Sweat Literary Elements

Fictional short story

Summertime in Florida

Omniscient third-person point of view

The tone is distinguished by a contrast between the narrator's conventionally elegant lyricism and the vivid African-American vernacular speech of the characters. The story has a lethargic, oppressive mood, suggested by the extreme heat.

Delia (protagonist), Sykes (antagonist)

Sykes brings home a snake to terrorize Delia.

Sykes is bitten by the snake.

"Something long, round, limp and black fell upon her shoulders and slithered to the floor beside her." (1022)

"Some day Ah'm gointuh drop dead from some of yo' foolishness." (1022)

"Delia's habitual meekness seemed to slip from her shoulders like a blown scarf." (1023)

"Mah cup is done run ovah." (1028)

Here, Delia makes an ironic understatement intended to communicate how she can no longer tolerate Sykes' abuse. The expression "my cup runneth over" comes from the Bible and originally draws on the idea of an overflowing cup to symbolize an excess of love. However, Delia is here using the expression sarcastically to say that she has had enough.

"Delia's work-worn knees crawled over the earth in Gethsemane and up the rocks of Calvary many, many times during these months." (1026)

Gethsemane is the garden where Jesus prayed before Judas betrayed him and he was crucified. Calvary is the hill upon which Jesus had to bear his cross.

"Jurden water, black an' col, / Chills de body, not de soul, / An' Ah wantah cross Jurden in uh calm time" (1028)

The River Jordan in the Bible signifies deliverance. The song Delia sings suggests that Jordan water may affect the body, but it does not touch the soul.

"They did not hurl the cane-knots as usual. They let them dribble over the edge of the porch." (1024)

The image of dribbling as opposed to hurling cane-knots is intended to convey just how hot it is in Florida in the summertime.

"He aint fit tuh carry guts tuh a bear." (1025)

This image is intended to communicate the very low opinion that the men of the town have of Sykes: he is not fit even to carry out this lowly task.

"She don't look lak a thing but a hunk uh liver wid hair on it." (1025)

This image is intended to convey just how ugly the men of the town consider Bertha to be.

The situation between men and women that Joe Clarke depicts when he constructs his sugarcane analogy is a paradox: men hate themselves for abusing women, but they cannot stop until women are fully destroyed, at which time they hate the broken women even more for being reminders of their abuse.

"Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat!" (1023)

"Grass withered, leaves browned, snakes went blind in shedding and men and dogs went mad." (1026)

"Ah hates you tuh de same degree dat Ah useter love yuh." (1027)

"Mah tub of suds is filled yo' belly with vittles more times than yo' hands is filled it. Mah sweat is done paid for this house and Ah reckon Ah kin keep on sweatin' in it." (1023) (Metonymy)

Sweat as a consequence associated with Delia's physical labor is used here to mean the labor itself.

"Delia's work-worn knees crawled over the earth" (1026) (Synecdoche)

Here, Delia's knees are invoked to represent her whole person.

"Even conversation had collapsed under the heat." (1024)

"The heat streamed down like a million hot arrows, smiting all things living upon the earth." (1026)