Griffin has published several short stories and essays and has taught at Trinity College and at the University of Michigan. In the following essay, she discusses the significance of the shawl in Ozick's story.

There are many ways to approach a work of fiction, to decide what that work has to offer you. You can look at the plot: the events that happen and the order in which they occur. You can examine the charac­ters who people the story: what can you learn from who they are and what they do? You can study the story's language, or the images-both obvious and suggested-that the writer uses.

In Cynthia Ozick's "The Shawl," the images and language the author uses bring certain ideas to mind. This discussion will lead us to one of the things "The Shawl" imparts: a suggestion about how strong the human will to...