I have currently read chapters 1-6 in Milkweed, by Jerry Spinelli. In the beginning of the story, the authour, or 'Stopthief', reminds us of a memory of when he is running away from someone shouting "Stop! Thief!" Stopthief meets the person who was chasing him, and his name is Uri. And then in Chapter 3, when Uri takes Stoptheif to the stable, the other boys there are tryng to figure out more about Stopthief, but he is clueless. That is what puzzles me. How come Stopthief does not remember anything about himself? Did some sort of accident happen that made Stopthief lose him memory? To conclude this response, so far, it puzzles me that Stopthief does not know anything about his parents, ethnicity, or his name.

       At the beginning of this book, the author sets a really deep and mysterious mood. In the first chapter,  line 2, "Someone is chasing me. 'Stop!' 'Thief!' I run. People. Shoulders. Shoes." really conveys this mood. It makes me wonder, who is the character running from? Why? Did he commit a really bad crime? The story sets a theme about identity. About the main character, 'Stopthief's' , identity. He doesn't know what his name is, who his parents are or what his ethnicity really is.

         But later on in chapter 6, the theme shifts to one about good vs. evil, since Stopthief can’t believe that the Jackboots’ are evil due to the fact that they act really nice to him. The real reason why Stopthief is fascinated with the Jackboots is really because of their boots, which he admires deeply.  Yet, Uri, a boy who takes care of Stopthief, tells Stopthief that they are evil and actually hate him, since he is a Gypsy. Therefore, I have become slightly confused, why are the Jackboots’ acting so nice to him when they have a disposition against Jews and Gypsies?

         Therefore, in conclusion, as I have been reading my feelings have changed from one of curiosity to one of confusion.

I agree with you, Anna. These characters could have been real people. As we know, the whole Holocaust really happened because of the disposition that the German’s had against Jews. Therefore it would be natural for Jewish people of that time to talk about how everybody hated them. Also, there are examples of the German disposition against Jews (and Gypsies) all throughout the book. An example would be in Chapter 4, when the German woman clamped the window on top of Uri’s hand. This event could really have happened since the Germans hated Jews. The women could have existed.  In conclusion, I agree with you on the fact that all the characters in the book are realistic.

I agree with you, Debdutta. The sense of mystery and confusion in the first chapter since you don't really know whats going on and it doesn't really explain whats going on. On chapter six, you do start to understand the story more and realize things, but I also wonder why the Jackboots were being nice to him, in chapter three the boys in the stable states they hate Jews more than Gypsies but is that really the case? Overall, I do agree with your views and I had some of the same thoughts as you.

I agree with you on your point of view.  I had the same reaction as you in the part were the Jewish man is forced to clean the sidewalk with his beard. Why? Why are the Jackboots torturing them for no reason at all?  It made me feel extremely sad and also slightly annoyed at Misha for being so childish and inconsiderate of how the Jews being tortured are feeling. He thinks that it is fun being tortured and would like that to happen to him too. Why can't he just see the cruelty of the deed!
On top of that, he says that he wants to be a Jackboot. The only thing that he really likes about the Jackboots' is their boots. He really doesn't care about their personality. So overall, I agree with you. The book does make me feel melancholy and sad. It also makes me frustrated at Misha. Hopefully, he opens his eyes up to the real world in the next few chapters!

I thought the most the most interesting part of my reading was the second page of Chapter 6. This is how it went. "I closed my eyes and I thought over and over of Uri's words: You are what you are.
Which is what? I wondered". This really shows the identity struggle Misha is having. He doesn't know/remembers much from his past, which is interesting to me. He doesn't know where he is from or who he is. I can't help but wonder how it would be not to have an identity, not know your family or even your age! That definitely affects Misha as a person! I agree with Ajay that it is sad to know that Misha thought his name was 'Stopthief'. What I also thought was interesting is how different Misha's and Uri's viewpoints on life are! Misha thinks it is all fun and games when it comes to Jackboots and the war. He says something along the lines of 'Jackboots are nice! I want to be one of them!'. If he was a real person and looking back on his childhood, I'm sure he would have regretted saying something like that. But on the other side, Uri (thankfully) knows better than to say he wants to become a Jackboot. He understands the dangers of war and how cruel the Nazi's are. How can Misha be so senseless? I guess common sense is not so common!



