Short fiction is still fiction. A review of Zora Neal Hurston's "Sweat"

I had the chance to read Zora Neal Hurston's short story, "Sweat," recently. I loved it! We later had a class discussion about some of the foreshadowing, symbolism, and themes of the story which got me thinking more about how Zora set the story up. Part of the setting that she gives us in the beginning is establishing Delia as a god-fearing woman. We know she goes to church and tries to practice what is preached. This is important for what I'm going to share later. We also know that, as the story's name suggests, the setting is hot and sweaty. this is proven time and time again with vivid descriptions of the burning sun, wilting plants, and laziness even in cane chewing. What I really like is how the end of the story has so many ways it can be taken using the descriptions she gives us. Spoilers: Sykes dies from a rattlesnake attack. Now, when we discussed this in class, a lot of the conversation revolved around the negative connotations a snake has. They're responsible for the Fall of Adam, for all sorts of plagues, they're aggressive, dangerous, and not very cuddly to most people. What do you think when I show you this picture, though?

For those unfamiliar with this picture, it depicts a moment in the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt when they were cursed with a plague of fiery flying serpents (read: venomous snakes) where Moses raises up a brass serpent a pole. If they would look, they would be healed from their snake bites. Here, we have a positive connotation for venomous snakes (at least, as far as the brass serpent goes).

I don't think the serpent was all that bad in the story. yes, it is sad that Sykes had to die, and I'm no one to judge others for their sins (which is, I feel, proper to call it such given the religious and moral context), but Sykes was an issue in Delia's life that was resolved by almost divine means in the form of that rattlesnake. Much like the fiery serpents that assailed the Israelites, Sykes' bullwhip had crossed Delia too often to be permisible, and the snake is what healed Delia just as the brass serpent was the medium by which the faith of the believing Israelites were saved by the power of God.

Moving onto the temperature theme, we talked about how for most of the story it was very hot. this matched the tension in their marriage as it escalated to the night of the snake bite. Just as the snake bit, the setting was cool, refreshing, and almost too cold as it extinguished the light of hope from Sykes' dying gaze. The (what must have been) tears of remorse flowing from his eye would have been what drowned and smothered his hope in his fleeting, last breaths. For Delia, on the other hand, the cool of the night as she rested on the ground elevated her spirits and began healing her from the years of harm.

I really liked how Zora built up the imagery and symbolism in the story so neatly and deeply. if you get the chance, google it and read it for yourself!