Characterization in “The Shawl” by

Skills: Analyze how an author develops a theme over the course of a text
through characterization and conflict.

Read: How Trauma Gets Past Down Through Generations and then reread the
last 2 pages of “The Shawl” (starting at “There was a time when the
government…”)

(10 minutes)
Write 3 take-aways when reading the article and the end of the story:

Do not suppress trauma

Destructive thinking is a cycle
Trauma gets passed down

Topic and Theme: (10 minutes - individual)

Topics of the Story Trauma

Theme of the Story In the shawl by Louise Erdrich presents the idea that trauma for the
parent negatively affects their kids' lives since the father lost his sister
and mom young he grew up to be an abusive alcoholic father to his own
children.
Characterization: (20 minutes - groups)

Character (Highlight yours):

● The Narrator
● Aanakwad
● The Narrator’s Father
● The Sacrificed Daughter

How are they In the beginning the daughter is characterized as a victim who is thrown
characterized to the wolves to save the mother and her baby.
early in the
story? Provide
examples.

How does the She is later portrayed as a hero who sacrificed herself to the wolves so
characterization that her mother and her mothers baby could survive.
shift over the
course of the
story? Provide
examples.

Conflicts – (5 mins):
What conflicts are present in the story (need multiple)?
 ● Man v man
● Man v self
● Man v society
● Man v nature
● Man v technology
● Man v supernatural

Example: There is man versus society conflict present in Into the Wild →
McCandless is in conflict with societal norms which he disagrees with, such as
a desire for materialism.

Putting it Together:
After identifying shifts in characterization, as well as conflicts, analyze how
these contribute to the themes which we determined earlier? (2-3 sentences)

The father of the narrator is internally conflicted because he knows his sister
got eaten by wolves. He is struggling with the trauma and doesn't know
whether she was thrown to the wolves as a victim or she sacrificed herself to
save her mother and younger sibling. His son later tells him to believe that she
sacrificed herself and is a hero and to honor her memory by thinking of her in
this way.