Blood, Sweat, and Tears

4 Pages 963 Words

Tiffany Barrs
English 102/076

April 22, 2002

Blood, “Sweat,” and Tears: A Historical/Biographical Analysis of Hurston’s “Sweat”


The purpose of any literary work is to convey an idea or concept to its audience. Often the message is one that is directly reflective upon the life of the writer. The context of the piece, the period of time during which it was written, and the events that are reflected within it may have an enormous effect on the work, both in its style and in the ways through which the audience can interpret the author’s literary aims. Zora Neale Hurston clearly depicts the societal dilemma concerning racial and gender conflict in the South in her short story, “Sweat.” Through a crystal-clear depiction of Southern life in the twentieth century, strongly suggestive vocabulary, and the pure illustration of the divide between the races, Hurston gives the audience a captivating taste of segregation.
“Sweat” begins in the home of Delia Jones, an African American who works as a washwoman for white families. Her husband, Sykes, is a very devious and immoral character who finds great joy in torturing Delia both physically and emotionally. Not only does he run around town, flaunting his mistress, but he constantly threatens her life with verbal and physical abuse. When he is not parading around the town with his lover, he is tormenting Delia with cruel jokes, particularly jokes that involve snakes, one of Delia’s greatest fears. When Sykes first startles Delia with a bullwhip, Delia says, “Sykes, what you throw dat whip on me like dat? You know it would skeer me—looks just like a snake, ‘an you knows how skeered Ah is of snakes.” (p. 243) Though Sykes continually taunts Delia with his evil antics in an attempt to force her out of their home, Delia refuses to leave, because it is her hard work that has paid for the house, and it is the only thing she has to cling to.
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