Sweat Themes

Ah, marriage. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health…and through beatings and adultery? Let's just say—the union between Delia and Sykes in "Sweat" is by no means a pretty one. We find...

"Sweat," like many of Hurston's stories, focuses on a very specific sector of society—Southern, working class African Americans. Another distinction to this micro-society is the fact that we neve...

Florida in the 1920s seems to be a world dominated by men who don't do much of anything—unless you consider cheating, abusing, gossiping and spitting sugar cane something. (For the record—we do...

Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat! (18)With these lines from "Sweat," we completely understand and sympathize with Delia Jones. She seems to have the worst life ever, full of endless ma...

It's always amazing how much pain one human being is able to endure, and Delia Jones in "Sweat" is no exception. She runs her own household, works full time, feeds and clothes her husband, and deal...

Gender is a central theme to "Sweat," like the big, scaly snake that Sykes brings back to the house—you simply can't ignore it. In the 1920s American south, being a woman meant you'd most likely...