Milkweed

In Chapter 19, the dynamics between the boys are delved into in greater detail. After being forced into the ghetto, the group of boys sleep in rubble under a braided rug, huddled against each other for warmth. While Misha usually sleeps next to Uri when the older boy is there, Uri’s presence has been few and far between. The boys often speak of mothers and oranges. While some of the boys believe in mothers, Ferdi does not believe that they exist, saying, “real mothers don’t die” (70). Likewise, the boys also speak of oranges in equally-disbelieving terms.

With none of the required documents or armbands, the boys are a target for the ghetto police, otherwise known as the “Flops” (70). Ferdi, Misha, and the other boys frequently debate the existence of things and with their own lack of documentation, Ferdi says that they are the ones who do not exist. With the onset of winter and their arrival into the ghetto, food is scarce.

Uri returns to the boys with food sometimes. He tells the others that the Jackboots are starving the people in the ghetto on purpose. Misha watches as vendors on the street try to sell any scrap of food they can find, from bones and fat to charred and roasted animals.