret the text that is given to them. It only focuses on the text instead of the author’s biography, the historical setting, or any outside sources. It also focuses on the elements in the text, such as characters, plot, setting, symbols, etc. It allows the reader to create their interpretation without any outside sources to influence their thoughts. I will use new criticism to analyze the symbolism in "Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston. I am going to go in-depth into the symbolism that influenced the story and use textual evidence to support my text. In “Sweat,” the snake is a form of symbolism, not only did it bring

He threw it against her back. He knew that it would scare Delia because it felt like a snake. Syke did not feel bad that he scared her. He says, “Course Ah knowed it! That’s how come Ah done it…if you such a big fool dat you got to have a fit over a earth worm or string, Ah dont keer how bad Ah skeer you.” This shows that he does not care about Delia’s feelings. Later on in the story, he brings a rattlesnake. He pushed Delia towards the box that held the snake and made her almost land on top of it. When Delia realized what was inside the box, she almost fainted. The snake was her greatest fear. She did not want to be near or around it. In the story, Delia says, “Syke! Syke, mah Gawd! You take dat rattkesnake ‘way from heah! You gottuh. Oh, Jesus, have mercy!” In this line, you can see how afraid she is of the snake. Syke was going to keep the snake. He told her, “Ah aint gut tuh do nuthin’uh de kin’-fact is Ah aint got tuh do nothin’ but die.” The snake was a representation of her fear. It was almost like she either had to face her fear or leave. She had to face her fear and gain power. The snake can be compared to Sykes. They both were not going anywhere. She either had to stand her ground and stay or leave and let them win. Leaving was not an

The silence was then interrupted by Delia finding the snake in the laundry basket. She screamed and ran into the barn. Then again, there was silence, but this silence was filled with rage. She says, “Well, Ah done de bes ‘Ah could. If things aint right, Gawd knows taint mah fault.” This was her last straw. She realized that she cannot do it anymore and that it is not her fault. She then comes down from the barn with no fear and crouches down outside the bedroom window. She notices that the snake is now fully awake rattling its tail. She describes the snake as “The rattle is a ventriloquist. His whirr sounds to the right, to the left, straight ahead, behind, close under foot-everywhere but where it is.” The sound of the rattle is like a warning to whoever is near. Sykes then entered the house without hearing the sound of the rattle and he realized that the snake was near him. It was about to bite him if he did not move. A few minutes pass and Delia hears a loud scream. The snake had bitten Syke on the neck. The very own snake that Sykes brought to scare Delia was the one that killed him. The irony was that in his own words, he said “He wouldn’t bite me cause Ah knows how tuh handle ‘im.” This is ironic because he told Delia that the snake would never go against him and bite him but it did. It can be compared to how Delia would go against Syke and talk back to him. In “Sweat” his reaction towards Delia was,