The Conflicts of Delia Is one person worth suffering over to keep what is rightfully yours? In Sweat by Zora Neale Hurston, Delia is forced to face this reality. Delia’s conflict is her husbands abusive ways and she handles the issue by attempting to mend their broken relationship, then makes an effort to avoid him and finally she let’s him die. Delia’s husband, Sykes, was not only physically abusive but emotional abusive. He would parade around town committing adulterous acts and spend Delia’s money on other women. Although this pained her Delia “ had attempted a timid friendliness, but she was repulsed each time”(Hurston 5). Even though she wants to mend what is broken with her husband and keep what is hers, the attempts were ephemeral. She could not look past all of his repulsive ways and the hatred she had for him was to strong to ignore. …show more content…
Delia was finally getting fed up with Sykes and his dastardly plans to get her out of the house. Yet she was not going to let a snake drive her out of the home she paid for, so that night she informed Sykes “ Ah got mah letter fum de church an’ moved mah membership tuh Woodbridge--so Ah don’t haf tuh take no sacrament wid yuh. Ah don’t wantuh see yuh ‘roun’ me atall”(Hurston 7). Delia was refusing to continue and let Sykes cause her agony so the next best plan was to avoid the person that was the cause of her
All over the world, marriage is one of the main things that define a woman’s life. In fact, for women, marriage goes a long way to determine much in their lives, including happiness, overall quality of life, whether or not they are able to set and achieve their life goals. Some women go into marriages that allow them to follow the paths they have chosen and achieve their goals while for other women, marriage could mean the end of their life goals. For Janie, the lead character in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, who was married twice, first to Joe sparks, and to Vergil Tea Cake, her two marriages to these men greatly affected her happiness, quality of life and the pursuit of her life goals in various ways, based on the personality of each of the men. Although both men were very different from each other, they were also similar in some ways.
The character Mrs. Wright is portrayed as a kind and gentle woman. She is also described as her opinion not being of importance in the marriage. It is stated by Mr. Hale that “ I didn’t know as what his wife wanted made much difference to John” .(745) Her neighbor, Mrs. Hale, depicts her as “She─come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself─real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and─fluttery. How─she─did─change”. (752) It appears that Mrs. Wright is a kind and gentle woman, not capable of committing a murder. But, with the evidence provided and the description of Mr. Wright’s personality it can also be said that the audience will play on the sympathy card for Mrs. Wright. She appears to be caught in a domestic violence crime in which she is guilty of, but the audience will overlook the crime due to the nature of the circumstances. By using pathos it will create a feeling that Mrs. Wright was the one who was suffering in the marriage, and that she only did what she felt necessary at the
In Zora Neal Hurston’s short story “Sweat” I can notice how Sykes abused Delia but yet she couldn’t do anything about it since she was scared of Sykes. Eventually karma got it’s way to Sykes and the snake eventually killed him even though Delia could have done something about it. Since a man shouldn’t treat his wife like this, then that is why I support the fact that her behavior was right when she let Sykes die.
Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “Sweat” is about a woman, Delia, who is physically and emotionally abused by her husband, Sykes, whose actions she struggles to overcome. Through all the abuse, Delia takes pride in her hard work and her religion. In this story, Hurston uses religion and moral symbolism that controls the character’s actions throughout the plot. Delia is a hard working woman who uses her faith in God to guide and protect her from her husband’s physical and emotional abuse. She, as a protagonist, is physically weak but yet spiritually strong.
When handling a controversial subject, it is important to recognize the opinion of everyone, not just of oneself. If an author does not recognize, at least to some degree, the opinion of everyone in their audience, they risk losing the interest of readers whose opinions are different. African American writers must consider how it feels to be an African American to their audience; they must understand that there is no such thing as one identity for an entire race.
...ng point, ‘“Mah cup is done run ovah,”’ again, another metaphorical illustration of how tired she is of being physically mistreated and mentally abused by Sykes, thus, her rage is channeled towards protecting herself and the property she has assumed through her dedication as a washwoman. Hurston makes this ever so clear as Delia shouts at Sykes, ‘“Don't think Ah'm gointuh be run 'way fum mah house neither.”’ Sykes has been unfaithful to Delia for a while now and she has finally taken the final straw. Hurston empowers Delia, through writing, “Delia said this with no signs of fear and Sykes departed from the house, threatening her, but made not the slightest move to carry out any of them.” This is an important step for Delia towards independence. Delia is no longer afraid of Sykes, however she has one more fear to overcome before she is completely free of oppression.
All over the world, marriage is one of the main things that define a woman’s life. In fact, for women, marriage goes a long way to determine much in their lives including happiness, overall quality of life whether or not they are able to set and achieve their life goals. Some women go into marriages that allow them to follow the paths they have chosen and achieve their goals while for other women, marriage could mean the end of their life goals. For Janie, the lead character in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, who was married twice first to Joe sparks, and to Vergile Tea Cake, her two marriages to these men greatly affected her happiness, quality of life and pursuit of her life goals in various ways, based on the personality of each of the men. Although both men were very different from each other, they were also similar in some ways.
