The Analysis:
In the short story Sweat, Zora Neal Hurston explores the freedom Delia Jones reaches as she can finally be released from the tyrannical Sykes, Delias husband. I find this passage interesting because helping out Sykes in his last gasping breaths doesnt even get a second thought in Delias mind. This passage highlights Hurstons belief in karma and what goes around comes around. I will illustrate how this passage develops __.
Though Delia was once in love with Sykes she now feels mostly hatred towards him.
In this passage from Zora Neal Hurstons short story, Sweat, Delias husband, Sykes, has been bitten by the snake and is begging for mercy. Instead of helping him, Delia just stands there and watches her husband die. Early on Delia tells Sykes that he will reap what he has sewn and indeed Sykes does end having to reap what he has sewn. In other words she is talking about karma and what goes around comes around.
As Delia sees him on his hands and knees as soon as she reached the door (105), this is taking all the strength and power Sykes thought he had and puts Delia in control. For once Sykes is being portrayed as vulnerable and helpless, as he has made Delia to be throughout her whole life spent with him. Sykes only being able to creep an inch or two toward her, just goes to show how weak he really he is.
He keeps one eye open when looking at Delia because he really believes that even after everything he has done to her she is really going to help him. That dream is crushed when Delia is bore away. A surge of pity too strong to support bore her away from that eye (105). She doesnt even want to try and attempt to help him. She thinks about calling the doctor but then decides to not even try because Orland is too far away and Orlando is where all the doctors are.
The story is ended with Delia holding on to a chinaberry tree which symbolizes rootedness in a world of sins. While standing at the chinaberry tree Delia is gaining knowledge. She knows that while she is standing outside in the heat and is just fine, inside her house Sykes has a cold river or cold blood creeping through him. Soon, that one eye that was open with hope is going to be shut and all hope will be lost. She thinks to herself that surely by know Sykes knows that she knows what is going on and she just isnt going to help to extinguish that eye which must know by now that she knew (105)
This passage is important to the rest of the story because after all the hardships that Delia has had to deal with from Sykes, she is finally going to be free and Sykes is having to reap what he has sewn. Sykes got what he had coming to him. After tormenting Delia with the snake and his secret hope for it to accidentally get out and bite her turns around on him. This story is a parallel to the story of Adam and Eve at the garden of Eden. Sykes is Adam and Delia is Eve. When at the tree in the biblical story Eve is eating all the fruits and gaining knowledge and when Delia is standing at the chinaberry tree at the end of the story she also is gaining knowledge.
Works Cited
Hurston, Zora N. "Sweat." Literature for Composition, Interactive Edition. By Sylvan Barnet, William E. Cain and William E. Burto. New York: Longman, 2007. 712-19.
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