 

I agree with you Hannah because how come the other boys know more about Misha than Misha. That is just confusing. But I think it was on purpose because I think later on in the story he is going to get his memory back. Like in "Finding Dory" where she remembers more about her family later on in the movie. So maybe the author is trying to use the same stratgy. So I agree with you Hannah it is confusing. 

I agree with you Ajay. In the begging of 'Milkweed', it was very depressing. It was so sad how 'Stopthief', now known as Misha, did not know anything about his family, his culture, or anything like that. I also agree with you Ajay, when you were talking about the event in Chapter 6, when the man with a long beard was using his beard to clean the sidewalk, and the Jackboots were standing on top of him. How cruel people can be! The worst part was when Misha saw the Jackboots hanging the horse and painting the door of that man's shop, yellow. It was extremely depressing that Misha did not know the Jackboots were bad people. But I do not agree with you in everything. I disagree with your feeling of anger. The Jews had no choice but to just take in the abuse and insults of the Jackboots. If they did choose to stand up to the Jackboots, they faced the risk of being shot, or even worse, hung. All in all, I both agree and disagree with you.

I agree with you Olesya because that is a big part of the story and it impacts the story a lot. This is because it is a challange Misha faces and has to overcome. Also in real life without a identity what should a person be called. Another reason why it is a big part is that it is the major problem. So in conclusion I agree with Olesya.

4-17-17

       At the moment, I have read up to chapter 13 and 14. I do have many questions about the book so far. I wonder what happened to Janina, in chapter 12, it tells a Jackboot now lives in her home. Did she go to the ghettos? Has she run away with her family? Where is she? 
    My second question is does Uri not care for Misha anymore? We see in chapter 12 that Uri got very mad at Misha for receiving so much attention, then in chapter 13 he doesn't talk to Misha about the merry-go-round even though we know he would do something like that. It even mentions he doesn't tie himself to Misha anymore and he's much more aggressive. Has he given up on Misha? 
 My final question is will Misha ever find out about his true past? We know Uri gave him his name and a backstory so he'd stop calling him 'Stoptheif'. There is no evidence in the text that we will find out what his real name is and his true backstory. Or is it that Misha is his real name. But where did Uri find out this information?
In conclusion, those are my few questions I have, I know i'll gain more questions and some of my questions will be answered

I think lately Misha has been very confused because of how Uri treats him. He has not said a word to Misha after he came to Dr. Korczak in the middle of the night. Past the curfew.  Misha is not sure weather or not Uri still cares about him. He expects for Uri to get mad or call him names after he has done something wrong, but instead Uri doesn't react in any way, shape or form. For example in chapter 12 he says " Someday I'm going to have to kill you to keep you alive" but now the only warning Uri gives Misha is to be back by curfew. I also think that Misha is feeling very confident of himself. As he quoted "I had come to love my small size, my speed, my slipperiness. Sometimes I thought of myself as a bug or a tiny rodent, slipping into places that the eye could not even see". This shows that he is very fond of being small and fast.

"The milkweed plant may be considered a weed and banished from the garden by those unaware of its special traits." I believe that Misha is like this plant. Although he believes that he is nothing but a stupid little kid, he is actually much more than that. He holds an unique position in the hearts of his friends. He is special and means a lot to them.

Throughout the beginning of the book, Misha thinks that being a Jackboot would be amazing. That made me really mad at him. Why is he acting so childish? Can’t he see through the Jackboots pretend warmth? But then I realized that to a 8 year old it might look like that. Anyways, he does realize how cruel the Jackboots are later on.

Misha loves a specific type of candy, buttercream with a hazelnut inside it. He steals packs and packs of candy to find that one piece of candy. He wastes so much STOLEN food! It makes me dislike him quite a bit. He also wants to believe in angels although some of the Jewish boys from the stable said that they don’t exist. That shows me that Misha is hopeful which is a great character trait! Misha is kind and caring. In chapter 11, he searches through rubble to find “black pearls” or coal for the children of the orphanage. That really defines him! He also brings bread for Janina, his friend, everyday, although bread is pretty hard to find!

