The very first line of "The Shawl" is also the story's very first use of imagery. "Stella, cold, cold, the coldness of hell (Ozick 3)." This first sentence sets the tone for a grim and harrowing story. By comparing the coldness of the outside weather to hell, Ozick emphasizes the nightmare that entraps Rosa and her children. Also in the next paragraph, Rosa is described as "not like someone walking but like someone in a faint, in trance, arrested in a fit, someone who is already a floating angel, alert and seeing everything, but in the air, not there, touching the road (Ozick 4)." The "in a faint, in trance" shows Rosa's undying determination, even though it appears as if the determination is the only thing keeping her alive. The "floating angel" shows that Rosa has already partially died and is weak from the struggle. Finally, the "alert and seeing everything touching the road" line emphasizes her separation from her own situation in an attempt to deal with it while still worrying about the very real fears of the Nazi regime after her. .
Stella is another character painted in a certain light by Ozick who, had different imagery been used, could have come off to the reader as a different person. To Rosa, and to the readers, Stella is seen almost as a jealous and obsessive person toward her sister. Stella, however, is also seen as still a teenager, a phase in life wherein the worlds of childhood and adulthood clash and confuse everybody. In the first sentence of "The Shawl," Stella "wanted to be wrapped in a shawl, hidden away, asleep, rocked by the march, a baby, a round infant in arms (Ozick 3)." In this line, Ozick shows the reader that Stella is a girl caught up in a mess she does not want to be in. It also shows the classic longing of any human being under stress to revert to a more calming and fond place in their past. .
Later in the story, Stella takes the shawl away from Magda, claiming she was cold (Ozick 6).
The title, The Shawl, itself is a symbol in the story. ... The shawl also becomes the protection for Rosa. ... She sees the shawl as her protection in the future. The shawl also represents life in this story. ... The shawl is also a symbol of death in the story. ...
Months of captivity has caused Stella's heart to turn cold, and she has always been jealous of Magda and her shawl. One day, Stella takes the shawl away from Magda, saying, " "I was cold" " (677). Magda begins tottering around the barracks searching for her shawl and cries her first words " "Maaa-" " (678). ... Rosa yanks the shawl off Stella and runs to the open door of the barracks. ... She stuffs Magda's shawl into her mouth to keep from screaming and drinks from it until it is dry. ...
Without the shawl in her possession, Rosa is sad and lifeless. Once she receives the shawl through the mail from Stella, she acts as if the package containing the shawl is a treasure chest. "Magda's Shawl!" ... The shawl is a representation of life to both Magda and Rosa. ... Rosa believes that the shawl has come to life, as Magda. ...
The main symbol that appears in "The Shawl" is in fact the shawl itself. ... The shawl is described as a "magic shawl" that could "nourish an infant for three days and three nights" (Ozick 5). ... Stella reveres the shawl for warmth. ... She stole the shawl from the child and the narrator states: "Then Stella took the Shawl away and made Magna die" (Ozick 8). The shawl seems to show the characters values. ...
Months of captivity has caused Stella's heart to turn cold, and she has always been jealous of Magda and her shawl. One day, Stella takes the shawl away from Magda, saying, " "I was cold" " (677). Magda begins tottering around the barracks searching for her shawl and cries her first words " "Maaa-" " (678). ... Rosa yanks the shawl off Stella and runs to the open door of the barracks. ... She stuffs Magda's shawl into her mouth to keep from screaming and drinks from it until it is dry. ...
His actions warped the minds of others; likewise, the teenage Stella in Cynthia Ozick's "The Shawl" is motivated by a desire for power. ... She watches the baby interact with the shawl and observes that the shawl is little Magda's lifeline, a treasure given up to no one save her own mother. The shawl represents Magda's own figurative baby, her sister, her everything, keeping her safe and alive, without which she will die. Seeking a sense of power, Stella sentences her own sister to death and steals the shawl from her. ...
The author describes the women at the party as having "hair shorn in strange new ways and shawls beyond the dreams of Castile." He does not say right out that the women are extremely rich, high class, and in style, but he uses the hyperbole that they were wearing "shawls beyond the dreams of Castile" to get the same point across. They most likely were not wearing shawls beyond the dreams of Castile, but by exaggerating like that, the author gives the reader the idea that these women are indeed ridiculously rich, and that further gives the reader the idea of how extravagant Gatsby's party ...
Mari Sandoz grew up near an Indian reservation in South Dakota. As a child she listened to indian stories told by her ancestors and neighbors. She heard many stories about a Sioux warrior named Crazy Horse. When Mari grew older she researched Crazy Horses life. Mari Sandoz eventually wrote the b...
Today's powwows often feature competitions in categories such as traditional, fancy, grass, shawl, and jingle-dress dancing. ... While a fancy dancer wears bustles and beads, a shawl dancer wears a long-fringed shawl over an elaborately beaded dress, moccasins and leggings. ...
