Love and belonging across cultures: A comparative study of two Asian short stories

Al Humairoh, Jihan and Thoyib, Muhammad Edy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2099-1289 (2025) Love and belonging across cultures: A comparative study of two Asian short stories. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literature, 10 (1). pp. 246-266. ISSN 2502-7816

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Abstract

Love and belonging are universal and essential to human needs as they transcend cultural boundaries. This comparative study conducts an analysis of Xi Xi's A Woman Like Me, set in Hongkong, and Agus Noor's Kisah Cinta Perempuan Perias Mayat, set in Indonesia. Both short stories narrate the struggles of their protagonists with love, belonging, rejection, and social isolation. Therefore, this study aims to analyze how the social stigma associated with professional activities related to or leading to death stands in the protagonists' way in regard to satisfying their emotional needs, to establish how social rejection and isolation contribute to their self-concept development, and to show attempts they make to fulfill the need to be loved and to belong in spite of cultural barriers. This literary criticism applies Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and a qualitative comparative literature approach to illustrate the cross-cultural challenges in Hong Kong and Indonesia. The results indicate that while both protagonists strive for love and belonging, they are alienated by society due to their professions. Cultural aspects also revealed how Hong Kong and Indonesia's view of death shape their experiences of rejection. This study places emphasis on the intersection of character motivation in the pursuit of love and belonging, societal isolation and rejection caused by negative stigmatisation across cultures.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Keywords:	Love and belonging needs; Social stigma; Social isolation; Comparative literature
Subjects:	20 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 2002 Cultural Studies > 200202 Asian Cultural Studies 20 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 2002 Cultural Studies > 200205 Culture, Gender, Sexuality 20 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 2002 Cultural Studies > 200209 Multicultural, Intercultural and Cross-cultural Studies 20 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 2005 Literary Studies > 200516 Indonesian Literature 20 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 2005 Literary Studies > 200522 Other Asian Literature (excl. South-East Asian) 20 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 2005 Literary Studies > 200524 Comparative Literature Studies 20 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 2005 Literary Studies
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities > Department of Arabic Language and Letters
Depositing User:	Muhammad Edy Thoyib
Date Deposited:	16 Apr 2025 10:38

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