"The Shawl"

In Cynthia Ozick's short story "The Shawl", she uses certain language throughout the story to give the reader hints that her story is abut The Holocaust. The story begins describing how Magda is wrapped up in the shawl and how each family member is starving; "Magda took Rosa's nipple, and Rosa never stopped walking , a walking cradle. There was not enough milk; sometimes Magda sucked air; then she screamed" (290. The language used in these first opening paragraphs hint to the reader that the family described is desperate for food and is in deep despair. As the story progresses, the reader finds out that Magda, the baby wrapped up in the shawl, is being hidden at all times. The author hints to this by constantly repeating how Magda is silent all the time and is never revealed from the shawl. The author also begins to hint of the situation this family is in by using certain words. Ozick uses the words "yellow star" and "Aryan" which lead the reader to think that the story is about a family in the holocaust with a lady baby girl that has remained hidden in the shawl while the family is in the labor camp.

The symbolism of the shawl in this story is that of protection and the nurturing of the babies mother that the mother is unable to give. Magda has to be constantly hidden within the shawl in order to stay alive, otherwise she would be killed. The mother is unable to give her child what she needs due to many factors so the shawl serves as a way for the baby to stay alive. The shawl also serves as protection for the bay because she cannot be seen.