The short story, "Sweat", was written by Zora Neale Hurtson in 1926. At this time in South America, there was a place of racial division. It was written in a time when women were treated unequal, especially in their marriages. When you read the story, even though the matter of race is not prevalent in the story, it is prevalent in the minds of the characters. The two main characters are Delia and Sykes. In the beginning of the story, Delia is doing work not only for herself, but the entire community. She does the laundry for the white people in her community. Sykes is very unsympathetic to Delia's needs and he refuses to work. The couple has been married for fifteen years, and Delia has been pushed too far by an unfulfilling life of never-ending work and abuse. Sykes wanted Delia to leave, because if she left him, the house would be his. However, she was bound and determined not to leave him. In his a
I absolutely love this story. One reason is because of the fact it was written when women, didn't have any say so. I think Hurston's story reveals the disturbing role of women at a time when speaking out was unheard of. Her writing provided another step for women to fight against unfulfilling marriage roles and jobs. Her character, Delia Jones, shows the spectacular strength and bravery that women had to have to endure hell and find little peace.
Delia stood up for herself, and in the end it paid off. The story actually kept me wanting to read more. Usually I don't find a story in an English book that keeps my interest very well. However this one really did. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. I think this piece really reflects how hard it must have been in the 1920's. I know I take for granted having all the rights and privileges that I do as a women. I was also really enthused to see that the story has a ha
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