Sunday, August 18, 2019
Delia Gives Into Evils Temptation Essay -- Sweat, Zora Neale Hurston
In the short story ââ¬Å"Sweat,â⬠Zora Neale Hurston describes the final months of marriage between Delia Jones and her husband Sykes. Deliaââ¬â¢s hard work supports both her husband and their small home, but Sykes takes Deliaââ¬â¢s earnings and spends as he pleases. He is also known within their Florida town for his extramarital affairs. Deliaââ¬â¢s life is one of managed goodness, and Sykes is Deliaââ¬â¢s opposite in all ways. In an attempt to drive Delia from their marriage, Sykes brings a large rattlesnake into their home. Although the snake ultimately ends the pairââ¬â¢s marriage, it is not in the manner Sykes had envisioned. Zora Neale Hurstonââ¬â¢s tale depicts the classic struggle of good versus evil, but she also illustrates that evil is pervasive and tempting, leading good people to succumb to evil. Delia Jones is a churchgoing, hardworking woman who spends her entire week, beginning Sunday nights, washing the townspeopleââ¬â¢s clothing. For fifteen years, Deliaââ¬â¢s hard work has provided for her home, which she plans to have ââ¬Å"for her old daysâ⬠(Hurston 293). She and her husband Sykes are locked in a struggle over the home, which is Deliaââ¬â¢s prized possession. Her ââ¬Å"sweatâ⬠¦paid for this home,â⬠and she has created life here by planting trees around the home (293). However, Deliaââ¬â¢s plan to keep her home is compromised by her husband. Sykes promises his current lover, Bertha, that she ââ¬Å" ââ¬Ëkin have dat liââ¬â¢l ole house soonââ¬â¢s [he] git dat ââ¬Ëoman outadereââ¬â¢ â⬠(296). Hurston creates sympathy for Delia through this struggle. Sykes is the evil within the marriage, and Delia is the good counterpart. Although Delia is marked by ââ¬Å"habitual meeknessâ⬠(293), she stands up to Sykes one evening. After he tramples her sorted laundry and ââ¬Å"step[s] roughly upon the whitest pile of ... ...sgressions against his wife, Delia must also face the consequences of her decision. It is here that the reader must decide Deliaââ¬â¢s fate. Hurston illustrates Deliaââ¬â¢s struggle throughout the story, and the readerââ¬â¢s sympathy for Delia increases. Both the mood and the tone of the story are very dark, and Hurston uses this to bear down on the reader, pushing the reader to ââ¬Ërootââ¬â¢ for Delia. When the snake attacks Sykes, the reader feels triumphant for Delia and may believe that good has prevailed over evil. One must question if relishing in Deliaââ¬â¢s victory implies that one would also give in to temptation as Delia did. Hurston poses the question to the reader to consider if he or she is strong enough to resist the temptation of evil. Works Cited Hurston, Zora Neale. ââ¬Å"Sweat.â⬠Backpack Literature. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Boston: Longman, 2010. 291-301. Print.
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