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The Shawl Analysis

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The theme of survival within Cynthia Ozick’s “The Shawl” presents itself through a shawl that represents life, survival, and death. Each character has their own unique relationship to the shawl; it is essential to their individual choices in trying to survive in the concentration camp. The author pulls details from the setting of the camp and the point of views of Rosa and Stella to further explain to why the shawl plays such an important part to the survival of the three characters and the choices they make.

The concentration camp setting shows the shawl becoming increasingly more important to the role of survival in each of the character’s lives. The harsh weather demands the shawl’s protection from the elements and inspires Stella’s jealousy …show more content…

“They were in a place without pity, all pity was annihilated in Rosa” (Ozick), and yet even as “Rosa knew Magda was going to die very soon” (Ozick), she used what she described as a magic shawl to prolong her hope for her daughter’s survival. The shawl is a safe space for Rosa to give her daughter, symbolizing how strong a mother’s love is; the shawl conceals Magda’s existence, nourishing the infant for “three days and three nights" (Ozick), and keeps Magda still and mute. The shawl is absolutely necessary to Magda’s survival, but an obstacle for Stella. Without the shawl, Stella is cold and left to fend for herself. Stella "wanted to be wrapped in a shawl, hidden away, asleep..." (Ozick). Stella is jealous of the protection Magda receives concealed in the shawl, and makes the choice to take it to help her survive with no remorse. The shawl even saves Rosa when she uses it to stifle the screams and control her impulse to run after Magda as she was killed, an action that would have surely resulted in her own …show more content…

The shawl may have caused Magda 's death, but helped prolong her life, even by just a few days. The shawl represents how much love a person could have for someone, or something, and try to use any resource to make sure it is preserved and protected. This story and its historical background are valuable to share because it doesn 't change throughout time. Most people know about the Holocaust and the terror many faced at that time. This story shows humanized characters and plays out their emotions and anguish. This gives an insight of just a few crisis the Jews had to

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This is demonstrated through the characters who struggle with unresolved trauma, precisely because they lack the support and emotional connection provided by familial relationships. These characters serve as a contrast to those who are able to overcome their trauma through the support of family members, further emphasizing the importance of familial connections in the healing process. Stella, the first character introduced in the story, struggles with trauma following the death of her mother. Quotes from the text reveal that she appears "pretty rough, like depressed, or postpartum" (Vermette 246), indicating that her mother's death is still fresh and causing her pain. This is attributed to her lack of connection with her family members, as she admits that “It has been months since she's seen her family” (Vermette 87).

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Lastly, Stella shows the act of control which is knowing you have the power of your actions and decisions. While waiting for the police to arrive at her house on the night of the assault, Stella decided to clean her house, having everything spotless and in its place by the time the police arrived. Days after the assault and visit of the police Stella continues to clean her house even though it is not necessary, but the knows it is one of the only things she has

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Wiesel emphasizes the point that the holocaust impacted others to the point where they were content with death. He wanted others to know that no one should ever have to endure a terrifying situation like the holocaust or even have the thought about choosing death instead of living. World War II affected Wiesel immensely, where he thought that surrendering his life is the only option left since he was tired from all the hardships that the Nazis inflicted on the him and the Jews. By chapter 7, Wiesel said, “My mind was invaded suddenly by this realization-- there was no more reason to live, no more reason to struggle”. The audience can feel Wiesel is in pain.

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She doesn 't know how hard life is with her sister and mother. Dee only cares about what she wants and she talks down on her family. She believes her sister could not use the quilts in a way she thought they should be used. " Maggie can 't appreciate these quilts!" she said.

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Meanwhile, having a good strong amount of perseverance is very helpful and important for someone having to endure, including the women of Afghanistan. In the beginning, when a bomb destroyed Laila’s home, killing her family, Rasheed saves her from the wreckage and Mariam works hard and perseveres to nurse Laila back to health, “... Mariam rub antibiotic ointment on the cuts on the girl’s face and neck, and on the sutured gashes on her shoulder, across her forearms and lower legs” (Hosseini 200). Little did Mariam know, but she and Laila would become great friends later on, and they both would show perseverance for each other 's friendship and sisterhood. “Mariam slowly grew accustomed to this tentative but pleasant companionship.

