Milkweed And The Jackboot

Have you ever heard of the Holocaust that took place in the 1930’s and 40’s? Have you ever heard of the Nazis that took control in Germany, and everything around it? Well, in the two excerpts, “Until Then I Had Only Read about These Things in Books,” and, the excerpt from Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli, and the poem, “The Guard,” by Jennifer Roy, there are many circumstances in which children are attempting to survive this event. However, the narrators express their feelings, and either have similar feelings toward experiences with the “Jackboots”/Nazis, or different emotions. In the excerpt from Milkweed, by Jerry Spinelli, the excerpt from “Until Then I Had Only Read About These Things in Books,” and the poem, “The Guard,” by Jennifer …show more content…
One difference is that in the excerpt from Milkweed, the main character doesn’t feel uncomfortable around the Nazis/Jackboots, unlike the other texts. In the excerpt, it says, “They were magnificent. There were men attached to them but it was as if the boots were wearing the men...” This implies that Misha Pilsudski, the character, doesn’t know any better to be scared of the Nazi, and in the other pieces of texts, the characters are scared. Misha, instead, states that they are “magnificent” and is amazed by them. Another difference among the texts is that the excerpt from Milkweed contains the main character interacting with a Nazi/Jackboot, while in the others, the characters avoid contact because they know better. In the excerpt from Milkweed, it says, “The soldier smiled down at me. He mussed my hair and pinched my cheek. ‘Tiny little Jew,’ he said. ‘Happy to see us, are you?’” In this quote from the excerpt, it is saying that Misha had a physical interaction with the Nazi, and we know this because he pinched Misha’s cheek. In the excerpt from the other excerpt, and the poem, they are avoiding contact because they are scared of the Nazis, unlike