Religious Symbolism in "Sweat" "Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston is a short story rich in moral and religious parallels. This story is about an ordinary African American woman working in the Deep South and how she clings to her faith in God to help her overcome the difficulties caused by her faithful and abusive husband. Throughout this story, there is religious symbolism that characterizes Delia and Sykes Jones as two people on opposite ends of the moral spectrum but bound by marital vows that have lost their meaning. Delia Jones is a hard-working woman who uses her faith in God to guide and protect her from her husband's incessant physical and emotional abuse. From the beginning, Delia represents diligence in work, humility and holy virtue. This protagonist is portrayed as being physically weak but spiritually strong. Her husband Sykes is diametrically opposed to Delia's character. Sykes Jones seems to oppose Delia in her every word and action. He is physically violent towards his wife, unvirtuous to the extent that he is an adulterer, and he takes advantage of Delia's hard work by spending the money she earns on her lover. While Sykes is physically strong and has no virtue or faith in God, Delia's strength lies in her religion and humble tolerance towards her husband which ultimately proves to prevail over her brute strength and attitude. abusive. Certain objects and situations in the story suggest the influence of religion. The white clothes that Delia washes in the story are symbolic of her character. White represents her virtue and saintly tendencies as she humbly tolerates Sykes' torment. The religious association of snakes and evil is prevalent in two instances of this story. Sykes at one point uses a whip to scare Delia by rubbing it on her and making her think it was a snake. Also, later in the story, Sykes places a real snake right outside the door of their house for the sole purpose of scaring Delia. These two examples could be seen as a biblical allusion as in the story of Adam and Eve where Satan took the form of a serpent. The snake symbolism in "Sweat" subtly and cleverly illustrates Sykes as an evil antagonistic character..