Introduction to Feminism in “Sweat” and “Everyday Use”
The sense of awakening among African Americans emerged after the Harlem Renaissance but it was slow and gradual though it first entered the realm of story writing and fiction and before creeping into the public psyche. Alice Walker and Zora Neal Hurston are two popular female African American voices, who have given a different shape to story writing with African American female experience and collective consciousness. In their stories, they have presented black African American female characters in such a way that they become independent by the end of the stories not only in their thinking like mom but also in their actions like Delia Jones of “Sweat.” Such developments give them an edge over their males and so-called African American male chauvinism although the female body has also become merely an object for sexual appeal and pleasure (Collins 77). Also, both have selected racial discrimination as the major theme for their stories, the reason that their approach is toward feminism or better to say toward the uplift of black sexuality or African American women. It is because both have presented characters, which not only lead to their own independence but also their better thinking and pragmatic approach to life. Zora’s Skyes tells it clearly to Delia, “You sho is one aggravatin’ n****r woman” (Hurston 241) and Zora knows that this n****r woman should be independent to ward off the torture of Sykes, while mom knows that she is a “big-boned woman with rough … hands” (Walker 358). But Maggie should not be dependent on anybody, though Dee has won over the circumstances. Therefore, Zora Neal Hurston and Alice Walker in their respective stories “Sweat” and “Everyday Use” are not the only proponents of female independence, but also demonstrate the decline of male domination and women’s pragmatic approach toward life and their siblings.
Feminism: Women’s Independence in “Sweat” and “Everyday Use”
Not only Alice Walker but also Zora Neal Hurston has presented female characters who are either independent, or vie for independence, or at least try their best and win their independence disregarding the fact that they wait and see the male members getting killed in this connection. The mother in “Everyday Use” knows that her educated daughter Dee is successful, while disabled Maggie is not because Dee “had a style of her own” (360). However, Maggie was dependent on her, and she knew the pains of having no independence. This happens in the absence of a male member of the family. Even Dee is aware of this as she tells Maggie at the end, “You out to try” which means independence that she is asking her about (364). However, in Zora Neal Hurston, it is Delia Jones who stays under male domination for quite a long time and suffers torture and cruelty at the hands of her husband, Sykes. He used to terrify her and in this attempt was “almost rolled on the ground in his mirth” though he used to do nothing (241). Yet when the time comes, “she saw him on his hands and knees” (251). It was time for her to become independent and she knew that the “cold river was creeping up” (251). This is independence from the torture and suffering that she must go through for a long. As a student, Rachel Carazo has stated in her paper that this is “independence [of Delia], but only by assuming a male-oriented stance” (Carazo). It means that she has transformed her role to win independence.
Feminism and Patriarchy in “Sweat” and “Everyday Use”
Male domination and male chauvinism in both stories are either absent or on the decline. In the case of Delia Jones in “Sweat,” Sykes does what he can to roll “on the ground in his mirth” (241) but it gradually declines as he does not perform his essential role of a breadwinner. He merely makes fun of Delia whatever she does to earn her living. That is why in the end when a rattlesnake he brings for Delia bites him, she merely looks at him and does nothing. She even does not support him when he “crept an inch or two” (248) which means that his male domination is now going to end. Whereas Mom and Maggie are concerned, they have no male in the family. She has done whatever she can to educate Dee and support Maggie. There is a male member Hakmi-e-Barbar, but he is associated with Dee and money, not Maggie and mom. It means that male domination and male chauvinism are absent in the story. Alice Walker has made African Americans independent without male domination about which she is of the view that they are on the decline, or perhaps they have lost their sense of responsibility toward the female of the family. However, it does not mean that women hate male domination, or male presence. In fact, they love it as mom mentions their Uncle Buddy, Henry, and their Grandfather Jarrell as they have preserved their relics “Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform that he wore in the Civil War” but it is just to the point of preservation (361).
Practical Femininity in “Sweat” and “Everyday Use”
Women of Alice Walker and Zora Neal Hurston in “Everyday Use” and “Sweat” are not only pragmatic but also brave and bold. Delia Jones suffers as long as she could bear. The only problem with her is that she has no man at home with her. That is why Sykes is the only male person at home. However, when he crosses all the limits and makes her a butt of his barbaric jokes, she ignores him though she does not kill him. But it is all the same enough for him. The same is the case of mom. She knows that Dee is beautiful and stylish, and she can have her own life. However, the issue is Maggie who cannot walk without her help. She is not as smart as Dee. Therefore, when at the end, Dee asks her to have quilts as they seem to be symbols of heritage, she turns to Maggie and states that it is for her. That is why mom states that I “hugged Maggie” and then puts everything in “Maggie’s lap” (361) — a way that she shows her displeasure at the treatment of her daughter. This is her pragmatism. She knows that Dee has succeeded in her life, but Maggie depends on her because there is no male member in her home to support them.
Conclusion of “Sweat” and “Everyday Use”
In short, Zora Neal Hurston and Alice Walker have given a good picture of African American women. In her story “Sweat,” Zora Neal Hurston has presented Sykes to show how irresponsible and cruel black men are towards their own men. Therefore, women of the African American race not only suffer from racial discrimination but also from their own men. Therefore, both Alice Walker and Zora Neal Hurston have presented their female characters wishing to be independent and touchy about their siblings while removing male domination to assert their own feminism in their respective stories “Sweat” and “Everyday Use.”
Works Cited
- Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Sexual Politics. Rutledge, New York. 2009. Print.
- Cazaro, Rachel. “Feminism Through Religion in Hurston’s “Sweat.” African African. African. n. d. Web. 06 Aug. 2023.
- Hurston, Zora Neal. “Sweat” Charters, Anne. The Story and Its Writer. New York: Bedford /St. Martins, 2014. 241-251
- Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use” Charters, Anne. The Story and Its Writer. New York: Bedford /St. Martins, 2014. 358-362
