About Milkweed
In the book, Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli, the protagonist, Misha Pilsudiski, is a little gypsy that lives his life as a thief. The antagonists, "Jackboots", are the Nazi's that are trying to kill all the Jews and all the Gypsy's. Everyday, Misha and his group of friends run from Jackboots across the city of Warsaw, Poland. Stealing food to survive, the group is labeled as "dirty Jews" by the Jackboots and non-Jewish citizens. Written in 1st person point of view, Misha tells the story in his own eyes. At first, the mood starts out exciting and adventurous. Misha explores and learns so much. But as the book progresses, it starts to turn depressing. The tone of the story is happy and childish because Misha doesn't know a lot and he thinks everything is a game. He starts to change later on, realizing that the Jackboots are bad and don't like Jews and Gypsy's. The external conflict of the story is man vs. society. The Nazi's represent society because they are the government and they are trying to get rid of Misha and all of the Jews. Misha and his group resist as much as thy can, stealing anything that could help them survive.