Delia Jones's Short Story

Delia Jones is the antagonist of this short story. She is an independent, very hard-working, married, African American woman residing in South Florida. Delia is married to a man named Sykes who does not work and has never worked, so Delia is essentially the bread-winner of this small household. She endures long days, and sometimes even longer nights washing the clothing of the more fortunate citizens of her town. Delia is a ‘wash-woman’, yet those countless hours washing other people’s clothes is heaven compared to enduring any amount of time she has to spend with her husband. Sykes is speculated to be an abusive individual, in more ways than one. Sykes is believed to be emotionally, and physically abusive to Delia and it is shown to the reader …show more content…
Sykes tells Bertha that she can have whatever she wants because this is his town and he loves how portly she is instead of his gangly wife. During those three months Delia hardly heard a whisper from her husband. Instead, she worked and sweat, worked and sweat. Delia tried to avoid her neighbors and their gossip. But Bertha quashed Delia’s efforts to a point when she had the nerve came to Delia’s garden gate calling for Sykes. By this point, Delia and Sykes fought nonstop. There was never a peaceful night for Delia. She had attempted to be friendly to Sykes but in the end the thought of it made her sick. Then one day, Delia came home and curiously found that Sykes was there before her. To Delia’s dismay, Sykes had brought home a rattlesnake. Rattlesnakes, and snakes in general, are symbolized as evil and foreboding. The reader can speculate that by bringing the rattlesnake into their home, Sykes has brought evil with him. He asks Delia to have a look in the box and she is instantly petrified. She asks Sykes to get rid of the snake but he outright refuses. Although the rattlesnake had just eaten when Sykes caught it, the snakes starts to grow hungry again and is always rattles around, scaring Delia to death. A few days after the snake is introduced to Delia, she asks her husband to get rid of it again. Sykes again refuses and Delia then lashes out verbally towards him, telling Sykes how much she truly hates him and how she is disgusted by him. To which, after he fully comprehends what Delia said, Sykes feels the same way about her. Delia tells him she will no longer be going with him to church. She will be attending at another church in a neighboring town. This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it is. Not only does she not want to be seen with Sykes, but she also does not want to share any kind of sacrament with