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
Pretty soon, Misha and Janina are stealing food again. One day, they find Buffo punishing some boys who’ve stolen piles of onions. He and other Flops beat the boys mercilessly with their clubs, making a public example of them. Misha hopes that this incident has finally taught Janina a lesson. To make sure, he even tells Mr. Milgrom that Janina has been smuggling, explaining that he can’t keep Janina safe. Mr. Milgrom looks so angry that Misha thinks he will hit his daughter, but he just says one fierce word: “No.” Janina cries and huddles on the mattress with Mrs. Milgrom. That night, Misha goes outside the wall as usual, relishing his regained freedom.
Persistent hunger means that the kids can’t refrain from smuggling for very long, no matter how risky it is. But, understandably, Misha cares about his adoptive sister and wants her to stop. Admittedly, he also seems to be simply tired of his little sister annoyingly tagging along. Either way, he takes the very brotherly step of tattling on her. Mr. Milgrom is protective of his daughter in a way that he isn’t of Misha, perhaps because Misha has a lifetime of experience and knows what he's getting into, while Janina is much more sheltered.
Themes
The next day, Misha sees Janina mocking Buffo—a perfect imitation. Misha pushes Janina into an alley, unable to stand the thought of Buffo getting his hands on her. He throws stones and then moons Buffo to distract him from Janina. From then on, Misha stops baiting Buffo. He’s tired of Janina imitating everything he does, and she’s the one person he can’t outrun or hide from.
Misha has always been able to outrun and wiggle out of any situation he didn’t like. Now, he finds that family bonds can’t be so easily escaped, as in the case of a pestering little sister whom he cares about.
Themes
That night, Misha returns from smuggling and finds that Janina has snuck out of the house anyway. In the morning, she has brought three potatoes and a pancake. From that point on, she keeps smuggling. She technically obeys her father by not smuggling with Misha—she just goes by herself. Occasionally, she and Misha bump into each other around the city. Mr. Milgrom always thanks Misha for the food he brings, as Janina never takes credit for it.
Against all appearances, Janina isn’t just an annoying tagalong; having watched and learned from her brother, she, too, develops an aptitude for smuggling. And despite her somewhat abrasive, attention-seeking personality, she has learned enough not to flaunt this.
Themes
One day, after an unrewarding night of smuggling, Misha and Janina wake up from napping in an alley in the ghetto. Janina notices a brown seed with white fluff attached that’s stuck to Misha’s shirt: it’s milkweed. Janina plays with the fluffy seed and then lets it sail through the air, calling it her angel. Soon, puffs of milkweed are flying all around them, coming from a plant that’s growing amid the rubble.
Milkweed, in its ability to sprout up even amid rubble, represents resilience and survival in an unforgiving and seemingly barren environment. It also symbolizes the persistence of the human soul in spite of the crushing effects of such an atmosphere.
Themes
Get the entire Milkweed LitChart as a printable PDF.
