1. Misguided Hope and False Salvation: The angels, particularly the "Angel of Death," are initially presented as figures of hope and salvation to the Jewish children hiding in the Warsaw ghetto. However, their true nature is revealed to be deceitful and ultimately destructive. They promise a better life, but instead lead the children to their deaths. This symbolizes the way in which false hope can be exploited, leading to tragic consequences.
2. The Power of Belief and Self-Deception: The children's belief in the angels, despite the growing evidence of their dangerous intentions, demonstrates the power of belief and self-deception. They desperately cling to the hope that the angels will save them, even as they are being led to their deaths. This reflects the human tendency to hold onto hope, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
3. The Holocaust as a Metaphor for Hell: The angels and the children's journey to the "promised land" can be interpreted as a metaphor for the Holocaust. The journey is a descent into hell, with the angels acting as demonic figures leading the unsuspecting victims to their doom. This highlights the horrific reality of the Holocaust and the unimaginable suffering it caused.
4. The Role of Authority and Obedience: The children's obedience to the angels, even when they begin to doubt their motives, underscores the dangers of blind obedience to authority. It shows how people can be manipulated and led to their destruction by those in positions of power.
5. The Lack of Divine Intervention: The angels are ultimately revealed to be false and there is no indication of any real divine intervention in the story. This can be interpreted as a commentary on the nature of faith and the absence of divine protection in the face of suffering.
6. The Unreliability of Memory and Narrative: The novel itself is presented as a fragmented and unreliable narrative, echoing the distorted memories and experiences of the Holocaust survivors. The angels are part of this unreliable narrative, representing the difficulty of understanding and reconstructing the past, and the danger of creating false memories to cope with trauma.
In conclusion, the angels in "Milkweed" are a potent and multi-layered symbol, representing the destructive power of false hope, the human tendency to self-deception, the horrors of the Holocaust, and the complexities of memory and narrative. They invite the reader to question the nature of belief, authority, and the very notion of salvation.