Sweat: Good and Evil and Snake Bit Sykes
Melissa Cudd Character Analysis Essay of Sweat
Alice Walker said, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” The story takes place in a small town in Florida. Its spring, snakes are abundant this time of year. The story of Delia in “Sweat,” the story is about the struggle of a hardworking woman, Delia, trying to let go of an abusive marriage she no longer wants to hold on to. While the opposing character, Sykes represent an uncontrolled self-appealing person. This story portrays these characters in strength, good opposing evil, and consequences of one’s action.
Delia’s character is shown hard at work on a Sunday morning to get ahead of her work load. She works hard to support her family. Her diligence in working on Sundays sets her character up with patience and caring. The story tells us that Delia built the house and planted the trees there too. The strength I mention comes from this patiently waiting for a confirmation of what is in her heart turned cold towards Sykes. This is mentioned as, “It cowed him and he did not strike her as he usually did.” This marriage was abusive and her being brought up to love one another, she didn’t want to admit at the time that she had chosen the wrong pathway. People will bend as far as they can before they realize they are about to break. Sometimes, however, we will get a glimpse of glory and want to fight back the evil that traps us.
This brings me to my next point of good opposing evil. The opposing sides of Sykes’ evil are Delia’s good nature. Delia represented a person with morals and a sense of hope. Sykes’ character was abusive mentally and physically. He snuck upon her like a snake, cracking the whip. He tries to give her ways to fight so he can smack her down. Delia was hardworking and responsible, and, Sykes couldn’t hold a job. He wouldn’t help her with the house, the work load or even paying for bills.
He had no compassion for her feelings with
Alice Walker said, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” The story takes place in a small town in Florida. Its spring, snakes are abundant this time of year. The story of Delia in “Sweat,” the story is about the struggle of a hardworking woman, Delia, trying to let go of an abusive marriage she no longer wants to hold on to. While the opposing character, Sykes represent an uncontrolled self-appealing person. This story portrays these characters in strength, good opposing evil, and consequences of one’s action.
Delia’s character is shown hard at work on a Sunday morning to get ahead of her work load. She works hard to support her family. Her diligence in working on Sundays sets her character up with patience and caring. The story tells us that Delia built the house and planted the trees there too. The strength I mention comes from this patiently waiting for a confirmation of what is in her heart turned cold towards Sykes. This is mentioned as, “It cowed him and he did not strike her as he usually did.” This marriage was abusive and her being brought up to love one another, she didn’t want to admit at the time that she had chosen the wrong pathway. People will bend as far as they can before they realize they are about to break. Sometimes, however, we will get a glimpse of glory and want to fight back the evil that traps us.
This brings me to my next point of good opposing evil. The opposing sides of Sykes’ evil are Delia’s good nature. Delia represented a person with morals and a sense of hope. Sykes’ character was abusive mentally and physically. He snuck upon her like a snake, cracking the whip. He tries to give her ways to fight so he can smack her down. Delia was hardworking and responsible, and, Sykes couldn’t hold a job. He wouldn’t help her with the house, the work load or even paying for bills.
He had no compassion for her feelings with
Cited: Page Hurston, Zora Neale. “Sweat.” Exploring Literature Writing and Arguing About Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. Frank Madden. Pearson Education, Inc. 2012. 1088-1096. Print.