Magda's Use Of Figurative Language In The Shawl '

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Jordan Anderson Michelle Jarvis English 113 B 24 January 2013 Chapter 4: The Shawl As the story begins, it is easy to see that the author uses numerous amounts of symbolism and descriptions to help the audience engage with the reading. I loved the usage of figurative language. For example, “…dark like cholera…eyes blue as air, smooth feathers of hair nearly as yellow as the Star sewn into Rosa’s coat.” This sentence lets you know what Magda’s complexion is, her eye color, as well as hair color and texture. More importantly, it notes a point about the setting of the story, which is never stated but later learned to be a concentration camp. Rosa wears a Jewish star, revealing that her and her daughter and the baby are Jewish and they are experiencing Nazism. Another quote I found captivating in the text is “The shawl’s good flavor,…show more content…
Times are cold, the food is scarce, and the characters are locked away with so many other Jews that had been taken away. I suspect that the story transitions from the concentration camp to heaven when baby Magda is killed. Even though the story ends with the death of Magda, the last 2-3 paragraphs were sometimes described like heavenly setting. It is peaceful and in the next instant the story flashes back into reality. The harsh ending of the story makes me more sympathetic for Stella. I felt like Stella was the biological daughter but is not treated with love and enough attention. At the beginning she wishes she could be in Magda’s position, only Magda will die soon and Stella knows this. Rosa put so much attention into a lost cause while she could’ve cared for her own child just the same. Even if this wasn’t the case, Rosa could’ve loved Stella just the same to prevent the death of

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