As you can see, Misha holds a special position among his friends who are Janina (the girl whose birthday party Mish went to), Dr. Korczak (the head of the orphanage), the orphans and Uri (the boy who takes care of him). Yet he believes that he is stupid and silly. That is why Misha is like milkweed, unique without realizing it.

Bibliography:-
Badgett, Becca. "Milkweed Flower: How To Grow Milkweed Plants." Gardening Know How. N.p., 09 June 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

I agree with you Mila. I thought it was hilarious when he stole the cake thinking they would actually burn it down! But it actually made me sad to think that Uri doesn't care about Misha any longer. I was starting to think that Uri truly liked and cared about Misha. If you have finished reading chapters 17-18 you would know how important it is for Misha to have someone to rely on especially at this time. Maybe Uri still cares about Misha but is giving him his space or he truly had enough and is done with Misha. Therefore I agree with you Mila that certain parts of the book I enjoyed far more than others.

                                                                                                                                                        

I agree and disagree with you. I agree with you at the part of your paragraph were you said that you were angry at Misha for wasting the stolen food. They stole the food in the first place because he was hungry, only to get the food and waste it! I also agree with you when you said that Misha is very important to his friends. What I really liked about your post was how you compared a Milkweed plant with Misha. The Milkweed plant can be bad, but at the same time, good, which relates with Misha, because he can be a real pest, but he always has his friends at heart. But, I kindly disagree with you were you said that you were mad at Misha for being so childish. Misha is not choosing to be to be sensless. He just happens to be really clueless of things. I would not blame him because what I am inferring happened to him, is that because of all the stress that he was probably having he might have lost his memory. It is possible. It states on google, when I searched, "Stress, anxiety or depression can cause forgetfulness, confusion, difficulty concentrating and other problems that disrupt daily activities." So, I would not blame Misha for being so childish. 
All in all Debdutta, I agree and dissagree with you, but you overall did a great job, especially by comparing Misha with a Milkweed plant.

     There is one major thing I learned about life from my reading it is that everyone has problems and challenges. Also I learned that not everyone solves these challenges but they try to. Like in the book Misha  doesn't even know but he is facing a problem about who he is and what he was. Along with that there is the World War 2 with Jackboots killing people for fun. Most people like Misha just think about themselfs and their happiness but Uri on the other hand is taking care of Misha and taking care of himself. It states in chapter 9 paragraph 2," Uri hauled me out of bed."Coat!Coat!" I felt in the dark for my coat. "Shoes!"  I grabbed my shoes. He dragged me to the hatch door that opened from the celler to the backyard. "Run!" he said when we got outside. I wouldn't move. "My candy!" He smacked me. We ran." This statement states that Uri could have left Misha behind to be killed but instead he lead the way and saved Misha from the Jackboots. Also this also shows that even though there is so many dangerous problems  Misha and Uri don't give up instead the keep trying to run away get food and mostly survive. So in conclusion this book has taught me that all people have probems and it has also taught me that even if there is a dangerous problem that I should never give up but instead keep trying until the end.

     I agree whith you Anna and I was wondering the same thing with Janina because where would they go if the lost their home to a Jackboot. My first thought was that she and her family went to her uncle's house because in the 15th chapter it has Janina traveling with her family and uncle to the ghetto. So I think she went to her uncle's home to live on. For your second question I don't think he is mad at Misha but instead pleased because Misha didn't want anything bad to happen and he asked Dr.Korczak if the orphans would want to play on the merry-go-round and I don't think that could have caused any harm. For you final question I think he will find out what his real idenity is because the author wouldn't leave

