Theme of Good vs. Evil in “Sweat”

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The main character in Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat” is a black woman who resides in the South that clutches on to her belief in God to help her get through the suffering that she endures from her abusive and adulterous husband, Sykes. “Sweat” is full of religious symbolism that demonstrates that Hurston was using the theme of good vs. evil in the short story. In the very beginning of “Sweat” one can see that Delia possesses a very strong work ethic, by the way that she is working vigorously to wash the clothes for the white people that she worked for to put food on the table and a roof over her and Sykes’ head. The white clothing that Delia washes in the story represents her character. White signifies her virtuousness and wholesome spirit. Delia has a docile personality and a prevailing belief in God. Delia’s body may be physically broken from all the years of tough labor and mistreatment from Sykes, however her spirit remains unbroken. Delia is a church going woman that is inspired by her trust in God. She has confidence that God will steer her the right way and shield her from Sykes cruel physical and emotional abuse. Another reference to Delia’s goodness can additionally be located in these lines of "Sweat,” "Delia's work-worn knees crawled over the earth in Gethsemane and up the rocks of Calvary many, many times during these months" (445). According to Raymond Brown, who wrote, A Crucified Christ in Holy Week: Essays on the Four Gospel Passion Narratives, the garden of Gethsemane is the location where Jesus took his followers to pray. He advised some of them to observe and several of them to pray, however they fell asleep. Judas betrayed Jesus and escorted the Romans to him at Gethsemane prior to him being executed (49).... ... middle of paper ... ...btains wisdom. Delia's goodness and her faith in God in the end, prevails over Sykes’ powerful muscle and violent manner. Bibliography Brown, Raymond. A Crucified Christ in Holy Week: Essays on the Four Gospel Passion Narratives. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1986. Hurston, Zora Neale. “Sweat.” The Custom Library of American Literature. John Bryant. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2008. 440-445. Jones, Sharon. Rereading the Harlem Renaissance: Race, Class, and Gender in the Fiction of Jessie Fauset, Zora Neale Hurston, and Dorothy West. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2002. Masson, Davis. Essays Biographical and Critical: Chiefly on English Poets. La Vergne, Tennessee: Lightning Source, Inc., 2007. Ménez, Andre’. The Subtle Beast: Snakes, from Myth to Medicine. New York, New York: CRC Press, 2003.

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