Sweat By Zora Neale Hurston Symbolism example essay topic

"Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston is filled with symbolism and reference to religion. The symbolism Hurston use give the reader valid insight to the story. Religion plays a very big role in "Sweat", because the finale outcome is a religious question by the protagonist Delia Jones. In "Sweat", Delia finds herself stuck in an unbearable marriage.

Her husband, Sykes, mistreats her, make her do all the work to her, and he is unfaithful. After being married to Sykes for 15 years, Delia has lost all hope in the marriage, because of the countless beating and very crude acts done by Sykes. All this added brings Delia over the edge. She is forced to go against her very strict religious beliefs at the end of the story.

The following passage gives a good description of the relationship between Delia and Sykes; "she lay awake, gazing upon the debris that cluttered their matrimonial trail not an image left standing along the way. Anything like flowers had long ago been drowned in the salty stream that had been pressed from her heart. Her tears, her sweat, her blood. She had brought love to the union and he had brought a longing after the flesh. Two months after the wedding, he had given her the first brutal beating.

She had the memory of her numerous trips to Orlando with all of his wages when he had returned to her penniless, even before the first year had passed. She was young and soft then, but now she thought of her knotty, muscles limbs, her harsh knuckle hands, and drew herself up into an unhappy little ball in the middle of the big feather bed. Too late now to hope for love, even if it were not Bertha it would be someone else. This case differed from the others only in that she was bolder than the others. Too late for everything except her little home. She had built it for her old days, and planted one by one the trees and flowers there.

It was lovely to her, lovely" (Hurston 623). The most apparent symbol used in the story is the title "Sweat" as mentioned in the story "Look a heah, Sykes, you done gone too fur. Ah been married to your fur fifteen years. Sweat, sweat, sweat! Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat" (Hurston 623).

The sweat is the product of Delia's hard work supporting the house. It stands for her work ethic and how she has tried to make her work as best as she can, it is a big part of her life (Banks 2293). Delia work as washwomen. She washes the white peoples clothe to make a living. When Sykes come home he will take the white clothe and dumps it out and stomps on it. The white clothe symbolizes the pureness of Delia and for Sykes to stomp on it he is the devil.

Another symbolism occurred when Delia was lying in bed, and Sykes came home. A fight broke out between the two. The difference about this confrontation from the others is that Sykes did not strike Delia, as what usually happens. Delia picked up a metal skillet and threatened to defend herself from her husband as he fled in fear of getting hit. This new approach from Delia involving a new intimidation shows how her unnecessary sweat and hard work had gotten to be too much. The act of using the skillet from the stove to protect her symbolizes how in essence, Delia is trying to defend her house.

The skillet is a fragment of the house, and as she stands up against Sykes, she is using the skillet that is part of the house to protect her house (Martin 918). As she lies on her bed, Delia gains a moment of comfort, and a getaway from her husband's doings. The bed is her garden of Eden, her only place for relaxation. Even the hamper in the bedroom is the only group of clothing that is considered to be clean and neat, representing the cleanliness of the bedroom. Everywhere else in the house, Sykes would step on the clothe Delia had to clean. Sykes did not have any respect for his wife and her laundry work.

The bedroom was the only place where Sykes had not brought his act of cruelty, until he brought Bertha to the bed. Knowing this Delia was pushed to the edge. Sykes's cruelty and unfaithfulness was apparent to outsiders. A group of village men sitting on a porch view Delia riding by and begin talking about her.

One man talks about Delia's hard work ethics. After talking about the good qualities of Delia, the men begin a conversation about Sykes. One man says "she better if she water eat... Syke Jones ain't wuth de shot an' powder hit would tek tuh kill 'em.

Not to huh he ain't (Hurston 624). The mentioning of killing Sykes foreshadows the conclusion of the story (Bone 151). If Delia represents good, then Sykes represents evil, then Sykes could be seen as the devil. Delia refers to both Sykes and the snake as devilish figures.

Delia states "whatever goes over the Devil's back, is got to come under his belly. Sometime or rather" (Hurston 624). The statement goes along with the end of the story when Syke's plan to murder his wife backfires (Bone 151). Delia thinks about defense against the snake. "she mused at the tremendous whirr inside, which every woodsman knows, is on of the sound illusions.

The rattler is a ventriloquist. His whirr sounds to the right, to the left, straight ahead, behind, close under foot everywhere but where it is. Woe to him who guesses wrong unless he is prepared to hold up his end of the argument! Sometimes he strikes without rattling at all" (Hurston 629).

The passage represents Delia's relationship with Sykes. He strikes from all angles. Sykes is cruel to her for no reason at all, just like the snake striking its victim, unexpectedly, from all sides and for no apparent reason. When Delia wakes up for the first time in the story she was waken up by a kick by Sykes. He deliberately ruined her Eden. In many instances Sykes, representing the devil, came into the bedroom, Eden, trying to destroy it by releasing the snake.

"Delia's work-worn knees crawled over the earth in Gethsemane and up the rocks of Calvary many, many times during these months" (Hurston 626). The garden of Gethsemane is where Jesus took his disciples to pray. He told some of the to watch and some of them to pray, but they fell asleep. Judas betrayed Jesus and led the Romans to him at Gethsemane before he was crucified (Matthew 28-29). Delia feels betrayed, she bears a cross too.

She married Sykes because she loved him. Judas is Sykes and Jesus is Delia, Sykes betrayed her by having an affair and the constant beating he inflicts to Delia. Sykes came home when Delia was at the church. He crawled into bed only to find out that the snake was also in the bed. Sykes was bitten on the neck. Later on, Delia comes home with very warm feelings.

She entered the house and found the snake loose. She did not know that Sykes had let the snake loose in the house intentionally to attempt to take her life, but Delia soon figured out the truth about why the snake was in the house. She finds out that Sykes was a victim of snakebite and is dying. She has to make the decision of whether or not to save him. If she abides by the rules her church has laid out for her, she would have to do everything she can to try to save him, but she decides not to. During Sykes death Delia mention the chinaberry tree.

The chinaberry tree represents a long life after Sykes death because of its deep roots. The sun kept rising up as Sykes struggle to hold to his life. The sun represents Sykes death and a new beginning for Delia..