FREE ESSAY ON FAITH CAN CONQUER ALL

FAITH CAN CONQUER ALL

Faith Can Conquer All
For the past week, people all over the world have had their eyes on the 2000 Olympic
Games in Sydney, Australia. Along with the many different Olympic sports, there are many
different winners...of all shapes and sizes. However, it is not the different physical
appearances of
these athletes that are interesting, but the different styles of winning. Some athletes
receive their
gold and proclaim their superiority. Others win gold and put people down in the midst of
their
victory, such as Svetlana Khorkina. This Russian gymnast won a gold medal in individual
competition, but in her first interview condemned Sydney's Olympic organization, whom she
felt
was responsible for the error in vault height. And then finally there are other athletes
who win
with modesty and thank those that helped them along the way. Laura Wilkinson is an
American
platform diver who recently won a gold medal in just this way. Not only did she thank
those who
helped her achieve success, but she thanked God, whom she felt was responsible for her
win.
After realizing she won the gold, Wilkinson said, "I can do all things through Christ
which
strengthens me." Her faith in God won her a gold medal. Similar unfaltering faith is
displayed in
Hurston's short story, "Sweat." The female character, Delia, presents her faith in
different ways to
gain victory by overcoming her heartless husband. Delia, in Zora Hurston's story "Sweat,"
uses
blind faith, tolerance, and courage to demonstrate her confidence in God which always
leads to
triumph. 
Delia's first, most impressive confirmation of reliance on God, is her blind faith which
steers the way to final independence from her husband. Delia is a very religious person,
which in
itself proves her assurance in God. She drives her pony four miles to the church every
Sunday rain
or shine to sing her praises to God. On one occasion, Delia stays all evening at church
and
continues to sing all the way home: "Jurden water, black an' col' 
Chills de body, not de soul An' 
Ah wantah cross Jurden in uh calm time." (pg. 413) 
This particular song is actually a literary allusion to the river Jordan in Palestine
which signifies
deliverance, symbolizing Delia's freedom from her husband's cruelty at the end of the
story. Delia
also shows blind faith at a moment of weakness. In this instance, Delia is hiding in the
barn
terrified of the rattlesnake which had been let loose in the house. Many people during a
moment
of weakness would not easily gain comfort by faith, but Delia relinquishes her fears to
God and
trusts that She would take care of the rest. Delia says, "Well, Ah done de bes' Ah could.
If things
aint right, Gawd knows taint mah fault." And finally, Delia blindly proves her beliefs in
God when
she lets Syke beat on her repeatedly. In another allusion, Delia says, "Syke, like
everyone else, is
gointer reap his sowing." (pg. 409) She wants to leave it to God to help her conquer her
husband's violence. This quote is great foreshadowing of what will come at the end of
the
story...Syke's unlucky encounter with the snake. God in fact does give Syke what he
deserves in
the end, so Delia's blind faith is in fact truth. 
Delia also displays her reliance in God through her unfaltering tolerance. Tolerance is
an
important factor in Delia's life since she deals with her husband's constant cheating.
Her tolerance
with Syke's arrogant affair directly confirms Delia's belief that God will take care of
his
wrongdoings. Delia reflects upon her marriage which has been full of Syke's' other women:
"Too
late now to hope for love, even if it were not Bertha it would be someone else." (pg.
409) By
continuing to have faith that God will set Syke straight in the end, Delia handles her
cheating
husband unlike most women would. In fact, Delia is so tolerant that she avoids situations
where
she could see her husband and his woman in order to be "blind and deaf." (pg. 411) Delia
also
trusts her faith as she is tolerant of all of her husband's harsh actions including his
physical abuse
to her. It takes a strong spiritual person like Delia to believe that a Higher Power will
protect her
from physical abuse. Delia also tolerates Syke's cruel actions toward her job as a
washwoman,
which she takes great pride in: "But she was a washwoman, and Monday morning meant a
great
deal to her." (pg. 407) Delia lives with his constant verbal abuse about her job as well
as the
physical dirtying of her previously washed laundry. Only faith could provoke someone to
tolerate
those cruelties. 
Finally, Delia's fortitude in dealing with her husband exemplifies her remarkable faith
and
leads to her freedom from her husband . Courage sparked by faith is the strongest, and
Delia
definitely possesses such when standing up for herself to her abusive husband Syke. In
the
instance when Syke literally threatens Delia's well being she has the courage to respond
to him,
"She was on her feet, her poor little body, her bare knuckly hands bravely defying the
strapping
hulk before her." (pg. 408) This inner strength and the Higher Power which leads to the
courageous response is one in the same for Delia. If she had not had faith that God is
behind her
she would not have spoken. More courageous efforts by Delia are made to save her
marriage, a
marriage she is even struggling to survive: "Delia had attempted a timid friendliness,
but she was
repulsed each time. It was plain that the breaches must remain agape." (pg. 412) The
metaphor
expresses the helplessness of the marriage despite Delia's courageous efforts to try.
Delia has faith
that, even after this let down, things will work out because God will take care of her.
Delia gets
more and more courage from her Almighty and becomes successfully defiant with her
violent
husband. In a dialect that reflects the south, Delia alludes to the bible yet another
time, "'My cup
is done run ovah.' Delia said this with no signs of fear and Syke departed from the
house..." (pg.
413) And finally, the most important act of faith through courage is when she hears Syke
calling
but doesn't respond. She believes things happen as God's will and doesn't respond for
that
reason. Syke's harsh medicine has been thrown back at him two-fold, as Delia's strong
faith
predicted. Delia has overcome her internal conflict of standing up for herself to her
husband, and
ultimately is rewarded for her faith by the death of Syke in the end...as faith always
leads to
positive results. 
In the end, all Delia's virtues of faith come together to conquer her major difficulties
dealing with Syke . In fact, her virtues of blind faith, tolerance, and courage help her
conquer
Syke altogether with his unfortunate death. Because Delia believes that God will somehow
make
things better for her, things were made better. Like Syke, nobody wants to end up in a
deadly
situation, but Syke doesn't have faith enough to be saved from his dire clash with the
snake.
Perhaps if he had possessed stronger beliefs in a Higher Power, things would have been
different
for him. Maybe Delia would have felt it more courageous to go and help Syke, instead of
leaving
him alone. However, it is Delia who has the ongoing confidence in God, and it is Delia
who
triumphs.