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Ali of tlie import ant facets of the story— die character development and their interactions, meaning, plot, symbolism-develop either direcdy or indirecdy from die narration. Ali odier aspects of the story rise from the skeleton of the narration and point of view. Hurstons choice of narration channels the entire story and gnides die reader through his understanding of it.

The Role of Race in Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat" by William Resh

In 1926 the deep soutli of America was a place of racial division and gross inequality. It was a time tliat black men and women, aldiough by law free, were not even considered to be liiunan beings in the eyes of our country's elite class. Men were greeted as "boy" or "nigger" widiout a thonght to equality of people. It was a time wlien black men were regularly sentenced to deatli for cńmes against wliite people, but left to provide their own justice witliin die black commiuiity. A time of segregation, a time of liatred, diis was the deep soutli in 1926 and tliis is the setting of "Sweat" by Zora Hurston.

Aldiough it is not a prevalent subject throughout the story the State of race relations at tliat time is liiiportant. The wliite man was considered to many black men as die devil in disguise. The reason I allude to tliis subject is to show you, die reader, wliat mental anguish Delia Jones, the maili character, was going through in tliis story. In addition to the constant tonnent of her husband, die fact diat she supports the family by washing wliite peoples clodies adds unneeded weiglit to her already heavy load.

Wliite people are mentioned diree times in the story. The first mention is wlien Delias husband, Sykes, calls Delia a hypocrite for taking sacrament and washing the devil's (wliite peoples) clodies on the Sabbath. The second is madę by Old Man Anderson wlien observing Sykes as being "too biggety to live" sińce a wliite woman showed Inni how to drive a car. Tlie last and most telling lllustration of the State of race relations of the time is wlien Delia threatens Sykes by saying she will find help from wliite people if lie did not let up on his beatings. Tliis tlireat was not taken idly by Sykes, in fact lie seemed to cower from it at first. Tliis encounter shows die overbearing tyranny of the wliite race at tliat time. Wlien you read tliis story remember tliat, aldiough the matter of race is not prevalent in the story, it is prevalent in the minds of the characters.

The Treatment of W omen in "Sweat" by Headier McYicker

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