This story is useful for developing empathy with victims of domestic violence. In the unfolding of Cleofilas's life, the reader learns about the isolation, desperate hope, and denial of someone caught in the cycles of abuse. The cultural factors of immigration to a border town add depth to the reader's appreciation of the complexity of this destructive pattern.
             Throughout the entirety of our lives, we will all be faced with challenges and decisions that we may later come to regret, but despite these regrets we learn to move forward and use them as a learning experience. Sometimes we ignorantly base our view of the world on things we have seen on television shows or in Cleofilas case, telénovelas. This sense of blind ignorance can lead us to make decision that we never thought we would have to make, such as deciding whether or not to stay in a violent relationship.
             However, there are some things that despite a person's ignorance can be the key to freedom. In "Woman Hollering Creek", Cleofilas is a young woman who is excited to marry Juan Pedro and move up North to Seguin, Texas, but she soon finds out that her life won't be like the telénovelas she once loved to watch. On the way to Seguin, Cleofilas notices that the name of the arroyo they pass is called 'La Gritona-Woman Hollering' and she can't help but think "such a funny name for a creek so pretty and full of happily ever after" (222). This name intrigues Cleofilas because she cannot seem to comprehend why it is called as it is. Everyone she asks does not question the name, little less understand it (221), which baffles Cleo.
             Throughout the story I think that part of Cleofilas' problem was that she was mainly a product of her background and traditions. I say this because in my eyes Cleofilas only dreamed of "passion in its purest crystalline essence. The kind the books and songs and telenovelas describe whe
             ...