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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Hurston



"What's it got to do with you, Sykes? 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."

She seized the iron skillet from the stove and struck a defensive pose, which act surprised him greatly, coming from her. It cowed him and he did not strike her as he usually did.

A woman writer from the Harlem Renaissance, I think this one had a lot to say. "Sweat" was an interesting short story to read. Though hard to follow in certain places due to wording/spelling the point was made. Hurston did use many Biblical notions in her writing of "Sweat". References to the tree, snakes and ultimate life.

During my reading I did not see how this short story or author tied into the "Harlem Renaissance" writing other than the time period. Her writing even though a short did not read as those poems from McKay, Hughes or Johnson.

You did see the struggle of Delia's everyday life of being a washer and a wife. Skye was not a gentleman.
This poem could easily be made into a Lifetime movie, it has drama, sadness and a woman overcoming odds.

1 comment:

  1. Interesting that this piece was the only one really to give a black female perspective. I guess we didn't really get to any biography on Hurston, so I'm not sure how connected she is to Harlem, either. But it's something to ponder how the fictional Delia may symbolize what many similar women perhaps felt in real life, namely, that while black men were making some strides, nothing or no one was advancing the cause of African-American women.

    MV

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