Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Milkweed, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Identity and Relationships
War, Dehumanization, and Innocence
Ingenuity, Resilience, and Survival
Family
Summary
Analysis
That night, Misha and Janina go through the wall as usual, but they don’t steal food. Misha shows Janina the merry-go-round and the cemetery angel—he tells her that every person has an angel inside them which comes out when they die. As Misha and Janina are returning to the ghetto, they see a man shooting a flamethrower into the sewer. Misha knows that his friends crawl through the sewers to go smuggling. Later, he thankfully finds them alive. They all realize that the Nazis are cracking down on smugglers.
Misha tries to protect Janina by avoiding smuggling. He introduces her to other parts of his world that are meaningful to him, showing that their sibling bond is deepening. At the same time, the cost of smuggling is becoming terrifyingly high. It’s no longer the lighthearted game it had seemed to be when Misha was younger; now, it’s life or death.
Themes
