Rosa- a young women who was raped by a German soldier and had Magda.
Stella- the teenage girl who took the shawl from her cousin Magda and lead her to death.
Magda- 15month old baby who was killed by a guard though she survived the infancy in a Polish concentration camp in Rosa's shawl.
Q. In Ozick's "The Shawl," the shawl is considered "a magic shawl." How is it magical? In what ways does it nourish?
- it is called "a magic shawl" because somehow it had the taste or sense of Cinnamon and Almonds that kept Magda's stomach feel at least not to cry out for food.
Q. Are there ways to celebrate the human spirit and the strength of humans based on Ozick's text?
-the human, more like a mother strength shows in the shawl story. Rosa did everything she could do to comfort her baby, Magda. Throughout the text of "The Shawl," it constantly says that they were hungry though it never said that they were fed. So without food or drinks for Rosa but she tries everything to support Magda.
Q. Identify moments where the authors are using symbols and imagery to convey their experiences.
How does it impact your reading/experience of the poems knowing all of them were written by young children authors?
- it is hard to believe that the young children wrote the poems. From the Butterfly poem, it kept saying the word "last" like he knows that it'll be last time for him to see the sunlight, butterfly, white chestnut branches, and the dandelions. Even if they are young they do feel the threaten of their lives. it is just unbelievable and horrible that the children had to go through this time of period.
I like how you started off this post with listing the characters and who they were. This is definitely helpful because I know when I was reading this story at first, I was not exactly sure who Stella was in relation to Rosa and Magda. As far as the poems, I definitely agree that it is hard to believe that they were written by children. I guess that magnifies the realness of the situation and who all it affected in the Holocaust though. I agree with the use of the word "last" and I think that is a good way to analyze it by thinking that the boy knows it is going to be that last time he sees something beautiful in nature.
ReplyDeleteThe Holocaust was such a devastating time in history that some people try to forget. Unfortunately, it can never be erased. Both The Shawl and the poems are equally sad because children were involved. To think that people could care less about innocent children is heartbreaking. They had absolutely no control over the situation and then some of them suffered horrible fates. It's sad that Rosa had to stand there, helplessly, and watch the murder of her daughter. It's hard enough losing a child, but even worse to have to watch it happen.
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