Fixed marriages for the sake of ownership and family’s name. It happened a lot back in the days, but it was not that common now. Another is that his sister was only thirteen, considering that It would be child abuse today. However, at that time it was normal for them and men are often superior. It was also like selling his sister, in return, he would get a home for himself that he always wanted. Back in that time, lands and homes are much bigger deal that your family and dignity. Using those words make me so mad about him. It was really horrible and degrading for her sister. This is a very powerful use of words and thought for literature because it expresses some kind of
The novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, by Zora Neale Hurston clearly is a great book. In the book a young woman named Janie who was raised and married off by her grandmother. At first, all Janie knows of marriage and love is what her grandmother tells her which is that the only thing that is important is if he has land. As Janie goes on her journey of her life and re-marries, she finds that everybody in the town (and in general) has their own belief towards the role of their spouses in marriage. The reader notices Janie struggle in finding herself and over time Janie begins to develop her own ideas and ideals. In Their Eyes Were Watching God each character has their own beliefs towards marriage which in turn develops a viewpoint of how marriage should be and what it shouldn’t be. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” (Hurston) explores this marriage issue by showing Janie’s failing love endeavors, showing her real true love, and the after-effects of losing someone dear.
2. Gutierrez, Nancy A. "The Irresolution of Melodrama: the Meaning of Adultery in A Woman Killed with Kindness." Exemplaria, Vol.1, No. 2. Fall, 1989. Pg.265-285.
“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 his 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 knuckly 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 680).
Sykes had a mistress named Bertha who he spoiled all the time, but the people in town always wondered why he never paid attention to Delia. Walter Thomas, one of the men from the store, said, “Ah 'd uh married huh mahself if he hadnter beat me to it.” (Hurston) All the men in town were jealous of Sykes because of Delia. But Sykes, on the other hand, didn 't see what he had right in front of him. The plotting of Delia 's death was all done by Sykes. He went out of his way to get a rattlesnake and place it in the clothes hamper with the lid on, hoping it would strike her while washing clothes. When Delia saw the snake, she scurried outside and hid in the barn until Sykes arrived home. Delia calmly stated, “Ah done de bes ' ah could. If things aint right, Gawd knows it aint mah fault.” (Hurston) After the freak accident of Sykes being struck by the rattlesnake and suffering a long and painful death, Delia, hearing all the screaming and moaning coming from inside her “broken” home, sat under a Chinaberry tree that was in the front yard. She felt a sense of relief after she heard Sykes crying for her help and her knowing that she could not do anything to help. Her fear of their relationship and of him that went on for 15 years, was finally over and she felt as if she achieved her
Many short story writers have written about the gender and role of woman in society. Some of these stories express what Barbara Walter calls, “The Cult of True Womanhood” meaning the separation of both man and woman in social, political and economic spheres. In order to be considered a “true woman” woman were to abide by the set of standards that were given to her. Women were expected to live by the four main principal virtues - piety, purity, submissiveness, and domestication. In Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Storm,” Calixta the main female character breaks away from “The Cult of True Womanhood” when she has a sexual encounter with her past lover Alcée. The storm goes through many twists and turns that tie with their adulterous actions. Although she breaks away from the four main principal virtues, she in the end is considered to be pure innocent of heart because the action in which occurred happened instantly, and as white as she was, she was taken away from her innocence.
This story deals love and hate differently from “sweat”. “the Storm” is about A small boy, Bibi, and his father, Bobinôt, who are out during a major storm, and the wife Calixta worried about her family, but also commiting adultry with another married man named Alcée. The storm in this short story repersents the affair that accurs at the house and the guilt of Calixta during that time. The love and hate relationship comes into play when we see Calixta commiting adultry, and when she is with her husband and son at the end. Calixta hates being in the marriage she is in because she is not really in love with Bobinôt she only married him for his money which is why she continues to have the affair with Alcée. Even with Alcée we see the love and hate complex in his marriage to clarisse, we see that this this qoute “And the first free breath since her marriage seemed to restore the pleasant liberty of her maiden days. Devoted as she was to her husband, their intimate conjugal life was something which she was more than willing to forego for a while.” We see her to be pretty reluctant to stay away alittle longer due to her being unhappy in her marriage as
In the play, Webster does not only look at the physical entrapment of the Duchess that her brothers exert on her, but also the trapping of the soul and mentality. The Duchess resembles a beautiful bird that is held in a diamond filled cage. She has access to everything she needs on a materialistic level, but she is denied freedom in any form. Her overbearing brothers are the ones who control her every move and make every decision for her. “And fearfully equivocates, so we are forced to express our violent passions in riddles an in dream…”(1.2.354-357). Her brothers, along with Bosola, are the physical demonstrations of the evil that exists. Ferdinand’s devilish traits are often seen, “He and his brother are like plum trees, that grow crooked over standing pools, they are r...