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Chapter 26
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
The next day, Misha finds the orphan boys playing a new game. Big Henryk is holding Kuba upside down while Ferdi wallops his behind with a large bone, sending clouds of lice flying from Kuba’s hair. Misha takes a turn—Ferdi stuffs a book down Misha’s pants for protection, and Kuba starts hitting him with the bone. Just then, Janina appears, kicking and punching Kuba. But when she realizes Kuba isn’t hurting Misha, she wants her own turn, so she borrows Misha’s pants (since she’s wearing a dress) and yelps and laughs as Big Henryk holds her upside down while Kuba knocks out her lice.
Janina continues to show up in parts of Misha’s life that had previously been off limits to her, both as his family member becoming part of the orphan world, and as a girl wanting to make herself at home in a group that’s always been boys-only. Misha’s life continues to become more complicated as his relationships with the Milgroms deepen.
Themes
The hilarity is interrupted when the kids notice four new people standing in the alley—two Jackboots with their well-dressed girlfriends. One of the Jackboots holds up a black object, and Misha thinks it’s a weapon at first, until Enos explains that it’s a camera, which Misha has never seen before. Janina, meanwhile, is dancing for the couples while they snap pictures, hold their noses, and laugh.
The Nazis’ dehumanizing ideology comes through even in their off-duty hours, as they view the ghetto kids as objects of entertainment. Ironically, the formerly naïve Misha is the one who’s beginning to recognize this, while Janina, who’s been more sheltered, does not.
Themes
