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Chapter 22
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Milkweed, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Identity and Relationships
War, Dehumanization, and Innocence
Ingenuity, Resilience, and Survival
Family
Summary
Analysis
When people hear that Himmler is coming, they gather on the street. Misha runs down to see fancy cars parading down the street, but only the Flops pay attention. Misha starts calling to the men in the cars, asking them if they’re Herr Himmler. Nobody responds, except for a scrawny man with thick glasses. Misha can’t believe that’s Himmler. He asks to see Himmler’s boots, sure that they would be the most impressive boots of all—but then he’s knocked down by a Flop’s club.
Until now, Misha has had an idealized view of the Nazi soldiers, even believing that the soldiers will pay attention to an anonymous boy like him. Seeing Himmler’s unimpressive appearance in real life begins to disillusion him, as does the Flop’s brutal treatment.
Themes
The Flop holding the club is a fat man named Buffo, who’s infamous in the ghetto. He loves tormenting Jewish children by suffocating them in his huge belly. Since Buffo always chews mint leaves, a dead child’s body always smells of mint after Buffo kills them. Though Buffo hates Misha most of all, Misha can’t help teasing him, calling him Fatman and running away. But today, Buffo pins Misha’s foot with his boot and laughs. Misha finally manages to free himself and get away. Later, he and the other boys laugh about the close call, but Uri smacks him hard and warns him not to bait Buffo.
Some cruel people in the ghetto relish the opportunity to exercise power, even when that means oppressing those who are powerless and ignoring the fact that they’re members of the same oppressed group as those they’re tormenting. Misha regards Buffo as just another person to outsmart on the streets, but Uri knows there’s much more at stake in this instance, hence his harsh response to Misha’s lightheartedness.
Themes
