Milkweed

by

Jerry Spinelli

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 the basement of an abandoned barbershop. He takes a liking to Stopthief, and they live together in the basement. Uri is also associated with a group of orphan boys who live in a stable. he seems genuinely fond of Stopthief (whom he renames “Misha”), considering him a little brother like the biological brother he lost. However, in his urgency to protect Misha, Uri treats him roughly at times, smacking him for not listening and threatening him with violence for misbehavior. Around the time the street kids are forced into the ghetto, Uri starts to disappear for days on end. One night, while smuggling outside the ghetto walls, Misha finds Uri working in a fancy hotel. Uri threatens Misha, telling him never to come there again or to call him “Uri” in public. On the day of the deportations, Uri (who’s wearing a Nazi uniform) shoots Misha in the ear. Misha eventually comes to understand that Uri was secretly serving with the German Army, but that he was trying to spare Misha from death in a concentration camp. Misha believes the real Uri was a good person at heart and imagines him covertly working against the Germans until the very end.

Uri Quotes in Milkweed

The Milkweed quotes below are all either spoken by Uri or refer to Uri. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity and Relationships Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

More thumping sounds in the distance. "What is that?" I asked him.

“Jackboot artillery," he said.

"What's artillery?"

"Big guns. Boom boom. They're shelling the city." He stared at me. “Who are you?"

I didn't understand the question.

"I'm Uri," he said. “What's your name?”

I gave him my name. "Stopthief."

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Uri (speaker)
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

[One boy] kicked ground straw at a boy who hadn't spoken. […] "That's a Jew." He pointed to himself. "This is a Jew." He pointed to the others. "That's a Jew. That's a Jew. That's a Jew." He pointed to the horse. "That's a Jew." He fell to his knees and scrabbled in the straw near the horse flop. He found something. He held it out to me. It was a small brown insect. "This is a Jew. Look. Look!" He startled me.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Uri
Page Number: 7
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

I, Misha Pilsudski, was born a Gypsy somewhere in the land of Russia. My family, including two great-grandfathers and a great-great-grandmother who was one hundred and nine years old, traveled from place to place in seven wagons pulled by fourteen horses. There were nineteen more horses trailing the wagons, as my father was a horse trader. My mother told fortunes with cards.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Uri
Page Number: 29
Explanation and Analysis:

I loved my story. No sooner did I hear the words than I became my story. I loved myself. For days afterward, I did little else but stare into the barbershop mirror, fascinated by the face that stared back.

“Misha Pilsudski…,” I kept saying. “Misha Pilsudski… Misha Pilsudski…” And then it was no longer enough to stare at myself and repeat my name to myself. I needed to tell someone else.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Janina Milgrom, Uri
Page Number: 31
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

I had an idea. The next day I snatched two loaves of bread. One I gave to Uri, the other I took to the house of Janina the girl. It had snowed overnight. Brown stubble poked through the white blanket covering the garden. I pushed the snow from the top step. I set the loaf down, knocked on the door, and ran.

The next day I came back to look. The bread was gone.

That was how it started.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Janina Milgrom, Uri
Page Number: 41
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

I had never seen him so mad. His hair looked redder than ever, only this time it was not because he was laughing. He punched me in the forehead. The back of my head banged against the wall. "Someday I'm going to have to kill you to keep you alive." He flapped his arm. "You want to do it your way? You want to go off by yourself? Not listen to me? Go ahead!" He kicked me. "Go ahead!" He stomped off. By the time he reached the street, I was at his side.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Uri (speaker)
Page Number: 59
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22 Quotes

From the moment Mr. Milgrom said, “He is now,” my identity as a Gypsy vanished. Gone were the seven wagons, seven brothers, five sisters, Greta the speckled mare. Deep down I guess I had always known my Gypsy history was merely Uri's story, not reality. I didn't miss it. When you own nothing, it's easy to let things go. I supposed my last name was Milgrom now, so Pilsudski went too. I kept Misha. I liked it.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Uri, Mr. Tobiasz Milgrom
Page Number: 104
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 39 Quotes

The Jackboot flung me against a wall. I saw his hand go to his holster. I saw the gun come out and point between my eyes. "Die, piglet!" The voice. I looked up. The red hair. The face. “Uri!" I cried, and the gun went off.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Uri
Page Number: 186
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 42 Quotes

The man placed his foot on my chest. "You're a Jew," he said.

"Yes," I answered. I pointed to my armband. "See?"

“What are you doing here?"

"I'm following the train. Janina. I'm going to the ovens."

"What ovens?"

"The ovens for the Jews. I'm a filthy son of Abraham. They forgot me. Can you take me to the ovens?"

The man spit in the weeds. "I don't know what you're talking about. You make no sense. Are you insane?"

