Cynthia Ozick’s The Shawl (1989):

Reading Questions

 

 

1. Where and when does the action take place?

2. Does Rosa think Stella is responsible for Magda’s death?

3. Why doesn’t Rosa run to protect Magda at the end?  Is it because she fears death?  Because she is traumatized?  Because she is physically exhausted?

4. What do we make of Magda’s physical appearance?

5. What is the significance of the shawl?

6. Has Rosa’s opinion of Stella changed since they were in the concentration camp?  How do we know?  What has changed?

7. What is the significance of Rosa’s writing letters in different languages?

8. What do we make of Rosa’s business?

9. Why does Rosa constantly tell Persky, “Your Warsaw isn’t my Warsaw”?

10. Why is Rosa so reluctant to participate in Dr. Tree’s study?

11. What do we make of Rosa’s cultural elitism?

12. Who is Magda’s father?

13. What is the significance of Ozick’s detailed description of Miami’s hot night (pp. 45-50)?

14. Why is Rosa obsessed with finding her underwear?  What does it represent?

15. What is the significance of Rosa’s classification of life experience (p. 58)?

16. What is the significance of the WWII memories Rosa tries to share with her customers, especially the tram car scene (pp. 66-69)?  Why does Rosa say, “I became like the woman with the lettuce” (69)?

17. Consider the end of the book.  Does Rosa manage to put her past behind by the end of the book?