Delia probably stays with Sykes after he has been so abusive to her because within that time period women did not typically divorce their husbands. She also has a personality that suggests that she upholds commitments and will bear through difficult times.

Sykes resents Delia’s work even though it supports him, too. Because they are poor and Delia is a working woman, Sykes does not have financial control over her, and instead uses physical abuse to assert his will.

It seems that Delia, a “habitually meek” character, as is stated in the story, has endured years of domestic abuse from her husband, Sykes. She works tirelessly to take care of the family, with little, if any, input from him, and instead of being appreciative of her efforts, he beats and bullies her without end.

When she stated the phrase “she knew the cold river was creeping up and up to extinguish that eye” he was revealing that Sykes was dying. He did this by using a cold river to symbolize Death and which would extinguish the eye which was a metaphor for his life.

Hurston presents the snake in “Sweat” as a representation of evil. Because the snake represents evil in this story, it is closely linked with Sykes, who is an abusive man. The bullwhip Sykes tosses onto Delia resembles a snake. Later he brings a rattlesnake to his house to terrorize his wife.

Sykes bring a snake into the house, hoping to scare Delia out. She finds it in the laundry basket and runs away in fright. That night, Sykes gets bitten by the snake. He dies, and Delia is free.

c Itis ironic that Sykes is killed by the snake he brought to the house to torment Delia.

Sykes buys a snake to torture Delia and make her afraid to be in their home, a home that her many long years of work has paid for. In a twist of fate, the snake ends up killing Sykes and freeing Delia from a poisonous marriage, something she realizes as she watches him die.