Survival and Endurance
Milkweed was about the story of a survival of a little boy through the Holocaust. Misha, although oblivious about the fact, tried his best to survive when he was alone, when he was with the other boys, and when he became one of the Milgroms. He did not depend on anyone to help him or give him food. Even when the Jews were separated from Warsaw by the ghetto and were deprived of food and proper shelter, he did not give up. Misha found a way to survive by smuggling food from Warsaw by sneaking out through a two-brick gap in the wall. He endured a lot of pain and loss. Pain from the smacking and hunger, and loss from the loss of identity and family members. Misha shows the small scale of the theme. During World War II, especially during the Holocaust, millions of people and children were put in the same situation as Misha and his friends and family, but not everyone endured and survived.
Love
Misha has little experience in life, so he didn't really know what love is although he showed it and felt it. He described his love for his new sister Janina, for he kept saying that although sometimes he found her annoying and she played many pranks on him, he was never okay to see her sad. He always wanted her by his side except when he was smuggling because this would risk her life. After Janina's mother died, Janina started losing weight quickly, became very depressed, and lost all her appetite. When she said she wished for a pickled egg, Misha risked his life and went to a place full of Nazis just to bring her what she wanted. He also loved his new family, the Milgroms, and showed that by constantly giving them from the food he steals and smuggles. He could have used this food to his advantage, kept it, or sold it, but he shared it with whom he loved. Finally, Misha's extreme love for Janina is obvious when he wakes up from his unconsciousness and follows the train tracks on foot to find Janina because she went with her father in the deportation trains.
