Zora Neale Hurston

The following sample essay on “Zora Neale Hurston”: there’s plenty men dat takes a wif lak dey do a joint uh sugarcane. It’s round, juicy an’ sweet when dey gets it. But dey squeeze an grind, squeeze an’ grind an’ wring tell dey wring every drop uh pleasure dat’s inem out. When deys satisfied dat dey is wrung dry, dey treatsem jes lak dey do a cane-chew. Dey throws em away. Dey knows whut dey is doin while dey is at it, an hates themselves fuh it but they keeps on hanging after huh tell she’s empty.

Den dey hates huh fuh beina cane-chew an in de way ( Hurston 131). Unfortunately, this treatment from her husband was worse than what she endured from the white people in the story. She actually referred to the white people as protection. At the point of no return, Delia directed a threat to her husband saying, ” Ahm goin tuh de white folks bout you, mah young man, de very next time you lay yo hans on me.

Mah cup is done run ovah ( Hurston 200). The fear she once held for her husband dissipated and the beginning of her strength emerged from that declaration. Desiring to avert the many barriers set for African American’s in the South, people eventually began to leave to settle in Northern cities in hopes of better Page 4 opportunities. Hurston became one of the writers that found themselves in the North during “this migration that produced a new sense of independence in the black community and contributed to the vibrant Black culture seen during the Harlem Renaissance” (Katzman 1996).

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This explosion of independence in the Black literary community is definitely seen in her character Delia. At the end of the story, Sykes tries to kill her with a snake. Consequently, because of his evil efforts, the snake ended up killing him instead. Delia is then vindicated for all the hurt and pain that he caused her in the past. In addition to her racial struggle, Delia’s failed marriage was a direct result of the struggling relationship that she held with her husband. Her home, a place that should have been a place of peaceful solitude was full of violent behavior and negativity. When Sykes dies as a result of the poisonous snakebite, she is no longer bonded by the restrictions of a man. Like the many African Americans that struggled for individuality and independence in the past, her battle for freedom was won.In this story, it is clear that Zora Neale Hurston exemplified African American strength through not only her work “Sweat”, but also throughout her life.Works CitedEpstein, Mark. ” The Price I Paid for Civilization.

Zora Neale Hurston on Blacks, Blacks, Brown and the American Nation State. 2004. Hurston, Zora. Sweat.  The Hudson Book of Fiction: 30 Stories Worth Reading. Ed. Sarah Touborg. New York: McGraw Hill, 2002. 128-137. Katzman, David. “Black Migration. ” The Reader’s Companion to American History. Houghton Mifflin Co. , 1996.