Hannah, I agree with you. In the beginning of Chapter 17, I felt sad for Misha and the other boys living in the stable too. Not just that I also felt horrified and frightened for Misha. If I went through that sort of experience, I would be shocked. Misha is only a 8-year-old boy, so I can’t even imagine how frightened he should be feeling. What if that boy who was shot had been Misha instead of the new boy? I also feel anger at the Jackboots. How can they be so heartless? Why do they assume that every crime is committed by Jews? When Misha says that the Jackboots thought that Jews were interchangeable, I was so mad! Why should an innocent man be punished for a crime that he didn’t commit? When Olek talks about the reason why he doesn’t have an arm, I also feel grief. Not to mention poor Jon who is sick. The Jackboots don’t even show respect to the dead. They leave the dead bodies lying there and just cover them with a single sheet of newspaper. Then they pile up the bodies and burn them. How horrid! Overall, I agree with you and I would like to compliment you on your voice in your response. It was extremely strong! Great job!

Milkweed is a very believable story. The story takes place in a real country, Warsaw Poland, in the time the Holocaust takes place, the 1930’s. It describes possible events that may have happened or have happened. For example, the trains beginning to take people in chapter 36. And they pile dead bodies in wagons as shown in chapter 21. Many events in this book have been proven that it did happen by many sources, such as ghettos existing and the fact jewish people where forced to live in ghettos. In conclusion, I believe Milkweed is an accurate image of what happened during the Holocaust and is a believable story.

     I am currently redaing Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli. In the past week of novels, this book has became very intense. Many people dying, being serverly abused. This book has indeed made me thing of life, and how life is not always a cup of tea. In this following paragraph, I will list two life lessons and some reasoning that I have learned from 'Milkweed'.
The first life lesson that I have learned is, life is not always hugs and kisses. The Jews in the Warsaw ghetto have not been treated very well this sometimes caused mental distresses as proven by Enos in Chapter 33.

“She plucked it from my shirt. She held it by the seed up to the light. She dusted her nose with it and giggled. She brushed the fluff across her cheek, closing her eyes. She stood on tiptoes and held it as high as she could and let it go. It sailed towards the sky. 

‘That is my angel,’ she said.

Then they were all around us, milkweed puffs, flying. I picked one from her hair. I pointed. ‘Look.’ A milkweed plant was growing by a heap of rubble. 

It was thrilling just to see a plant, a spot of green in the ghetto desert. The bird-shaped pods had burst and the puffs were spilling out, flying off. I cracked a pod from the stem and blew into the silk-lined hollow, sending the remaining puffs sailing, a snowy shower rising, vanishing into the clouds.”

This quote, in my opinion, is really strong and symbolizes the dire need of hope in the ghetto. The milkweed plant had been growing in a heap of rubble, the rubble symbolizing the ghetto and the milkweed plant representing hope. It delivers a strong message of how hope can blossom anywhere. When Misha and Janina see this plant, they are thrilled to see a spot of green amongst the black. Yet the puffs sail off into the sky, soon disappearing. That symbolizes how quickly hope can blossom as well as disappear. This quote really represents the story, which is why I picked it. It made me feel as if something good might soon happen in Misha’s life, maybe after something bad happens. I also felt really happy for Misha. He must be jubilant to finally be able to see green among a sea of black, as Misha describes it.

All in all, I feel like this quote really symbolizes hope.

    I am currently redaing Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli. In the past week of novels, this book has became very intense. Many people dying, being serverly abused. This book has indeed made me thing of life, and how life is not always a cup of tea. In this following paragraph, I will list two life lessons and some reasoning that I have learned from 'Milkweed'.
  The first life lesson that I have learned is, life is not always hugs and kisses. The Jews in the Warsaw ghetto have not been treated very well this sometimes caused mental distresses as proven by Enos in Chapter 33. "I went to find the boys. Enos was standing on top of the butcher shop rubble. He was laughing. The others were staring up at him.
 'What's funny?' I said
 'What's funny?' he laughed some more. 'Everthing! They herd us in here like animals. They build a wall around us. They starvr us. They freeze us. They beat us. They shoot us. They hang us. They set us on fire. And then guess what?' he reached down to Bog Henryk and rapped him on the head. 'Guess what?'
 'What?' says Big Henryk.
 'I'll tell you what.'Rnos started laughing again. 'The Russians come along and say,'That's not enough. You Nazis are too easy on them. So we're going to bomb them.' And that's what they do.' He threw put his arms. 'They bomb us!'
He looked at us all. 'You don't think that is the funniest thing you have every heard of?'
No one laughed, not even Kuba."

