A COMPARISON OF TYPES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN ZORA NEALE HURSTON’S “SWEAT” AND IN SANDRA CISNEROS’S “WOMAN HOLLERING CREEK”

Abstract

. This study reveals the types of domestic violence in “Sweat†by Zora Neale Hurston and “Woman Hollering Creek†by Sandra Cisneros. The discussion will involve the types of abuse, the reactions of the victims, and the similarities and differences about the abuse in the two selected short stories. This study is designed to interpret phenomena of life associated to domestic violence reflected in the selected stories. Thus, this is a qualitative study. As the discussion is focused on the characters’ psychological aspects, the extrinsic approach is applied.  The study finds out that the types of domestic violence that exist in the stories are emotional/psychological violence and physical violence and the victims of the abuse response somewhat differently to the abuse. The reactions of the abuse victim in Hurston’s “Sweat†include taking the violent silently and then to be moved to fight back, and the reactions of the abuse victim in Cisneros “Woman Hollering Creek†include  taking the violent silently and then making an effort to be free from the abuse by getting help from other people. The analysis also shows that the two short stories contain both similarities and differences.