Genre
Short Story
Setting and Context
WWII, concentration camps of the Holocaust
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person omniscient
Tone and Mood
Tone: tragic, mournful, blunt, resigned
Mood: barren, bleak, futile
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist of the story is Rosa; and Nazis are antagonists
Major Conflict
Will Rosa be able to keep Magda alive?
Climax
Stella takes Magda's shawl and Magda bursts out into the light of the yard looking for it; at this moment Rosa knows she is doomed
Foreshadowing
1. The author states explicitly that "Rosa knew Magda was going to die very soon," which she does
2. Magda's obsession with the shawl is expressed in a way that indicates it will be taken away and she will die
Understatement
1. "You could think she was one of their babies" is an understatement for saying Rosa was raped by a Nazi and this child is the product of it
Allusions
1. The author mentions a yellow star; this is the Star of David Jews were forced to wear to identify themselves as such
Imagery
The imagery is spare, bleak, almost surreal. The reader conjures up images of terrifyingly empty camps, grotesque barracks, weary marches, and a single beautiful child running into the sunlight only to be killed by a Nazi guard.
Paradox
Though Magda is a daughter of a Nazi soldier Rosa still loves her with all her heart, and does not let hatred towards the Nazis destroy her attitude towards an innocent child
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Synecdoche:
"The shoulder that carried Magda was not coming toward Rosa . . . " shoulder means the Nazi guard
Personification
1. The voices in the fence "crowded at" Rosa; they "told her to hold up the shawl," and they later "went mad in their growling, urging Rosa to run and run to the spot where Magda had fallen from her flight."
2. "innocent tiger lilies, tall, lifting their orange bonnets"
3. "the light tapped the helmet and sparkled it into a goblet"
