Clothes
The touch, the feel, of cotton!So [Delia] collected the soiled clothes on Saturday when she returned the clean things. (1)Our protagonist is a hardworking washwoman, a profession that was a whole l...
Snakes
For most people, snakes are pretty scary. They're like slithering tails with eyes and they freak out even the manliest of men (case in point: Indiana Jones and Samuel L. Jackson). What our lady Del...
Chinaberry Tree
Delia waits for Sykes to die in the shade of her Chinaberry tree. She knows there is no hope for his survival and she makes no moves to help him. She could scarcely reach the Chinaberry tree, where...
Iron Skillet
When Delia stands up to Sykes, a new woman emerges. She seized the iron skillet from the stove and struck a defensive pose, which act surprised him greatly, coming from her. It cowed him and he did...
The Bed
In literature, the marriage bed often symbolizes sweet slumber, intimacy, and comfort—but Hurston has something a little different in mind when she wrote "Sweat." In this story, the bed is a remi...