Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat” (1926) and “Spunk” (1925) demonstrates intraracial conflicts through the stories of a troubled marriage and a love triangle. Hurston demonstrates the idea that black spirituality and folklore is a critical element in shaping the social role and lives of black characters in the racial binary. The snake initially represents having a sense of control for Sykes while simultaneously representing vindication for Delia. According to Figure 1, “Sweat" has 20 references to spirituality and 3 references to white people proving that Delia relies heavily on her spiritual relationships opposed to “going to the white folks next time” Sykes laid his hands on her. The dependence on spirituality reverses the need for black characters to be dependent on their white counterparts and instead depend on their own folklore.
Spunk believed a spirit was the cause of his demise and downfall of social mobility in Hurston’s “Spunk”. His spiritual paranoia leads him to believe that “it was Joe, ‘Lige—the dirty sneak shoved [him]". This demonstrates how Hurston’s portrayal of the South was centered around the fear of religious consequences instead of white superiors. Additionally, according to Figure 1, there are 3 references to spirituality and 0 references to white people. This data supports the claim that black characters were more connected to folklore and spiritual relationships opposed to relying on their White counterparts. |
Figure.1
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