Free Essay About A Literary Analysis On The Short Story “The Shawl” By Cynthia Ozick

English

Cynthia Ozick (born April 17, 1928) is a famous American writer and essayist. Ozick is of Jewish origin, and her well-known works as “The Puttermesser Papers” (1997), “The Pagan Rabbi and Other Stories” (1971) and “The Shawl” (1989) are penetrated with the themes about Jewish-American life during the Holocaust and after it. In this essay, I would like to parse the short story “The Shawl” written by Cynthia Ozick. This story is considered as one of the greatest examples of the vivid descriptions of the post-Nazi times.

The symbolism of the story;

The story “The Shawl” describes an amount of variable historical and psychological themes of the Second World War. The first one is a theme of the Holocaust;

The third literary theme raised in this story is the moral problems during the horrible years;

Conclusion
I consider these themes are still of great significance. People should remember their history, and Cynthia Ozick, with the help of her bright and vivid characters, creates a real picture of life and death.

The symbolism of the story

The main symbol of this story is depicted with the help of a shawl. Rosa’s shawl serves as her symbol of a mother’s courage and dedication to a child. She protects Magda during their living in the concentration camp and tries to save her from death. Rosa realizes that if she runs to save Magda, the soldiers will kill them all. She fights with the last struggles of her daughter Magda with an inhuman power. The symbol of an unbroken human spirit is the most powerful symbols of the history, and Cynthia Ozick uses it skillfully in her descriptions of those historic events (PINSKER 395).
Another ‘hidden’ symbol is “the Yellow star” on Rosa’s coat. The Nazi used to sew to the clothes of Jewish people the yellow Stars of David. This ‘brand’ singled Jewish people out from the crowd of other prisoners. The Nazi soldiers kept prisoners in starving and exhausting conditions. The fact that Magda had a blonde hair and bright blue eyes serves as an implying detail to the fact that Rosa had been raped by one of the German soldiers. E.g. “You could think she was one of their babies” (Wikispaces 516).
The description of the concentration camp suggests the miserable conditions in which the prisoners were kept. The metaphor “flowers and rain of excrements” reflects the inner life of people in those concentration camps. Magda was killed because of a high voltage of the fence that separated Jews from freedom.

The Holocaust.

“The Shawl” tells the reader about a fragment of a life story of a young Jewish woman Rosa. Rosa, her baby child Magda and her fourteen-year-old niece Stella survive in the horrible conditions of a concentration camp during the Holocaust. They starve and struggle for a basis life conditions. Magda, usually hidden in a linen shawl, dies because of her cousin’s desire to end with her, in order to eat Magda afterwards. Nevertheless, a line of events leads to inevitable consequences (PINSKER 401).
The theme of the Holocaust is seen beforehand with the implication of foreknowledge used but the author. E.g.: “smooth feathers of her [Magda’s] hair nearly a yellow as the Star sewn into Rosa’s coat” (Wikispaces 516). This special implying detail extends through the whole text. The style of this text itself is an implication of foreknowledge because the story finds its continuation in the 2nd part. This story belongs to the belles-lettres literary style. The author chooses an entrusted narration as a type of narrative. There are few implications of monologues during the text. The author chooses this type of narrative because produces a true-to-life affect upon the reader (Thomas-Hicks, 2010).

The moral problems

The moral problems of “The Shawl” are represented in two ways. The first one is seen through the contrast between Rosa and Stella. The second one is depicted through Magda’s death.
Magda’s death. It was Stella who, in fact, killed Magda. Stella wanted to seize the “magical” shawl that has been “feeding” Magda for three days and nights. She stole the shawl from the girl just because she was cold. In such conditions, people stop being people themselves. The Holocaust caused such terrifying consequences as murder, cannibalism, and treason. Stella belongs exactly to this type of mad with grief people. She is able to survive everything and nothing else is able to prevent this. Magda was taken by the soldiers and thrown out to the electric fence. Rosa thinks “She [Magda] looked like a butterfly touching a silver vine” (Wikispaces 519). Rosa squeezes the shawl in her mouth, feeling like a little Magda, in order not to cry and shout, because she will be killed too (Cengage 1).
Conclusion
“The Shawl” written by Cynthia Ozick is a breathtaking story dedicated to the fallen victims of the Holocaust. The story of suffering and surviving of Jewish people is depicted in the story of one woman named Rosa. Ozick illustrates Rosa’s life with a number of imagery and hidden symbolisms. They conceal a secret grief, pain, and inevitability. However, the author gives hope for the future too. The main aim of this short story is to remind of our history. The emptiness in hearts of those who survived the War is eternal. The only possible thing for our generation to do is to remember and to follow the lessons.
Cynthia Ozick’s “The Shawl” is considered as one of the best examples of literature dedicated to the history of the Holocaust. This story won in a Henry prize Stories competition, and in 1981 was included in Best American Short Stories.

Works cited

Cengage, Gale. “The Shawl” by Cynthia Ozick. Overview.” Masterpieces of American Fiction. Web. 15 Feb. 2015 
PINSKER, SANFORD. "Four Jewish Novelists Facing Aging Differently." Sewanee Review 121.3 (2013): 393-402. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Thomas-Hicks, Molly. “The Shawl” by Cynthia Ozick”. The National Endowment for the Arts. Web. 10 Jan. 2014
Wikispaces. “The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick”. Web. 26 Mar. 2010