Essay Sample on Living in an Abusive Marriage: The 'Sweat' Story by Zora Neal Hurston

The "Sweat" story by Zora Neal Hurston discusses in detail the abusive relationship as well as the Delia along with Sykes Jones's marriage. Delia was a hardworking lady as well as a faithful woman, but her husband was neither diligent nor devoted. Instead, he was physical, along with emotionally abusive to his wife. Many people may start a marriage, hoping that it will be successful, but their expectations are not met in the future, and this may lead to separation in families. This paper discusses the similarities as well as differences that exist between Delia and Jane in this story in terms of gender, race, and class.

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To begin with, both of them were females, and they were passionate about marriage. Being in marriage, both were married, and after Jane noticed the challenges the women were experiencing in thy marriages, she decided to educate women on how to cope with various problems they were experiencing back at their homes. Despite Delia being after success in her family, this was not the case with her husband Sykes, and he made her live a hard life. "Sykes has no recognizable redeeming qualities. He is neither hardworking nor faithful and be both physically and emotionally abuses his wife" (Burke, 2012). It is the Joy for every woman to have a hardworking husband, and this was a challenge to Delia.

Apart from this similarity, there were some differences between these two ladies. Delia was a black American, while Jane was a Jewish American. Marriage for these two regions was not similar since Black American wives faced a lot of challenges in their families. "Hurston focuses on the black female in her works. Hurston urges black females to look at their environment objectively. If the stereotyped roles of society conflict with a woman's self, Hurston urges the woman to transcend these roles. When women transcend the norm, they become autonomous individuals free of the restrictions of the stereotyped roles others may try to place upon them” (Burke, 2012). The women should submit to their roles in families, and this stood to a difference between Delia and Jane since Jane was submissive to her characters than Delia.

In terms of class, Delia was a social worker while Janes played a role in advising women and especially Black American wives. Delia was a hardworking woman, and she was after a successful life in her marriage despite the challenges she was facing from the husband. Nevertheless, Jane committed herself to educate female gender what the society expects from them and what they should do for their families to progress.

Conclusion

In conclusion, people may be the same in terms of gender, but other factors differentiate them. They have various roles to play not only in their families but also in the society for their success. It is the effort of a woman that makes every family successful.

References

Burke, M. (2012). Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat" and the Black Female Voice: The Perspective of the African-American Woman. Retrieved 3 July 2020, from http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/646/zora-neale-hurstons-sweat-and-the-black-female-voice-the-perspective-of-the-african-american-woman.