The two books I have read, Milkweed and Emil and Karl, have both similarities and differences. The topic that both books share is the Holocaust, which is a similarity. A difference between the books is that the stories take place in two different parts of Europe. Emil and Karl takes place in Austria, Milkweed’s setting is Poland. The leading characters in each of the books are two teenage boys.
Emil and Karl are the main characters of the self-titled book; Karl being the protagonist character. Milkweed has two main characters, Misha Pilsudski and Uri; with Misha Pilsudski being the protagonist character. Karl and Misha Pilsudski are both orphans. How they became orphans is different; Karl knows when and where his parents were taken from him. Misha Pilsudski has no memory of his parents or what happened to them. Karl and Misha Pilsudski are also alike in the fact that they are not Jewish, but they are not of the same heritage. Emil and Uri enter the story to assist the main characters. Although they play the same role, Emil enters as Karl’s friend of the same age. Uri enters as an older more experienced brother like figure. Emil and Uri are both Jewish.
The similarity of all four boys, Emil, Karl, Misha Pilsudski, and Uri is that they are all running in search of safety from the grasp of the Nazi Germans, A.K.A. the Jackboots. Circumstances out of their control force them to take different paths.
Emil and Karl are the main characters of the self-titled book; Karl being the protagonist character. Milkweed has two main characters, Misha Pilsudski and Uri; with Misha Pilsudski being the protagonist character. Karl and Misha Pilsudski are both orphans. How they became orphans is different; Karl knows when and where his parents were taken from him. Misha Pilsudski has no memory of his parents or what happened to them. Karl and Misha Pilsudski are also alike in the fact that they are not Jewish, but they are not of the same heritage. Emil and Uri enter the story to assist the main characters. Although they play the same role, Emil enters as Karl’s friend of the same age. Uri enters as an older more experienced brother like figure. Emil and Uri are both Jewish.
The similarity of all four boys, Emil, Karl, Misha Pilsudski, and Uri is that they are all running in search of safety from the grasp of the Nazi Germans, A.K.A. the Jackboots. Circumstances out of their control force them to take different paths.
Okay, good. Now tell me what you are thinking about the characters. You've done a solid job of retelling the literal qualities of each of the characters. What internal qualities, motivations and desires distinguish each of the characters? How does each author approach their subject?
ReplyDelete4/5 points.