Milkweed

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2003

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Chapters 25-27Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 25 Summary: “Summer”

Misha recalls more about his relationship with Janina. Janina frequently cries and laughs, large explosions of emotions that resemble tantrums. Her favorite food is pickled eggs. When Janina begs her mother desperately for them, Mrs. Milgrom does not respond and stays in her usual spot, curled up on the mattress with her back to the room.

Janina frequently plays tricks on Misha. She throws Misha’s yellow-stone necklace over a wall after having kept it from him for days, and he retaliates in kind by throwing away the bag of gifts that she had once given him. Misha tries to impress upon Janina the importance of food, and not to waste it, but she simply laughs at him.

Misha now spends most nights in the Milgroms’ room. It is quiet in the evening, except for Janina. Mr. Milgrom no longer receives visitors in need of medicine, Mrs. Milgrom stays silent as she stares at the wall, and Uncle Shepsel reads his book on Lutheranism. While Janina usually plays pick-up-sticks in the dark, Misha finds that Janina is already lying down, ready for sleep.

When everyone has fallen asleep, Misha sneaks out of the house. The other boys have different ways of sneaking out of the ghetto, some going over the wall and others going under, via the sewers. No one is able to sneak through the small, two-brick hole except for Misha. This night, however, Misha realizes that Janina has followed him. Janina claims that Misha must allow her to follow him because he is her big brother and though he tries to force her to go back, she does not. Misha rushes through the space in the wall and Janina follows close behind him.

Chapter 26 Summary

Janina and Misha are outside of the ghetto, trying to look like they belong there. Janina mimics Misha the best she can, whistling while they walk, and trying not to look guilty. Misha brings them to one of his favorite places, a hotel for Jackboots, where they play in the revolving door. Misha and Janina sneak into the back of the hotel and Misha gets ready to steal food for the family. Janina throws a tantrum, first sending a can of coffee crashing to the floor, and later screaming when Misha refuses to give her a slice of canned peach.

The noises bring someone to the top of the stairs, where they call out into the darkness. The person does not investigate, and the children escape back into the night. After they re-enter the ghetto, Misha goes first to the orphanage, emptying half of his haul into the open window before leaving. Misha tells Janina that he is feeding the orphans, and Janina replies that Misha is “supposed to feed [them]” (99). Misha responds angrily, saying, “I feed whoever I want to feed” (99).

Chapter 27 Summary

Misha finds the boys in their new haunt, an alley behind a butcher shop, where Big Henryk appears to be holding the boys upside down by the ankles and beating their rump with a large bone. Soon, Misha realizes that the boys are doing so to get rid of the lice that have made homes in their hair. The boys stuff a book into Misha’s pants so he does not get hurt and soon Kuba is beating him with the bone, sending lice flying to the ground. Janina sees this and begins attacking Kuba, screaming at the boy to stop.

The boys explain the situation and Misha introduces Janina to them as his sister. Soon after, Janina wants a turn, and Misha gives her his pants to wear and the book as protection. As Kuba starts beating her, Misha wonders if her “angel will come out” (100). Misha has now learned from the boys that everyone carries an angel inside of themselves and when they die, their angel is all that survives. Misha also learns of Heaven and asks the boys where it is.

Each boy has a different answer. Kuba says Russia is Heaven. Olek claims that Washington, America is Heaven and Enos says that the other side of the wall, the Warsaw outside of the ghetto, is Heaven. Misha chases Janina around, to get his pants back, and they notice two Jackboots with their girlfriends taking pictures of them. Initially, Misha is horrified as Janina walks towards them, for he believes the camera to be a weapon. The couples laugh as Janina asks for the man with the camera to take more pictures of her dancing in the dust. When Janina touches one of the women’s dresses, the woman’s smile disappears, and she steps back, making a joke about the filth.

As the couples begin to leave, Misha asks if they are going to shoot them now. Enos smacks the back of Misha’s head to shut him up. Misha wishes that Uri is there to do the smacking instead. He is unable to stop staring at the Jackboot ladies’ white gloves.

Chapters 25-27 Analysis

In this section of the novel, Misha’s identity becomes more grounded as he becomes more involved in the Milgrom family. Janina calls Misha her older brother and he tries to fill the role to the best of his ability. Even though Misha understands the threat of the Jackboots more clearly, when he is outside of the ghetto, he is still overcome with the desire to parade his armband around: “I was proud to be part of the Milgrom family, proud to be a Jew. I wanted to wave my armband and shout, Hey, everyone, look at me, I’m a Jew! A filthy son of Abraham! But I didn’t” (97). While the armband is undoubtedly a symbol of prejudice and bigotry installed by the Nazis, it represents something altogether different for Misha. For Misha, the armband is an extension of his newfound identity and of his adopted family.

Janina and Misha’s relationship becomes more evident to the reader in this section. Janina and Misha tease, play, and bully each other like typical children. They have childish squabbles and tantrums. While tantrums may not threaten the lives of regular children, Janina and Misha do not have the luxury of a regular childhood. Spinelli reminds the reader of this with the scene in the basement of the Camel hotel. Misha childishly refuses to give Janina a slice of canned peach and despite all of his previous warnings, Janina screams out that she is hungry. The only way that Misha can keep her quiet is by giving her what she wants. This childish tantrum risks both of their lives and serves as a reminder of how young these children truly are, and the very mature and grave reality they live in.

Misha’s inability to differentiate between a camera and a weapon speaks to both his naivete and the violence that he has been surrounded by. The mundane is completely lost on Misha; he has become a product of his environment. Just as mundanity and normalcy has been lost in the ghetto, suffering has become a spectacle. In Chapter 27, Jackboots bring their girlfriends past the wall, to tour the ghetto and marvel at the starving people. Their opinions of the people in the ghetto are made doubly clear when one of the women takes a step back from Janina, not wanting to get her skirt dirty.