Comparing Story Of An Hour And Sweat By Zora Neale Hurston

Name: Lakisha Minnis Instructor: Mr. Compton English 2202-001 Date: April. 24, 2017 Sweat Zora Neale Hurston is a prolific writer famed for numerous award winning plays, novels and short stories. In this paper, I will be elaborating on a character from the novel Sweat. Her novel Sweat was first published in 1926. Sweat is a novel that tells a story about the good, evil, and domestic abusive husband.

In the short story Sweat written by Zora Neale Hurston, she tells the story of a hard-working woman named Delia Jones and her abusive, cheating husband Sykes. Delia and Sykes are drastically different characters. Delia is an honest, church going woman, who cleans white people 's laundry to make ends meet and Skyes is a low-down womanizer who uses his wife 's income to support not only himself but also Bertha the woman he is having an affair with. After years of putting up with her husband 's mistreatment, Delia finally holds her ground. She defends her job with a skillet. For the first time Sykes backs down. This is the beginning of the end for their relationship. Hurston lays the foundation for a story of good versus evil.

Zora Neal Hurston’s Sweat tells the story of a woman, Delia, who is in an abusive relationship with her husband Sykes. At the end of the story she lets him die from a rattlesnake bite in defiance to him after everything he has done to her, including beating her constantly and cheating on her. Delia’s actions at the end of the short story were completely justifiable.

Delia Jones is a black woman who live in Florida that holds to her belief in God to help her get through the suffering that she endures from her abusive husband, Sykes. The theme of the story is good vs. evil which are shown as Delia and Sykes. Delia is the good, hardworking, and self sufficient character that is put through a lot having an abusive husband. Delia has a very strong work ethic, by the way that she is working hard 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. Sykes returns the favor by taking Delia’s money and spend on rent for Bertha’s house.

“Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurtson exemplifies the amount of disrespect and domestic abuse a woman can handle. It also demonstrated how some males view women in a distasteful and unsatisfied way. Gender and sexuality can initiate most of the specific tactics of domestic violence that can dehumanize an individual, especially women. Zora Neale Hurtson’s character, Delia Jones, demonstrates how women can transition from being inferior to becoming superior in a domestic relationship. The story opened with Delia washing clothes for white people on Sunday, and Sykes verbally abused her for dishonoring God because she was washing clothes that belong to white people on the Sabbath day. As Sykes Jones stated, “Ah done tole you time and again to keep the white folks’ clothes outa dis house,” (site) exemplifying Delia has grown accustomed to remaining silent in the face of abuse. It is on this day after a particularly bad scare and added abuse by being mocked for that fear that her character shifts. Delia’s remarkable transformation as a character from a meek abuse victim to a stronger, independent yet gentle woman occurs whenever Sykes mocks her for her fear of snakes or when there is a scene involving the rattlesnake.

“Sweat” starts by indirectly describing Delia as a hard-working, Christian woman. She washes the clothes of white people and is very successful. Despite 15 years of marriage, Sykes, her husband, refuses to acknowledge that she is the bread-winner, and often abuses her because of that; along with the fact he despises white people, and their clothes are in the house. For the most part, Delia was submissive to Sykes, and put up with his antics, until one day she took hold of an iron skillet in defense of a threat by

Being an extremely vulnerable character she automatically relinquished. As her last resort she names characters and accuses them of being along side of the Devil that came to her. In a quote, her timidness can easily be represented. “(In a fury) He say Mr.Parris must be killed (...)

Zora Neale Hurston wrote “Sweat” during the Harlem Renaissance. A time when writers, artists, and musicians were exploring and greatly influenced by the events taking place in their social and cultural environments. There is plenty that can be taken away from the story. Hurston use of symbolism with sweat, laundry, and a snake give so much more meaning to the story.

“Spunk,” by Zora Neale Hurston, is a short story about a man who appears masculine and fearless claiming another man’s wife, but the tables turn by the end of the story. The short story begins with Spunk, the main character, walking off with Lena Kanty. Joe, Lena’s husband, knows about the affair, but is too timid to confront Spunk. Hurston uses regional dialect, allusion, and dramatic irony as language devices along with a serious tone to tell a story about karma.

Mildred lives life content with these rules and regulations. She functions as many others do in this society. It was through the other members of society and her will to be popular among others where she was influenced to act as she does. She is afraid of the government, and often acts to save herself in risky situations, such as when she tipped of Captain Beatty of Guy’s collection of

In the beginning of the story, it shows that she is a very superior person as being the reverend’s niece. She evidently changes when she had the power of

Stories have always been a key part of cultures throughout time. In the last hundred and fifty years, some of today’s more influential writers published their works. Two famous writers, Kate Chopin and James Joyce, lived close to each other’s time. Chopin’s short story “Story of an Hour” has become a staple in humanity and literature courses. James Joyce, who is better known for his work Ulysses, wrote one short story titled “The Boarding House”, is also a brilliant piece of work. While both stories are unique in their conflicts and resolutions, they each take place in a similar culture and hold a similar theme.

When Nicholas Vidal, a gang member, is told a prophecy of his death his entire life changes. After allowing a Turkish woman to read his fortune in coffee grounds, the woman confirmed that he would one day loose his head over a woman. In the Judges wife by Isabel Allende, the author uses imagery, foreshadowing, and symbolism to covey her story of Nicholas Vidal. Since confirming his prophecy, Vidal shunned women out of his life in fear of the prophecy coming true. When Judge Hidalgo marries Casilda, Vidal is very unpleased by the sight of her even going as far as calling her ‘ugly’.

She uses sinful characters that have fallen out the God’s grace to get her message that one’s outward appearance does not matter to God, what matters is that a person has God living internally in their heart.

In the story “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin demonstrates the role of marriage in defining the individual by contrasting and highlighting the value individuals place on the marriage and love that they consider theirs. "The Story of an Hour" is a short story the author,Kate Chopin, presents a dreadful often unheard of view of marriage. Chopin 's main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard, experiences the happiness of freedom rather than the desolation of loneliness after she learns of her husband 's death. Later