Reading “The Shawl” put the word survivor into a whole new perspective for me. Rosa demonstrated that being a survivor was as much of a positive thing as people think it was. I think that Rosa had it harder than the non survivors. Every day Rosa had to live with regret and hatred and she tortured herself. Rosa lost everything in the concentration camps her family, Magda, and her relationship with Stella. Through all of that loss she also lost herself. I don’t think people think enough about the after affect of surviving such traumatic events.
I believe that the study Stella made Rosa partake in was degrading and horrible for Rosa. I think Stella only had selfish reasons. Stella wanted Rosa to stop blaming her for the death of Magda. I think looking back at her experience at the concentration camps would be a valuable thing for Rosa. I think that Rosa needs to confront her past head on and also she needs to take all of her internalized anger and tell others about it she needs to talk to release all of her repressed feelings.
I am very confused by the ending of the novella. After Rosa saw the shawl again Rosa had all of these visions with Magda. Ozick made it seem like as soon as Rosa saw the shawl Magda came alive. I believe that seeing the shawl again brought back memories for Rosa and helped her cope. I think that coping has a lot to do with surviving and having to learn how to live when everything is gone is also very important.
No comments:
Post a Comment