Milkweed by Jerry SpinelliIn this novel a young boy finds himself with no memories of his past. He is completely alone until an older orphan, named Uri, finds him and takes him under his wing. Uri gives the boy the name of Misha. He then teaches Misha how to steal food and survive.
Everything begins to fall apart when the Jews of Warsaw are put into ghettos. Misha finds a home in the ghetto with the Milograms. They accept him as their son, and he provides food for their table. Misha learns how to survive in this destroyed city along with the help of his new sister Janina. |
Themes |
Survival- In order to live Misha has to learn to hunt for food and sneak out of the ghetto. He keeps a positive attitude and never gives up.
Death- Misha is very young, but he continues to see death around him everyday. Many of his friends are killed because they had been stealing for food. Family- Mish has no memory of where he came from. The Milograms become his new family. He looks out for them and takes care of them by bringing home food. Racism- During the Holocaust Jewish people were placed into a ghetto where they were treated horribly. They were starved and killed all because of their religion. |
"This is our time now. We must be happy now. We must never forget how to be happy"(157).
I feel this quote is one that I am able to apply to my own life. Most of us take for granted how good our lives actually are. These people were beaten, starved, and many of them died. The Milogram's remained with good spirits throughout this terrible event. They are examples of strong people, even Misha continued to fight. He never gave up when times got hard. I will not have to go through what these innocent people suffered though. I cannot even explain how tragic the events that took place are. I am grateful for the life I live.