The bombing that Kuba was talking about happed that day or the previous day. Kuba's mind is probably so confused, that it does not know whether or not it should cry, shout, or shut down, so it just decides to laugh even though it probably should be crying. This shows the mental difficulty the mind had to deal with during the time of struggle with the Jews.
The second life lesson that I learned was, your family is the answer. I go this from through out 'Milkweed' some examples include the lineup that occored in chapter 20, and especially the bombing in chapter 32 and 34. All in all, I learned two major life lessons while reading the book 'Milkweed' by Jerry Spinelli.

I have been wondering the same thing as you, Cindy. Is Misha the reason why everybody was in trouble over smuggling? Are all the Jews suffering because of Misha? If somebody sees him smuggling they could possibly decide to report him to the Jackboots. It might even be a Jew who reports him just to get out of the ghetto. I know that he needs food, but maybe he could try to stay more hidden. The scene of Olek, hanged by the Jackboots, should have been a warning to Misha. Yet he continued to smuggle.The probability of Misha getting caught is around 90%. It is a miracle that he hasn't been caught yet! Also, Uri is German, although he has red hair. It is unfair that he gets to work in the Laundromat outside of the ghetto while the other Jews don't get to do so. Plus, Uri has stopped caring about Misha now. Misha doesn't even see him often, as he doesn't live in the ghetto. Why? This book is really mysterious. I hope that we find our answers soon. Good job analyzing the text, Cindy!

The characters are really realistic because of the way they are shown in the text and their reactions to other characters and objects. First of all in the beginning Misha is homeless and doesn't have any memory of his past so he acts that way. He agrees to a made up story from Uri and he belives it. This is how in real life people would act if they were faced with the same challenges of Misha Milgrom. Also Janina is really realistic she acts like real sister. I think this because when her dad tells her to stop going out stealing with Misha she listens but has another idea and goes out alone. Not only this they are adapting to their enviorment like all humans have to do. I think Uri is the most realistic character because he acts just like a person in a war. He is really quiet and doesn't talk a lot and in real life people in places of wars don't talk a lot. Not only that he knows a lot about the war and helps orphans by giving them food and helping Misha. So in conclusion this story has really realistic characters.

I agree with Anna that Milkweed is a believable story. I agree with her because it is true that the holocaust was in the 1930's and in Warsaw, Poland. Another reason why I agree with her is because all of it is true there were ghettos in real life with people inside and people being bombed all the time. Also it is true Hitler hated the jews and there were jackboots. So in conclusion I agree with Anna that this book is a believable story.

I had the same wonders Cindy. Why doesn't Misha and Janina never get caught I personally think it is because the Jackboots are sleeping. Also I asked the same question why can Uri get to work at the laundry and not the other boys. Finally if you read the other chapters later on like 32 and 33 you will see the sign means "We will hang you all." So I have the same questions about the book Cindy.

Cindy, below I responded to your wonderings.

All in all you did a great job stating your wonderings.

The book is great so far, yet there were a few things I was wondering about. First off, why was Janina's mother (Mrs. Milgrom) so disapproving of Misha? For example, when Mr. Milgrom wanted for Misha to be included in their Hanukkah celebrations which she wasn't happy about. As the author said " He (Mr. Milgrom) wanted to include me the year before, but Mrs. Milgrom would not allow it. "No, " she had said, groaning from her mattress. "He is not a Jew. I am not his mother". I understand that he might not be Jewish, but in times like this people have to come together and be happy no matter what, which is what Hanukkah is about. As an adult, Mrs. Milgrom should understand. Also, it might have been just me but was anyone else confused when Misha mentioned a man marching down the street yelling "Children! Children! Come with me! We go to the candy mountain! Follow me! Follow me!". What was that man trying to do? Who in the world would follow him? Everyone knows there is no 'candy mountain', ESPECIALLY in the ghetto. One last thing I had in mind was the food being thrown over the wall in chapter 33.Who might have been the helper? I believe it was Uri since he worked at the hotel and might have had access to the food cellar. Those were some of the things I had in mind.

