“THE SHAWL”, THE SUBALTERN, AND THE CASE OF THE SUBALTERN GENOCIDE

Abstract

Holocaust studies post-World War II have found ways in intersecting to other studies within the Postmodern era. In 1980, a short-story “The Shawl” was written depicting a holocaust brutality done towards the Jews. The story revolves around a Jewish woman, Rosa, that lived through the bitterness of seeing her daughter, Magda, being slaughtered in a concentration camp. In the context of “The Shawl”, this article would like to describe the relationship between holocaust studies and the subaltern studies within postcolonialism. Furthermore, this article discusses if there are hints “The Shawl” invokes a sentiment for the Jews to take revenge towards their former oppressors. The aim of this article is to further the argument “The Shawl” has no characteristics of taking revenge which eventually leads to subaltern genocide. “The Shawl” functions better as a remembrance so generations of the future do not repeat the horrors of the past.