The Shawl Initial Reaction

This story is a look into the ravenous lives of one family in a camp during the Holocaust. Rosa the poor mother that has to watch her children deteriorate and die right in front of her is helpless. The author shows the reader the raw emotion of how brutal people can be when it is a matter of survival such as when Stella took the shawl away from her sister. The baby needed it to survive and even though she probably would have died with or without it this shawl was a sign of survival and hope for this child. It kept her warm, it kept her from crying and as she “milked it’s corners” it kept her fed when Rosa could no longer produce milk which is what Rosa believed kept her alive for longer. The mother was angered when Stella took that shawl away from her sister and although she knew Stella was not in any better of a state than Magda was she couldn’t let her jealously of her sister lead her closer ti death by taking this shawl away. When Rosa knew the end was coming there was nothing she could do to save her child’s life because if she had tried she herself would have been shot and killed. She dreamed of saving her by “pushing her into the arms of a women in the village”, but could not follow through because again she was afraid of being killed or dropping Magda when she handed her off. This fear and helplessness she feels must be difficult for any mother to go through. My belief is that the author’s point in writing this short story as part of this collection is because she wanted people to know a personal story and put names to the people during the Holocaust. This story shows the children of the Holocaust and that is a much more heartbreaking reality for readers to come to terms with. She wanted readers to see what survival could do to tear apart families and how it could change people. It demands a response of her audience.