Sweat by Zora Hurston

Lance Sudduth

Mrs. Winslett

English 1102

10 March 2011

Word count:1,500

A Deeper Meaning

Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Sweat, is a story of trials and tribulations. While Sweat may very well be a story of how Delia Jones is treated in her life, there is a need to look deeper into her life to really show how Sweat relates to the author’s life in the particular time period. Hurtson, born into a family of seven siblings in Alabama, moves into the first black incorporated township after three months in Alabama (Baum 24). The black township could quite possibly be called a shelter as Hurtson is never truly exposed to the harsh reality of the superiority of whites. The small town is led by only blacks. The African Americans create the laws, punish the criminals, and teach the young (Baum 25). Easily shielding her from the harsh reality of racism, Hurtson is never really exposed to it as most blacks are in that time period. Hurtson never has the experience of harsh racism and this is often seen in her writings as there never is anything about harsh racism towards her. The life Hurtson lives is more often a reflection in her work. Allowing her emotions to flow, the story then captivates the reader as if they are one of the characters within the story. Hurtson’s writing style is a style that many admire and will help the reader remember the life and stories of Zora Neale Jones. Hurtson is known for many famous novels relating to black history, many of which tie into her life, such as in the story Sweat.

In the story of Sweat, Hurston points out that the characters subside within a town that consists entirely of African Americans (Baum 26). Using this it is also said while Hurtson is growing up she is always kept within the town that consists only of African Americans who ran the town. This is interesting because Hurtson starts out a story by recalling part of her childhood within the short story, Sweat. Looking deeper into the context of the story, it is also...