Stella Took The Shawl Away Analysis

The change of morality of guards in Zimbardo’s experiment and learners in Milgram’s experiment can relate to Ozick’s interpretation of the negative effects of war on people’s morality by showing how Stella took Magda’s shawl and how the soldiers mistreat Magda. Ozick shows how “Stella took the shawl away and made Magda die”, in order for Stella to survive (Ozick 899). Ozick perfectly uses Stella to show the readers that even kinship can be broken during war time. People only care for themselves during war because it is the only way for outlasting. Although Stella was older than Magda “a thin girl of fourteen”, she can’t conquer her feelings of jealously of Magda. Stella’s morality changes due to the harsh war conditions that makes her selfish

She only stood, because if she ran they would shoot…” (4). The guards and the soldiers are symbols for the change of morality. They have the feeling that it is their right to take over other people’s lives such as Magda’s and the prisoners’, who are also damaged physically from the harsh treatment they receive. When looking at Milgram’s experiment, subjects also treat the students as if they were animals: “Of the 40 subjects, 26 obeyed the orders of the experimenter to the end, proceeding to punish the victim until they reached the most potent shock available on the shock generator”(Milgram). Most of the subjects accept the authority even though they knew that it may be dangerous to shock the victims with high voltage. This behavior reflects the fact that the subjects would do anything against their morality just for obedience. The results of Milgram’s experiment explains the soldiers’ harsh behaviors such as killing innocent people like Magda. The twenty six subjects, who continued the experiment, are similar to Stella: both lost their morality. Ozick also describes the psychological effects of war on