Comparison Of Milkweed And The Diary Of Anne Frank

For my ELA performance task I read both Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli and The Diary of Anne Frank(play) by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Milkweed is about a boy named Misha Pilsudski who lives in the ghetto on the street and has no identity including name. As time goes on he gets a name and finds a new family who welcomes him into their home. All the while he is trying to learn about his surroundings, as he is unsure whether he is a Gypsy or a Jew. He attempts to make life as happy as possible and fix things that he doesn’t realized cannot be fixed. For my performance task I have chosen to show two things that are different about these books and one thing that is similar.
My first difference is that Misha Pilsudski (8 yrs Old) doesn’t understand what is going on in his world while Anne Frank understands that something bad is happening and that she should be afraid. On page 22 Misha decides to run up to a Jackboot who is making a Jew clean the sidewalk with his beard while cutting the beard off. Misha says to bring him to where he lives, ( in a barbershop) because

they can cut his there. Then later on the same page when a boy named Uri tells him that the Jackboots hate him, he say he wishes to be a Jackboot when he grows up. He hasn’t realized yet to stay away from Jackboots, and that he is unwelcome and unliked. But on page 22 Anne realized and understands what it means to go into hiding and the reality that she cannot go outside, for if she does she’d get arrested or worse. She accepts it quickly after her father says she cannot leave. So at the same time in each book, both at page 22, Anne has realized the reality of her situation while Mish hasn’t even started to grasp at straws yet.
The second difference between them is that Anne Frank has a more mature point of view on things while Misha Pilsudski sees things as a child would. On page 50-51 Anne has to share her room with a newcomer named Mr. Dussel, and immediately she makes accommodations for him and when her original plan doesn’t work she changes it for him with the respect and maturity of an adult. Anne understands the need to be welcoming and polite and realizes that complaining or whining will only bring trouble for them all. But on page 60 Misha sees a ferris wheel and as he heads for it Uri pulls him back and tells him that the ferris wheel is not for him. He responds saying, “Everything is for me!” He laughs and believes it the way a child believes that the world is theirs. He thinks that the world is his but Anne realizes that sacrifices must be made for the greater good.
A similarity that they both have is that both Misha and Anne have a positive view on life, manage to maintain one, and help others keep one throughout their story.

On page 62-67 Anne despite the awful circumstances managed to keep happy and scrape together presents for everybody for Hanukkah. She wanted to make sure Hanukkah was celebrated with happiness and reverence. She manages to cheer everyone up. On page 57-58 Misha meets a homeless man, he offers him a bratwurst and talks to him. While that might not seem like much to us the fact is that in these times a bratwurst is huge. He doesn’t even know the man and he happily offers him food that he needs himself, all to make the man happy. All the while staying cheerful himself. Throughout the story both the main characters Misha and Anne maintain joyous attitudes as well as show little acts of kindness to help others be happy in these rough

times.
The book Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli and the play The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett have both similarities and differences. Milkweed though very different from The Diary of Anne Frank manages to make some connections with it that you may not see until you look deeper.