Milkweed Character Analysis

Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski

At the beginning of the story, Stopthief is a young orphan boy living on the streets of Warsaw, Poland, stealing food to survive. Stopthief is very small for his age (probably around eight, though he’s… read analysis of Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski

Janina Milgrom

Janina is a young Jewish girl, seven years old at the beginning of the novel, whom Misha befriends when he wanders into her backyard and steals a tomato from her garden. She’s Mr. and Mrs.… read analysis of Janina Milgrom

Uri

Uri is a red-headed street orphan in Warsaw who takes Stopthief under his wing. Uri’s age is never given, but he seems to be a teenager. At the beginning of the story, he lives in… read analysis of Uri

Mr. Tobiasz Milgrom

Mr. Milgrom is Janina’s father and Mrs. Milgrom’s husband; he’s a pharmacist. Mr. Milgrom is a kind, gentle man who handles life in the Warsaw ghetto with quiet dignity. He is fond of… read analysis of Mr. Tobiasz Milgrom

Mrs. Milgrom

Mrs. Milgrom is Janina’s mother and Mr. Milgrom’s husband. She is sickly and bitter about life in the ghetto. She also objects to Misha hanging around with Janina, and she never lets Misha… read analysis of Mrs. Milgrom

Uncle Shepsel

Uncle Shepsel is Janina’s uncle who lives with her and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Milgrom family. He is mostly concerned about his own wellbeing and resents Misha’s presence in the household. Uncle… read analysis of Uncle Shepsel

Doctor Korczak

Doctor Korczak (based on a real-life historical person) runs an orphans’ home in Warsaw. He is a bald, bearded man with a kind heart and a ready laugh. Misha smuggles food for Doctor Korczak’s orphans… read analysis of Doctor Korczak

Buffo

Buffo is an infamous Flop (a Jewish guard inside the ghetto) who hates children, especially Misha. He enjoys suffocating children by pushing their faces into his enormous stomach. He’s also known for chewing mint… read analysis of Buffo

Herr Himmler

Historically, Heinrich Himmler was the high-ranking Nazi who planned and implemented the Holocaust. In the story, Misha gets a glimpse of Himmler as he’s being driven through the Warsaw ghetto. Misha is convinced that Himmler… read analysis of Herr Himmler

Vivian

Vivian is Misha’s wife. She listens to Misha (then called Jack) talking on a street corner in Philadelphia and begins bringing him food and taking him on dates. Then she offers to marry him… read analysis of Vivian

Wendy Janina

Wendy Janina is Katherine’s daughter and Misha’s granddaughter, a lively four-year-old. Katherine left Wendy’s middle name blank until she found Misha, and she invites him to give Wendy a middle name. Misha immediately… read analysis of Wendy Janina

Minor Characters

Kuba

Kuba is a boy from the gang of Warsaw street orphans. He likes to clown around.

Ferdi

Ferdi is a boy from the gang of Warsaw street orphans. He’s an avid smoker and rather cynical.

Olek

Olek is a boy from the gang of Warsaw street orphans. He only has one arm, having lost the other when he got pushed in front of a train. The Nazis eventually hang Olek as a punishment for smuggling.

Enos

Enos is a boy from the gang of Warsaw street orphans. He always has a grim expression on his face and has a bitter sense of humor.

Big Henryk

Big Henryk is a boy from the gang of Warsaw street orphans. He’s developmentally disabled. For most of the story, he wears coin bags from the bank instead of shoes. After Jon dies, Big Henryk starts wearing Jon’s shoes.

Jon

Jon is a boy from the gang of Warsaw street orphans. He is thin and gray and never speaks; he dies during the first winter in the ghetto.

The farmer

After Misha escapes the ghetto, this farmer in the Polish countryside takes him in. But when Misha tries to leave, the farmer ties him to a post in the barn. Misha works on his farm for three years, until the farmer’s wife frees him .

The farmer’s wife / Elzbieta

Elzbieta is the wife of the Polish farmer who enslaves Misha on his farm. More compassionate than her husband, she feeds Misha and tends his wounded ear. In the end, she finally resists her husband by setting Misha free and sending him off with a loaf of bread.

Katherine

Katherine is Misha’s and Vivian’s daughter. She spends years searching for Misha, reunited with him for the first time in a grocery store when she is in her twenties. She invites him to live with her and her daughter, Wendy.

Milkweed

Jerry Spinelli

Milkweed Characters