Milkweed is the story of a young boy who knows nothing of his childhood growing up to an adult and adding more to his identification. He starts out as a small boy who landed in Poland knowing nothing of his name, age, family, or where he is from. He joins a group of boys and together they are their own family. They care for themselves by stealing and living where they can. Everywhere is their place. Misha is separated from them as he joins his new family with Janina. When Misha first meets Uri and his group, Uri asks him what is his name. Misha doesn’t know, and says Stopthief. They ask him several other questions, such as what is your age, or where are you from. To all of these questions, Misha has no answer. Uri gives him the name Misha …show more content…
Misha still goes to the other side to steal food. When they build a wall, Misha finds a small hole that he can go through because he is smaller than most people. Soon Janina starts to follow him, and also steals food. She becomes a pain to Misha and he makes her stop following her. One day, when Misha steals food, he meets Uri. Uri tells him never to steal from the place again. Misha is shocked by Uri’s attitude toward …show more content…
Another man, tells that they aren’t being moved, but are being killed. Janina’s father tells Misha they shouldn’t return to the ghetto after they leave that night. Janina refuses and returns to their home in the ghetto. Janina chases her father and Misha is shot by Uri pretending to be a Jackboot. This saves Misha and he ends up in a farm. He stays there for three years, returns to Poland, and then travels to the United States. Uri’s actions make him a true friend. This event signifies their strong friendship and another one of the several choices that have to be made in order to survive. At the end of the story, Misha comes to the United States and changes his name to Jack. He works small jobs and spreads his story. He marries a woman named Vivian. Vivian soon leaves Jack when she is pregnant. Later, Jack sees his daughter and goes home with her. Jack’s granddaughter calls him poppynoodle and loves Jack. Jack also loves his family and this is instrumental because this is his first actual family. Misha lives with Janina, but he still steals so he could provide for his family. Janina accompanies him and mirrors everything he does. When it is time to leave, Janina doesn’t stay with Misha and doesn’t listen to her father. They get separated and Misha is lucky that Uri saves him. Misha finds his way to the US where he begins a new life with a new name
“But it’s not even a Bengali name… How could you guys name me after someone so strange? No one takes me seriously[.]”
John Wilson the author Lois Simmie paints a picture of just how different Polly and Jack had really been. From her caring and pleasant manner to his evil and sneaky ways. Simmie shows us how much Jack’s manner changed from woman to woman. When Jack had asked for Polly’s hand in marriage in August 1906, it was the typical Jack Wilson manner. Jack had stated “…if Polly wasn’t allowed to marry him he would blow his brains out.”(Simmie pg 8) Polly later would become known to be Jack’s first wife and mother to his children George and Ella along with their unborn son. Not long after coming to Canada Jack was posted in a small town in Saskatchewan called Blaine Lake. That is where Jack found his so called love of his life, her name was Jessie Patterson. Soon after Jack’s wife Polly came to Canada in search of her husband. This would send Jack’s love life into a spiral, she soon found him and not long later found out about Jessie. She confronted Jack and he told her that when he was ill with TB Jessie and him had gotten very close as she was the main caregiver for him. However he lied and said nothing had happened between the two, Polly truly believed that Jack would not take things further with Jessie. “She loved him and could see no wrong in him and it was not for us to wound her by showing her his falseness…” (Simmie pg 171) Polly blamed herself for not being there while her husband Jack was sick, she believed that this is really
The book “Milkweed” by Jerry Spinelli tells a story about a boy who survived the horrible days of World War 2. He struggles every single day to find his identity and what is happening in the world. The book “Milkweed” itself shows many signs of survival. Both literally, and figuratively. This novel describes what the Jews did to survive and how they survived. The theme of survival is represented by different objects. The author, Spinelli, uses many literary elements to describe and support the theme of survival. The main three are: setting (where and what time), symbols such as the plant Milkweed that represents a new hope, and conflicts (what is the fight/fighting in the story).
