In his essay “The Battle for My Body” Richard Rhodes relives the two of the most difficult years of his childhood, the period during which he lived with his father and his stepmother, Anne. She was a selfish and sadistic woman and as Rhodes says, “we never did call her Mother…” (45). Anne made it her mission to abuse Rhodes and his brother and she employed a variety of methods to do so: she beat them, she fed them spoiled foods, and she refused to let them used the bathroom at night. The boys, too young fight back, had no choice but to suffer. The first method Anne used to abuse the boys was to beat them viciously if they broke a house rule.
Battered woman syndrome is described as “a physical and psychological condition of a woman who has undergone emotional, physical, or sexual abuse from a counterpart” (Khana and Sachdeva, (2015, p.8). Heavenfire and Falardeau’s relationship was plagued with violence. Several witnesses for the prosecution and defence noted seeing bruising on Heavenfire on multiple occasions. A particular witness, Linda Newton, a counselor at a vocational college “saw bruising on her face on at least five occastions” (Sheehy, 2014, p.134).
In the same page, he also tells how a woman killed his wife’s cousin in the cruelest way. Afterwards, he talks about the horrible feeling this murder produced throughout the entire community. Douglass also recounts the experience of watching the slaveholder whip his aunt until she was covered in blood and the pleasure the slaveholder seemed to take in it. The graphic description of her abuse makes readers feel the same anger Douglass must have
(2020). The Simplification of Domestic Violence in Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us (2016). 10.2991/assehr.k.200729.015. Accessed 9 Feb. 2023.
Throughout the narrative, the author includes his personal stories about experiencing the violence of slavery first-hand. For example, on page 20, he writes about the first time he witnessed a slave, his own aunt, getting the whip. “The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest…I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition… It struck me with awful force. It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery…” The author including his experience of his aunts whipping, in detail, appeals to the emotions of the reader.
This quote gives readers an insight to Sally’s life as she navigates abuse in her house and provides an idea how many kids make up lies about this abuse which can make it hard for them to receive help. “Next week she comes over black and blue and asks what she can do?” (Cisneros 53). This quote from Minerva gives us a better idea of domestic and partner abuse within life. We can also see how this abuse causes Minerva to be confused and uncertain about her relationship and this pain coming from a partner.
What would you do if you had a gun pointed at your head by your spouse several times? Or beaten twice a week? Leslie Morgan Steiner, has been though domestic abuse and creates a speech to answer a question most people ask, “Why does she stay?” (Steiner). In the speech logos, pathos and ethos are used to make her point proven on how domestic abuse is an important issue and why it need to be spoken about.
III. Preview Statement: Today I am going to discuss the prevalence and reality of domestic violence against single women and mothers in our society, how The Shade Tree helps scared victims become strong survivors, and what we can do in order to help these women and their children during their first steps to freedom. [First,
Was Poe “The Masque of the Red Death, 200 years ago” have been talking about the modern day disease of Ebola? I don't think he was talking about Ebola when he wrote the story. First because I didn't really even hear about Ebola till like 4th grade and he wrote this story 200 years ago.
I have seen people beaten on television and in the movies. I had seen the red blood substitute streak across their backs and heard their well-rehearsed screams. But I hadn’t lain nearby and smelled their sweat or heard them pleading and praying, shamed before their families and themselves. I was probably less prepared for the reality than the child crying not far from me. In fact, she and I were reacting very much alike.
Sundberg argues that one of the reasons domestic violence is so misunderstood is because we tend to view it as a sudden and violent act, rather than a slow and gradual process. She writes, "We think of domestic violence
“We’re afraid, Jamie. That’s all we are. And if we don’t get past it, we’ll be hiding from strangers and throwing up in the sink until the day we die” (Coman, 1995, p. 61). Abusive relationships are seen in everyday life. In Carolyn Coman’s book, What Jamie saw, Jamie’s mother is trying to move on from her abusive partner Van.
In the poem, “The Child Who Walks Backwards”, Lorna Crozier discusses the cover up of parental abuse in narrative style of poetry. Lorna Crozier expresses the point of view as if someone is observing the abuse from the outside, specifically the neighbor to the mother and child. The poem proclaims that the son of a mother constantly runs into things and sleep walks during the night which supposedly were the causes for the marks and injuries that appeared on the young boy. Upon closer analysis, it comes to realization that the child is the victim of abuse. Parental abuse is something that everyone should be wary about because a lot of parents abuse their children and force them to be silent about it.
The abusive actions of men implement fear into women that limits them from doing what is right. The abusive actions of Jody integrated fear into Janie. Although she “fought back with her tongue”. Janie knew that what Jody was doing was wrong because she deserved better; however, she did not have enough courage to stand up for herself in fear of the “more” he would do, hence, falling into Jody’s “submission” (Hurston 71).
Leslie Morgan Steiner is telling her story of being in a domestic violence relationship in a speech, given at Ted Talks. The man who she thought was her soulmate, her one true love, turned out to be a man who has pointed a gun at her head multiple times. While telling her personal story, she is pointing out the different stages in any domestic violence relationship, creating a very clear structure. The domestic violence victims in this speech are represented as not the typical victim of domestic violence, to show that anyone can be a victim of an abuser.