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), The farmer (speaker), Janina Milgrom, Uri
Page Number: 192
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 45 Quotes

I think of all the voices that have told me who I have been, the names I've had. Call me thief. Call me stupid. […] I don't care. Empty-handed victims once told me who I was. Then Uri told me. Then an armband. Then an immigration officer. And now this little girl in my lap, this little girl whose call silences the tramping Jackboots. Her voice will be the last. […] I am . . . Poppynoodle.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Janina Milgrom, Uri, Wendy Janina
Page Number: 208
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Milkweed LitChart as a printable PDF.
Milkweed PDF

Uri Quotes in Milkweed

The Milkweed quotes below are all either spoken by Uri or refer to Uri. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity and Relationships Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

More thumping sounds in the distance. "What is that?" I asked him.

“Jackboot artillery," he said.

"What's artillery?"

"Big guns. Boom boom. They're shelling the city." He stared at me. “Who are you?"

I didn't understand the question.

"I'm Uri," he said. “What's your name?”

I gave him my name. "Stopthief."

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Uri (speaker)
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

[One boy] kicked ground straw at a boy who hadn't spoken. […] "That's a Jew." He pointed to himself. "This is a Jew." He pointed to the others. "That's a Jew. That's a Jew. That's a Jew." He pointed to the horse. "That's a Jew." He fell to his knees and scrabbled in the straw near the horse flop. He found something. He held it out to me. It was a small brown insect. "This is a Jew. Look. Look!" He startled me.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Uri
Page Number: 7
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

I, Misha Pilsudski, was born a Gypsy somewhere in the land of Russia. My family, including two great-grandfathers and a great-great-grandmother who was one hundred and nine years old, traveled from place to place in seven wagons pulled by fourteen horses. There were nineteen more horses trailing the wagons, as my father was a horse trader. My mother told fortunes with cards.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Uri
Page Number: 29
Explanation and Analysis:

I loved my story. No sooner did I hear the words than I became my story. I loved myself. For days afterward, I did little else but stare into the barbershop mirror, fascinated by the face that stared back.

“Misha Pilsudski…,” I kept saying. “Misha Pilsudski… Misha Pilsudski…” And then it was no longer enough to stare at myself and repeat my name to myself. I needed to tell someone else.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Janina Milgrom, Uri
Page Number: 31
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

I had an idea. The next day I snatched two loaves of bread. One I gave to Uri, the other I took to the house of Janina the girl. It had snowed overnight. Brown stubble poked through the white blanket covering the garden. I pushed the snow from the top step. I set the loaf down, knocked on the door, and ran.

The next day I came back to look. The bread was gone.

That was how it started.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Janina Milgrom, Uri
Page Number: 41
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

I had never seen him so mad. His hair looked redder than ever, only this time it was not because he was laughing. He punched me in the forehead. The back of my head banged against the wall. "Someday I'm going to have to kill you to keep you alive." He flapped his arm. "You want to do it your way? You want to go off by yourself? Not listen to me? Go ahead!" He kicked me. "Go ahead!" He stomped off. By the time he reached the street, I was at his side.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Uri (speaker)
Page Number: 59
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22 Quotes

From the moment Mr. Milgrom said, “He is now,” my identity as a Gypsy vanished. Gone were the seven wagons, seven brothers, five sisters, Greta the speckled mare. Deep down I guess I had always known my Gypsy history was merely Uri's story, not reality. I didn't miss it. When you own nothing, it's easy to let things go. I supposed my last name was Milgrom now, so Pilsudski went too. I kept Misha. I liked it.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Uri, Mr. Tobiasz Milgrom
Page Number: 104
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 39 Quotes

The Jackboot flung me against a wall. I saw his hand go to his holster. I saw the gun come out and point between my eyes. "Die, piglet!" The voice. I looked up. The red hair. The face. “Uri!" I cried, and the gun went off.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Uri
Page Number: 186
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 42 Quotes

The man placed his foot on my chest. "You're a Jew," he said.

"Yes," I answered. I pointed to my armband. "See?"

“What are you doing here?"

"I'm following the train. Janina. I'm going to the ovens."

"What ovens?"

"The ovens for the Jews. I'm a filthy son of Abraham. They forgot me. Can you take me to the ovens?"

The man spit in the weeds. "I don't know what you're talking about. You make no sense. Are you insane?"

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), The farmer (speaker), Janina Milgrom, Uri
Page Number: 192
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 45 Quotes

I think of all the voices that have told me who I have been, the names I've had. Call me thief. Call me stupid. […] I don't care. Empty-handed victims once told me who I was. Then Uri told me. Then an armband. Then an immigration officer. And now this little girl in my lap, this little girl whose call silences the tramping Jackboots. Her voice will be the last. […] I am . . . Poppynoodle.

Related Characters: Stopthief / Misha Pilsudski (speaker), Janina Milgrom, Uri, Wendy Janina
Page Number: 208
Explanation and Analysis: