User:Seweedbrain/sandbox

Synopsis
In the novel Milkweed, most events take place in Warsaw, Poland, during World War II in the 1930s. The main character Misha -who acquires multiple last names throughout the plot- is introduced to a band of thieves when he meets Uri, a fellow thief who act as a guardian to Misha. Peter D. Sieruta noted, “Misha’s early days with Uri are almost carefree”. While out stealing with Uri, Misha witnesses German invaders “Jackboots” capture Poland. He describes the Jackboots as “magnificent” and later states that he wants to become a Jackboot. Shortly after Poland is captured, Uri decides to create a false identity for Misha, “which Misha gratefully adopts to fill the void that is his past”. This fabricated background states that Misha is a Gypsy born in Russia to a large and old family. His mother was a talented fortune teller, he had “seven brothers and five sisters,” and a beloved “speckled mare” named Greta. In this story bombs and hateful, polish farmers separate Misha’s family untill he winds up as a orphan in Warsaw.

After running away from a Jackboot, Misha ends up in a garden where he meets Janina. Misha describes Janina as a “little girl,” who reveals she is also Jewish. Janina invites Misha to her seventh birthday party and without knowing what birthday cakes are, Misha panics- thinking that they were trying to “burn down the cake”- and blows out the candles and runs away with a part of the birthday cake. With Jackboot control over Warsaw tightening, a curfew is established and “stupid” Misha ends up getting his earlobe shot from being out past curfew. City conditions worsen with low food supplies, people losing their houses including Janina and her family, loss of electricity, and Jews are being harshly prosecuted. Eventually all Jewish people in Warsaw including Misha, Janina, and the gang of boys are moved into the ghetto. Janina's uncle Shepsel describes their new living conditions as if living in a "closet".

Characters
Misha Pilsudski, “a child of indeterminate age and background” is a small, short orphan boy who survives by using his size and quickness to steal food and escape danger. Through most of the novel Misha has no recollection of a past and “much less an understanding of the world around him.” (Nonfiction 1). He spends time with his friend Janina and a group of homeless boys.

Misha’s Friends
Uri is a “scrappy, slightly older boy” who acts as a ringleader for Misha and the other thieves. Described as ”fearless on the streets,” Uri often helps Misha escape danger. One critic compared Uri to the infamous Fagan, a character in the novel Oliver Twist. Unlike Misha and the other orphans, Uri does not live in the ghetto but is found at the blue camel, the place where Jackboots live.

Janina Milgrom is a small young girl with curly hair, who gets frustrated, upset, and pushy frequently throughout the novel. She is “[a] fiery young friend” of Misha and frequently mimics him. Misha later gives his granddaughter the middle name Janina in memory of his friend.

Doctor Korczak, a bald man with a goatee and mustache, takes care of orphans. He is kind hearted and caring.

Vivian is a “normal, sensible person” who enjoys Misha’s mad sounding talk of his past. Later she marries Misha and lives with him for five months before she leaves.

Misha’s Relatives
Katherine is a friendly “young woman. . . [with] dark brown hair” who is Misha’s daughter. She is twenty-five years old with a daughter of her own named Wendy. Misha “wasn’t sure” about Katherine when Vivian walked out, untill she finds him years later.

Wendy is four years old and is Misha’s granddaughter. She calls Misha “Poppynoodle.”

Janina’s Family
Mr. Milgrom is Janina’s father. He is a pharmacist who makes medicine, but he stops working a formal job after restrictions are put on Jews. Uncle Shepsel is Janina’s Uncle who decides that he will convert to Lutheranism so he will no longer be treated as a Jew.

Mrs. Milgrom is Janina’s mother who is sick and dies on her mattress.

The Gang of Boys
Kuba is a boy who Misha calls “the clown.”

Enos is a “grim-faced” boy.

Ferdi is an orphan boy who Misha calls the “smoke-blowing Ferdi.” When asked questions “[his] answers [are] never long. . . he [blows] more smoke than words.”

Olek is a boy who only has one arm.

Big Henryk is a large boy who will “say yes to everything.” He doesn’t wear shoes but instead wears “gray bank coin bags on his feet.”

Jon is a boy who doesn’t speak. Misha sees him as “gray.” He is thrusted onto the cart of dead bodies and taken away during the novel.

The Jew Haters
Herr Himmler is a head Jackboot who has “half a little black mustache. . . [and] a scrawny neck. . . “

Buffo is a slow, fat man who kills Jews with his hands and uses his belly to suffocate children to death. He chews mint leaves, so his breath always smells minty.

Style
Milkweed is notable for its use of short and clipped scenes seen through Misha’s point of view. Misha’s narrative is described as “a snapshot through the eyes of an outsider” and most critics agree Misha is "not interested" or naive to the events around him. A “simple yet at times poetic” writing style is shown in Milkweed that has also been called direct and straight forward (Nonfiction 2). Jerry Spinelli stated that “writing isn't about how tidy your margins are, ” and that a lesson should arise out of the story.

Background
Milkweed was influenced by Jerry Spinelli’s "obsession to understanding" the Holocaust growing up and personal accounts Spinelli read before publishing the novel. In an interview Jerry Spinelli says he feels one of his earliest memories are of looking at pictures of the Holocaust. Milkweed pods a major theme in the novel seems to have also come from Spinelli's childhood where he use to blow milkweed pods near his home. In his interview with Nadine Epstein, Spinelli explains his hesitance to write a novel based on the Holocaust on feeling "unqualified" since he had no personal connections with the Holocaust other than caring about it. Once he decided to proceed in writing a novel concentrated on the Holocaust, personal accounts like Elie Wiesel gave Spinelli insight.

Publication History
Orchard Books acquired the United Kingdom publishing rights for Milkweed, they previously had sales of 15,000 for Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl.

Adaptations
A widely accepted audio version of Milkweed was read by Ron Rifkin in 2003 (“Booklist”). Publishers Weekly claimed that “Rifkin breathes emotion” in his reading of Milkweed and delivers a “ultimately enlightening” narrative. In response to the audiobook, Book Links stated that Rifkin’s “matter of fact style distances listeners” and relates to the Holocaust without “sensualizing or sugarcoating.”

Reception
Critics had mixed responses to Milkweed’s protagonist Misha and Spinelli’s style in writing the novel. Some critics claim that Misha shares certain qualities with Spinelli’s Maniac Magee and is another example of a exuberant, good hearted protagonist. In a review on Milkweed, some felt Misha possessed a “tense loyalty” to those he loved and a “hopeful, resilient spirit” (Charlie Bone). One critic noted that Misha’s “naivete proves an effective viewpoint,” and that his childlike capacity allows Spinelli to “sensitively cover a controversial part of history” (J.P). The School Library Journal in California exclaimed that “Spinelli’s story is nonetheless ultimately uplifting. An unforgettable novel.”

Some people had different views of Milkweed, (Book Review) simply felt Misha “comes off as a clown.” Kirkus reviews wrote that Misha is “without morals, without culture, without community” and his psychological and social growth is almost lost on the reader (Kirkus). Milkweed being Jerry Spinelli’s first novel concentrated on the Holocaust, Peter Sieruta commented that Spinelli seems “constrained by the historical parameters of his subject matter” that resulted in uneven pacing and an unbelievable character.