Religious Symbolism in "Sweat" Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat" is a tale full of moral and religious parallels. This story is about an ordinary African American working woman from the Deep South and how she clings to her faith in God to 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 at 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 relentless physical and emotional abuse. From the beginning Delia represents diligence in work, humility and holy virtue. This protagonist is described as physically weak but spiritually strong. Diametrically opposed to Delia's character is her husband Sykes. Sykes Jones seems to oppose Delia in her every word and action. He is physically abusive towards his wife, unvirtuous as an adulterer, and 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 his brute strength and violent attitude. Some 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 his virtue and saintly tendencies as he humbly tolerates Sykes' torment. The religious association between snakes and evil is prevalent in two instances in 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. Furthermore, later in the story, Sykes places a real snake just outside the front door 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, when Satan took the form of a serpent. The snake symbolism in "Sweat" subtly and cleverly illustrates Sykes as an evil antagonistic character. The scheme of good against.