Marxism And Feminism In Sweat By Zora Neal Hurston

Analysis of Marxism and Feminism in a literary work The literary element of Marxist feminism focuses on the idea in which women are oppressed through capitalism and private property. Starting from the Harlem Renaissance the Hurston’s work focuses on issues presenting on the turmoil of African-Americans from American literature in the nineteenth century on. Zora Neal Hurston’s work entitled â€Å"Sweat† is a prime example of how culture is affected by its cultures standards of economic â€Å"base†. The story was published in 1926 during a time of trial and error considering the obstacles that faced many female authors at the time. Hurston’s story â€Å"Sweat† overlaps with her novel â€Å"Their Eyes are Watching God† which also supports the idea that culture†¦show more content†¦Hurston deliberately labels Sykes as the patriarchal male head of the household. In a typical household a man is labeled as â€Å"strong†, â€Å"protective, and â€Å"decisive† one in the family while a woman is typically â€Å"Emotional†, â€Å"motherly†, and â€Å"submissive† (Hurston 85). Sykes physical and emotional abuse can be seen as an outlet to remain a part of the patriarchal rule in which a man subsides and as an outlet to enforce gender rules within the household. An example of his verbal abuse is â€Å"Well you better quit gettin’ me riled up, else they’ll be tottin you out sooner than you expect. Ah’m so tired of you Ah don’t know whut to do! Gawd! How ah hates skinny women!† (Hurston 2). Sykes seems to have no sense of empathy for Delia and continues to physically and emotionally abuse her through violence. He frightens her terribly, condemns her, and doesn’t give one penny to the family. His only concern is keeping her emotionally and physically hurt as he knows that as a woman she is vulnerable. Also in her work â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God the author portrays several examples of feminism and gender roles that are similar to â€Å"Sweat†. Woman are additionally considered the â€Å"weaker sex†. Woman can only gain