`Sweat` and Symbolizm

Symbolism in Zora Neal Hurston 's Sweat

Zora Neale Hurston 's Sweat (1926 ) is based on two primary influences in her life : the town of Eatonville where Hurston grew up and her relationship with her employer , Fannie Hurst . The short story "Sweat revolves around the life of Delia Jones , a washerwoman from Eatonville Florida . The story begins with Delia Jones gathering courage to counter her abusive husband and ends with the death of her husband , tracing the transformation that Delia undergoes as a result . Delia Jones is a common black , hardworking Southern

woman with deep religious faith . It is through her faith in God that she finds it possible to overcome her domestic problems caused by her abusive husband . Hurston sets the story against the backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance in New York City . As the story unfolds , one can find the author using biblical allusion and African American folk culture through symbolism to express her strong views on the life of a black American woman in America . Zora Neale Hurston 's short story "Sweat " was first published in Firell , a legendary literary magazine of the Harlem Renaissance . The story was well recognized for its artistry and for its valuable rendering of rural southern black life

Zora Neale Hurston 's short story Sweat ' contains many religious symbols that are used to emphasize the distance between Delia and Sykes Jones despite being bonded together in marriage . Delia is shown as hardworking woman who is deeply devout she is spiritually strong though physically weak and tired . Her husband , Sykes Jones is a rough man who is physically abusive towards his wife , disloyal and exploiting in nature . He takes the hard-earned money of Delia to spend on his fat girlfriend Betha . Ultimately the spiritual strength of Delia wins over Sykes Jones . This story can be viewed as an allegory for God and Satan in conflict . According to Thomas Stafford , who wrote `Christian Symbolism in the Evangelical Church : A serpent is the symbol of the fall of man through temptation by a serpent-the devil (180 . There is more evidence to support the good versus evil or God versus Satan motif in Sweat . Many words are indicative of religion and morality in the story `Sweat . The very name Delia seems to be derived from the Biblical Delilah who emasculated her Samson by having his locks cut off . In this story Delia is shown to be the stronger of the two though physically weaker - and she supports her husband Sykes by doing white people laundry . The whitest pile of things ' referring to the white clothes Delia washes in the story are symbolic of her character . White represents purity . Delia is a woman who respectfully tolerates the abuses of her husband . Seidel says that the whiteness suggest Delia 's "innate goodness as opposed to the evil darkness of Sykes 's snake

The religious symbolism of snakes as connected to evil is used at two points in the story . Initially Sykes is shown rubbing his bull whip over...