Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

778 Words2 Pages

1. The title of the book is Milkweed; Milkweed is a type of plant, it is as green in October as it is in July, it produces little pods that release white fluffs. It is also the symbol of the story. 2. Milkweed is set in Warsaw, Poland during the Holocaust, the setting is really important because it is a historical fiction novel, and if it were set in another place some of the places wouldn’t line up. “We came to the jagged walls of a bombed-out building. We picked our way through the rubble. Glass glittered in the moonlight. Frost sparkled on tumbled bricks and fallen timbers.” (Spinelli 39) 3. The main character of Milkweed is a small and short orphan boy named Misha, he steals food to survive and to feed others. He does not remember anything about his past life, who he was, or what his real name is. “I feed whoever I want to feed.” (Spinelli 126) Another character is Doctor Korczak, he is a kind hearted man, he has an orphanage and he takes care of the orphans. “Misha, come join us. Sing with us.” (Spinelli 147) Another character is Uri, he is the boy that discovered Misha in the beginning. He is the leader of the boys, he is very street-smart. “Stupid. Stupid. They take everything, just to take it.” (Spinelli 13) 4. For Misha his epiphany happened at the end of the story, it was when he finally realized that his whole life people have told him who he was, and labeled him, but now he has to be who he is. “I think of all the voices that have told me who I have been, the names I’ve had. Call me thief. Call me stupid. Call me Gypsy. Call me Jew. Call me one-eared Jack. I don’t care. Empty-handed victims once told me who I am, Then Uri told me. Then an armband. Then an immigration officer. And now this little girl in my lap, thi... ... middle of paper ... ...This conflict is definitely external because it is a group of people versus another group of people. The conflict is resolved after the war ended. 10. “I think of all the voices that have told me who I have been, the names I’ve had.” (Spinelli 208) The theme of this story is ‘finding your identity‘. In the beginning of the story, Misha did not know who he was. He let others put a label on him, and whatever they told him instantly became truth. When Uri told him his made-up story, Misha actually believed the story was who he was. Along the way as the story goes, Misha realizes that he cannot be told who he is, and he later realizes who he is. This can be applied to today because a lot of times we let others put us in some categories or label us a certain way, and we are okay with it. We shouldn’t let others define who we are, we are supposed to find our own identity.

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