Kate and Jack Jerome are Eugene's parents. They are constantly looking to Eugene for things to be done. They have it very hard supporting their own family and her sister Blanche's family. Jack had to take up many jobs to support everybody, which resulted in a heart attack. We later see Jacks relatives escaping from the Nazi occupation in Poland to come and live with him.
Milkman is the protagonist of the novel and also the embodiment of Morrison's notion of individual self-discovery. Throughout his life Milkman is pulled in all directions by the people around him. His father wants him to work with him, his mother wants him to go to medical school, Hagar wants a serious relationship, Guitar wants him to accept the Seven Days. Milkman rejects all of these options and drifts away from those who want to direct his life. Milkman gains his self-awareness after he leaves Southside and travels to Shalimar. The journey through Danville profoundly changes him. He looses or damages all of his material possessions before he leaves Danville. “Milkman is symbolically stripped of all of the things that connect him to his life in Southside”(Davis 225). However, it is in Shalimar that he undergoes spiritual growth and gains se...
She explains to the community that the current cycle that her father and the adults created is not going to work out forever. While under the current cycle, many outsiders snuck their way inside the community and stole money and food. Not only that, the watchers noticed that the thieves carried guns. She mentions to the crowd about her recurring nightmares where she is levitating and flies toward the door of her room.
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.
The first major event in Jack's life that greatly affected him as a human being was his parent's divorce, which led to his father leaving when Jack was only six years old. Jack's mother explained to him that his father wasn't dead but that he might think of him as dead, and that the reason he left was because he didn't love her anymore, an answer that is not quite the truth, as Jack will discover later on. Six-year-old Jack's answer to this is simple - "I love you Mother.
Milkman is able to grow as an individual, and had matured into adulthood because of his pursuit for gold. Prior to his search he retained vanity, feared responsibility, and tried to remain in the past. Milkman’s ideas change when he meets a group of older men on his quest for gold. He is able to find his identity and grow up to a well-rounded person. Upon Milkman’s return he is a selfless, responsible, and caring man.
The death of Willie Starks and the circumstances force Jack to rethink the way he thinks. He rethinks a belief that no one can ever be responsible for the evil actions of another individual over time. In a way Jack feels responsible for Willie’s death. Jack eventually marries Anne Stanton and he feels orthodox about his decision to marry her. Jack restarts his long lost hobby of working on a book about Cass Mastern.
People of all ages have identities and names. When it comes to misha milgrom,in the book milkweed by jerry spinelli,he has multiple identities that change with his name. Misha has three main names stop thief,misha,and poppynoodle.every time he changes his name his personality changes as well. This leads to him finding more people.
The author of the story was born in 1967 in London, and soon after she moved to Rhode Island in the United States. Although Lahiri was born in England and raised in the United States and her parent’s still carried an Indian cultural background and held their believes, as her father and mother were a librarian and teacher. Author’s Indian heritage is a strong basis of her stories, stories where she questions the identity and the plot of the different cultural displaced. Lahiri always interactive with her parents in Bengali every time which shows she respected her parents and culture. As the author was growing up she never felt that she was a full American, as her parents deep ties with India as they often visited the country.
Joe at the last stage of his life becomes very stubborn as a men refusing help from Janie. Eventually Joe becomes too weak to move and stayed in bed. Janie calls the doctor to check on him, but the doctor said there was nothing he could do. Janie talks to Joe about how their lives would've been if he would let Janie be free. In stubbornness Joe couldn’t take responsibilities of his actions and
But as Jhumpa was found easier to pronounce, the teacher at her pre-school started addressing her Jhumpa. In the course of time, it became her official name. Jhumpa Lahiri tries to focus on the issue of identity she faced in her childhood. Nikhil replaces Gogol when he enters Yale as a freshman. Here, nobody knows his earlier name.
He perceives the lady in the radiator as representing a better life for him that right now is unachievable. He then begins to fantasize about the ‘girl next door`. He is infatuated with her, but during his erotic fantasy, all she sees is a deformed baby when looking at him. He feels trapped in his apartment when Mary leaves and the baby is stopping him from leaving as well. His guilt is exasperated every time he opens the door to leave, the baby cries out.