The shawl is a short story that wrote by Cynthia Ozick and published in 1980.

The story is about the Holocaust. It was a genocide that killed 6 million of Jewish

people. Its the most brutal and painful things that ever happened to human. It took

place in Germany by Hitlers Nazi Germany. There are three main characters who

are Magda, Rosa and Stella. Rosa is a Jewish who having a child which is come

from the rapping of Nazi man. Her child name Magda. Magda is a fifteen months old

girl. She learn that she need to be quiet in order to survive in the holocaust and she

used the shawl to conceal her from Nazi. Stella is a Rosas fourteen-years-old niece

who is very thin. She jealous Magda because Rosa always gives foods to Magda

even though Stella is very hungry. The writer want to uses these three characters to

show the level of suffering during the Holocaust, the determination needed to survive

and the brutality that can be seen in the story.

In the Holocaust, there are only a Jewish that can survive because Nazi see

any Jewish they will send to the concentration camp and most of them will died from

that camp. There are many situations that show the suffering and brutality.

In order to survive from the holocaust, they need a lot of determination,

cleverness and also luckiness. Rosa, Magda and Stella are very suffering from this

camp. For instance, Rosas dried-up breast, from which the infant Magda cannot

suck milk. This indicates a kind of suffering that Rosa is very thin even Magda cant
suck her breast. For another example, the writer used the metaphor for Stellas knee

to be a tumors of sticks which indicates how thin is her knees. Magda also cant

speak out even she still a baby. She needed stay in the shawl to hide from the Nazi

in order to survive. In the story, it can be easy to see that Stella is not a child of Rosa

because even Stella is more starving than Magda but, she still give foods Magda that

is smaller. This make Stella jealous to Magda and turn in to a conflict that make

Magda to dies. Magda used to stay inside a shawl to hide from the Nazi and Stella

knows that so, Stella take off the shawl and Nazi Germans see it. Suddenly, she get

killed. This indicates the brutality which is not only from Nazi but also from Stella too.

It can be said that the most suffering and determined person in this story is

Rosa. The reasons are she get raped by Nazis German which is a very brutal and

hard to forget and she also needed to take care another two kids even she feel very

exhausted. However, she still has a determination and doesnt give up to fight for

surviving.

Cynthia Ozick uses Magda, Stella and Rosa to indicate the level of sufferings,

brutality and the determination that needed to have in order to survive in Holocaust.

Every person who face the difficulties and brutal situations like holocaust would

normally show their real behavior such as, Stella that jealous Magda and want to kill

her. Its hard to judge someone by external or just looking at them.