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A relationship between a father and a son is a sacred bond, one created at birth and strengthened over time. This paternal relationship is core to the value of family, a likewise bond of faith and trust. Such bonds are tested during times of hardship and pain, seen most clearly during times of war. During the events of World War II, and the gruesome events of the Holocaust, this truth was never more true. Through works such as the memoir Night, by survivor Elie Wiesel, and the artistry of the 1997 film Life is Beautiful, directed by Roberto Benigni, these times of hardships are kept alive in common memory.

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She also prefers keeping her past to herself because of all the problems she has had. She prefers for people to not find out what has happened and why she is the way it is. An example is when Blanche panicked because they took off the little paper covering the lamp which made the room dim and got pissed because she did not want to show how she looks. Stanley is shown to be the “manliest man” but he is unstable and irrational when he realizes what he has done when the damage has been done. For example, when Stanley physically abused Stella he realized what he had done when he was brought back to his senses.

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Stella is resentful and angry. She does not try to escape the reality she is faced with but allows it to negatively affect her attitude towards her sister and her mother. For example Ozick explains “Then Stella took the shawl away and made Magda die. Afterward Stella said: ”I was cold.” And Afterward she was always cold, always.

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“the quilts are the central symbol of the story representing the connectedness of history and intergenerational tries of the family” (“everyday use”). This means that the quilts mean heritage and remind the daughters of grand mom dee. The quilts are fought over at the end of the story because of the meaning of them. One daughter wants them for everyday use and one wants them just to have them because it means heritage to her. The mother at the end of the story agrees that they should be used for everyday use.

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When he is questioned by Blanche in front of his friends he throws a fit, in a way that could be interpreted into showing off for his friends. He takes his anger out on Stella and hits her. After Stella leaves with Blanche, he calls for her nonstop until she finally comes back to him. He needs Stella just as much as she needs

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Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night tells the personal tale of his account of the inhumanity and brutality the Nazis showed during the Holocaust. Night depicts the story of a young Jew from the small town of Sighet named Eliezer. Wiesel and his family are deported to the concentration camp known as Auschwitz. He must learn to survive with his father’s help until he finds liberation from the horror of the camp. This memoir, however, hides a greater lesson that can only be revealed through careful analyzation.

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The Holocaust was an immoral machination orchestrated by the Nazi’s to eliminate any person who did not meet their criteria of a human. Millions were interned in camps all around Europe. Each person who survived the Holocaust has a different story. Within Elie Wiesel’s Night (2006) and the movie “Life is Beautiful” (2000) two different perspectives on the Holocaust are presented to audiences both however deal with the analogous subjects faced by prisoners. Inside both works you can find the general mood of sadness.

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Stella tells Blanche “I like to wait on you, Blanche. It makes it seem more like home”(pg 93). In the poem in line 18 to 20 the speaker says “I do not live to retrieve or multiply what my father lost or gained”(Baca). We can assume that the father in the poem was enduring hardships and their child was very able to see that. The hardships were so difficult that the child doesn’t want to be at all associated with

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At times, it appears unviable for one’s life to transform overnight in just a few hours. However, this is something various individuals experienced in soul and flesh as they were impinged by those atrocious memoirs of the Holocaust. In addition, the symbolism portrayed throughout the novel Night, written by Elie Wiesel, presents an effective fathoming of the feelings and thoughts of what it’s like to undergo such an unethical circumstance. For instance, nighttime plays a symbolic figure throughout the progression of the story as its used to symbolize death, darkness of the soul,

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Stella lived her life depending on him whereas Blanche was currently on her own after her marriage and had no one to depend on but herself. Unfortunately there was a commotion that occured in scene 4 between Stanley and Stella. Blanche went to check up on Stella and was brutally convincing her to leave Stanley. The way that Stella responded to her made her look naive over the fact that Stanley was the issue. When Blanche and Stella were talking, Stella goes, “Stanley doesn’t give me a regular allowance, he likes to pay bills himself but this morning he gave me ten dollars to smooth things over (Williams, 78).

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