Sweat

The short story “Sweat” by American author Zora Neale Hurston was first published in 1926 in Fire!!, a single-issue magazine published during the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston was an anthropologist and writer whose works included many essays on anthropology and folklore focused on African American communities in the American South and the Caribbean, as well as novels and short stories. Her interest in anthropology is reflected in her creative work. For example, she often wrote dialog in vernacular to capture the everyday diction and idioms, and with adapted phonetic spellings to capture the sound and rhythm, of the English spoken by Black people in the rural south, specifically Florida, in the early 20th century. This vernacular dialog style is a strong element in “Sweat.” (Readers should be aware that this diction includes racial slurs, which appear in only a few spots in the story.)

“Sweat” begins with the protagonist, Delia Jones, setting to work late on a Sunday night. A washerwoman, she sorts clothes in her kitchen after attending church during the day. As she works, she wonders where her husband, Sykes (alternately called “Syke” in the story’s dialog), has gone with her cart and pony.