As the namesake of the novel, the milkweed is the book’s predominant symbol of resilience and hope. It speaks not only to physical strength but also mental and emotional perseverance. In the first instance that milkweed is mentioned, it is a word that seems to spring forth organically from Misha. Despite not knowing the meanings or names of many things, the milkweed, and by extension its symbolized hope and resilience, are vital and inherent parts of Misha’s character: “It was a brown seed with a spray of white fluff coming out of it. It was clinging to my shirt and suddenly the word for it was on my tongue. A word I didn’t even know I knew” (112).

Misha and Janina are entranced when they see “a milkweed plant was growing by a heap of rubble”(112), amazed that life can grow amidst such destruction. In much the same way, Misha, Janina, Uri, and the rest of the boys are forced to grow in the ruins of war-torn Warsaw. In the ghetto, where death and violence are common sights, the usually-unremarkable milkweed with “silk-lined hollow[s]” and “bird-shaped pods” is beautiful for its perseverance (112).