Waiting for the Sun :: Essays Paper

Waiting for the Sun 1 The theme of "Sweat" [Titles] is that in a fight between good and evil, good wins out eventually, because any evil done will come back to the source in time. There are three concepts that support this theme. They are conflict, irony and symbolism. 2 The conflict of the story is good vs. evil. Delia is good. She goes to church on a regular basis, sometimes more often than regularly. She continues to stay and fulfill her marital responsibilities, regardless of the fact that her husband is cruel. [She also kills Sykes, or at least lets him die.] 3 [Combine with previous paragraph.] Sykes is evil. He cheats on his wife and abuses her mentally, physically and verbally. The most evil thing Sykes does is let the snake loose in Delia’s hamper. His intent is that the snake will attack and bite Delia. Delia would die from the snake’s venom, and then she would be out of his life. 4 Irony supports the theme of this story. Sykes puts the snake into the hamper so that it will bite Delia when she goes to do the laundry. Instead, Delia gets away from the snake, and Sykes gets bit. This is ironic because Delia said, â€Å"What goes over the devils back, is got to come over his belly,†(762) earlier in the story. [What Delia says undercuts the irony.] 5 [Combine with previous paragraph.] Another irony of the story is when Delia notices there is only one match left. She curses Sykes for never getting any, and then she lights her lantern. When Sykes goes to get one, the match safe is empty. He is left in the dark because he never bought any matches. [Wouldn't one expect no matches if no one bought any? I don't see the irony.] 6 The most important concept of this story is symbolism. Sykes kicks a pile of white laundry, which symbolizes ["is"?] an evil act. The laundry is white which symbolizes good. Sykes â€Å"stepped roughly on the whitest pile† (761). A snake symbolizes evil or death. In the story the snake delivers the death.