Great prompt! I do agree that the book has been intense lately. Yet I appreciate how the author does not sugar coat everything, which makes the book much more realistic. During the times of war, you will face death, cruelty and such. Sadly we can not change those things. As Hannah said life is not always about hugs and kisses, even if it is hard to imagine. Therefore, I agree with you on your conclusions. 

I agree with you Mila! In the very beginning of the book, I had assumed that the theme of Milkweed would be one of identity as in the beginning Misha was having an identity struggle. But now I realize that although Misha doesn't have a fixed identity, this book focuses on other themes too. One of those, as you said, is the theme of hope and faith which also connects to milkweed. Both Misha and Janina feel really hopeful around milkweed. Without hope, surviving the Holocaust would be pretty difficult. The book really focuses on connecting milkweed to the theme of hope through symbolism. For example, the milkweed plant was growing in a heap of rubble. Like you said, there is a theme of love as well. I really liked the ending due to the fact that Misha has a family and he is once again among ones that he loves. He has a granddaughter and a daughter! But I believe that there is another theme as well. That theme is about friendship. Misha was once a poor, homeless, orphaned boy roaming the streets. But then Uri, his friend found him. Uri took care of Misha and helped him. Later, after Misha was taken to the ghetto, Uri became a Jackboot. Uri's advantage is that Uri has red hair, unlike most Jews. That is why Uri assumes the cover of a Jackboot in order to protect his friends. I believe that he is the one who threw food over the wall for his friends. At the end of the novel when Uri is faced with the challenge of killing Misha, he purposefully misses, shooting Misha's ear off instead. 
So all in all, I agree with you Mila. Great job analyzing the book closely!

     I accutaly have many things I wonder about in the story. One thing I wonder is why doesn't he help Misha become a Jackboot. He could easily suport Misha a get his a job at the laundry. Not only that how did he get the job in the first place. He is a Jew and the Jackboots should know that. Another thing I wonder is what happened to Uri after the war did he die or did he survive and living in a different place. I wonder about this because after he purposely missed Misha he totaly vanished from the book and Misha did not see him anymore so I want to know what happened to him. I also wonder what happened to Janina and her family. This is because Janina gets seperated from Misha and gets on the train with her father but I want to know did they find each other in the train or did they die in the war. Another wonder of mine is why does Misha give Wendy the name Wendy Janina and not another name like there are many other names he can choose from like his wife Vivian. My final wonder is what happened to the boys in the story. Did they find each other or did the get killed in the war if so how did they find each other. This is what I wonder about after I finished the whole book.

     I had the same feeling because the ending is so peaceful after all the chaos of the war and people getting killed. It is also great that Misha takes the time to remember all of his names and think about everything that has happened to him. I accutly think it is really heart-warming that his grand-daughter found him and they are happy together in peace. Not only that just the part where he is placing his hope down as a milkweed plant like in the part where he and Janina see a milkweed plant in the middle of a ruined city as hope. So in conclusion I had the same feeling as you about the ending. 

I was surprisingly pleased with how Milkweed ended. I thought it had a "warm and fuzzy" ending. I was truly happy for Misha. The fact that he has a family after all that he has been through is truly wonderful. I was thinking that somehow Janina will be mentioned at the end of the story. But I did not expect that he will get to decide Wendy's middle name. I thought it was symbolic of his connection with Janina. After all those years of worry, fear and instability Misha had finally found comfort and peace. I finally understood why the book is called Milkweed. Towards the end, Misha collected Milkweed to plant in his daughter's yard to remind him of hope. Remember how happy he was when he found a small bunch of Milkweed in all of the rubble. Tiny it may seem, but the meaning it carried. Spark of hope in the gray world. Misha understood the power of love and hope.  The story would have changed dramatically if he had just given up on everything and everyone. Therefore I think there couldn't have been a better ending for the book!