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Close Reading Sample

Maggie Kelleher
ENG 243.13 Short Story
October 6, 2015
Molly Hall

Concealment of Context

Rosa did not feel hunger; she felt light, 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, not touching the road. As if teetering on the tips of
her fingernails. She looked into Magdas face through a gap in the shawl: a squirrel in a
nest, safe, no one could reach her inside the little house of the shawls windings. The
face, very round, a pocket mirror of a face: but it was not Rosas bleak complexion, dark
like cholera, it was another kind of face altogether, eyes blue as air, smooth feathers of
hair nearly as yellow as the Star sewn into Rosas coat. You could think she was one of
their babies. (Ozick 1)

Oftentimes in literary works, authors hint at the literal context behind a story without

explicitly revealing it. George Orwells Animal Farm satirically tells the story of the brutality of

dictatorship in 20th century Soviet Russia. Another example of such implicit writing is William

Goldings Lord of the Flies, where the plight of boys on an uninhabited island gives insight into

the world and society as a whole. We have defined this writing style, or more specifically, the

stories themselves, as allegories, or interpretations intended to reveal a deeper, more literal

meaning. This allegorical style of writing is present in Cynthia Ozicks "The Shawl," as Magda

and the shawl represent something significantly more meaningful than a simple piece of fabric and

a baby. Furthermore, while the shawl literally conceals Magda, she symbolically represents the

context of the story, while the shawl represents the concealment of said context. Once the shawl

is separated from Magda, the context fully reveals itself.

Ozick begins the passage by describing Rosa's state of being: "Rosa did not feel hunger;

she felt light, 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, not
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touching the road. As if teetering on the tips of her fingernails" (Ozick 1). Note the beginning of

the sentence, where Ozick writes "she did not feel hunger." Hunger itself is a very real feeling;

there is nothing surreal about it. By describing Rosa as not hungry, Ozick implies Rosa is separated

from the reality of the situation, similar to the reader. While this concept may not be immediately

obvious, it is reinforced by the rest of the sentence, where Rosa is said to be "floating," and "in the

air," both describing a surreal experience. Therefore, the placement of this sentence immediately

before the description of Magda in the rest of the passage encourages the idea that the reader is

also in a surreal state of unknowing, at least in regard to the story's context. Upon further analysis

of this sentence, a reader may also notice the plethora of commas present. In literature, the

combination of words and phrases separated by commas in this manner can be used as an

intentional style. Ozick's choice in using such a sentence structure here may imply a stylistic

attempt to draw attention to the content within, and furthermore, for the reader to deduce meaning.

That meaning, as described above, is the surrealistic experience of Rosa at this point in the story,

which Ozick intends for the reader to share until the introduction of Magda.

The first instance in which Ozick provides the reader with context of the story is also the

first instance in which Magda is described to the reader. Ozick prefaces, She looked into Magdas

face through a gap in the shawl (Ozick 1). Notice here how the shawl is hiding Magda; as Rosa

looks into Magdas face through a gap in the shawl, the reader is equivalently about to be given a

peek into the context of the story. The passage yet again strengthens this concept, as Ozick writes,

"...a squirrel in a nest, safe, no one could reach her inside the little house of the shawl's windings"

(Ozick 1). The combination of "nest," "safe," and "no one could reach her" all complement each

other in emphasizing how Magda is hidden by the shawl, just like the context of the story.
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Ozick describes Magdas face: eyes blue as air, smooth feathers of hair nearly as yellow

as the Star sewn into Rosas coat. You could think she was one of their babies (Ozick 1). This

description is prefaced by the contrast of Rosas darker complexion, implying the two individuals

are opposites, at least physically speaking. Blue eyes and blonde hair typically allude to an

individual of Aryan decent. When thinking about the opposite of an Aryan appearance, one may

visualize a dark-haired, dark-eyed individual. The contrasting of mother and daughter in this

passage implies Rosa is of Jewish decent while Magda appears to be of Aryan decent, especially

when Ozick refers to Magda as seemingly one of their babies. Furthermore, when referring to

Magdas yellow hair, it is compared to the Star sewn into Rosas coat. This subtle, yet

significant, capitalization of Star implies it is the Star of David, a symbol embroidered on Jewish

prisoners during the Holocaust.

Reflecting on how the shawl impacts the literal representation of the story allows us to

appreciate Ozicks allegorical utilization of the shawl and Magda as complementary symbols for

the story as it comes full-circle. Ozick begins by describing the march of Stella and Rosa. Magda,

the baby of Rosa, is carried and hidden within Rosas shawl. The trio passes by villages, until they

ultimately arrive at the arena. In the meantime, Magda remains safe in the shawl, hidden from

the Nazi soldiers who would otherwise kill her. However, this fact is not concretely evident until

the rising action in the story comes into fruition: Stella steals the shawl for herself, revealing

Magda to the danger of Nazi eyes. Ozick repeatedly refers to the Shawl as magical, for example

stating it was a magic shawl, it could nourish an infant for three days and three nights (Ozick 2).

Furthermore, Ozick declares that the separation of Magda from the shawl will result in her doom:

Rosa knew Magda was going to die very soon; she should have been dead already, but she had

been buried deep inside the magic shawl (Ozick 2). By the end of the story, albeit never
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explicitly mentioned by Ozick, a reader can make the connection that a Nazi soldier spotted

Magda, brought her to the edge of the Jewish concentration camp, and killed her by throwing her

against an electric fence. All of this occurs because Magda and the shawl become separated.

Therefore, as Magda is revealed to the Nazis with the removal of the shawl, the context is revealed

to the readers.

This passage epitomizes the idea that Magda represents the underlying context of the story,

especially due to the fact that it is the first moment that the reader is provided with a hint of the

storys true context. Throughout Ozicks writing of this piece, very little context is given as to

Rosas circumstances until Magda is described in detail. Therefore, Magda herself is utilized to

give context to the story; the level of detail and contextual understanding the reader has after

Magda is described in the selected passage epitomizes this fact. As the story continues, the reader

grows more acquainted with the context as Magda is described in more detail. Ultimately, with the

removal of the shawl, Magda is completely exposed, just like the context of the story. However,

this allegorical representation of this story begs a question: Why did Ozick write it in this manner?

Wouldn't a literal representation of the story achieve the same effect, since the underlying context

is the same? While this remains a matter of opinion, one may argue that the Holocaust is so

horrifying, that even related stories must be allegorically written to add a layer of abstraction

between the reader and the literal trauma of the experience.

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Works Cited

Ozick, Cynthia. "The Shawl." The New Yorker. 26 May 1980. Print.