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Character Analysis Of Delia Jones In Hurston's 'Sweat'

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"Snakes vs Delia” Hurston 's Delia Jones in "Sweat" is a woman who is trapped in her marriage with an abusive man. In the end Delia finally gets peace from the snake. She has been with Sykes for 15 years. The snake represents evil, fear, and is a symbol for Sykes himself. Sykes easily manipulates Delia because he knows she fears snakes and him. When Sykes brings home the snake, Delia tells Sykes to kill the snake when she says "now Syke, don’t keep dat thing 'roun ' heah tuh skeer me tuh death. Thass do biggest snake Ah evah did see kill im Syke please" (par.4 pg5 ). Sykes is representing evil because he knows that Delia is scared of snakes, but he still brings one home. The snake represents fear because as long as the snake …show more content…

She has the same anger and hurt for the snake as she does Skyes. Delia says, “Whut’s de mattah, ol’ satan, you aint kickin’ up yo’ racket?”
(par.8.pg.6 ). She addressed the snake’s box. When Skyes is home he constantly bickers at Delia. Sykes is gone but the snake is still there. When Delia talks to the snake she talks to it as if it Sykes. This shows Sykes is a symbol of evil. Delia also says how the snake pours his awful beauty out of the basket unto the bed. I think she is referring to Skye as well. Sykes takes his evilness and spreads it throughout the house. Delia is a Christian woman who tries to keep all evil away from her. The snake that Zora Hurston talks about in “sweat” is like the snake in “The garden of Eden Satan”. The snake represents a fierce and scary creature. Delia describes the snake in “sweat” to be scary. “There lay the snake in the basket! He moved sluggishly at first, but even as she turned round and round, jumped up and down in an insanity of fear, he began to stir vigorously” (par.2pg2). The narrator explains how Delia reacted when she notice the snake in the basket, this show how she was scared of the snake. The snake moving vigorously represents how fierce the snake

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