A cow (allegory)
A cow is an allegory of free life. A ghetto is a prison, so its inhabitants are fully dependent on mercy of their guards. Dirt, illnesses, exhausting work, and lack of nourishing food drive people crazy. Bread starts costing more than a human life. “The cow” has become something “to believe in.” Suffering people dream about a cow that wanders around the ghetto, waiting for someone to milk her. “How could something as large as a cow live in the ghetto and not be seen?” asks himself Misha. The truth is that the cow is just a dream. The milk that it gives could save many lives and – as the inhabitants of the ghetto learn - life is the most valuable thing in the world. A free life is wealth.
Greta (symbol)
Greta is a symbol of Misha’s life. The boy doesn’t “remember parents,” doesn’t have a name, he doesn’t have a story to cling to. The only thing he has is “a yellow stone,” the only one recollection he has is about “a booming laugh and bright colors.” When Uri makes up a story for Misha, the boy feels happier than he has ever felt before. A lie about “a speckled mare called Greta” is his favorite one, for he longs to have something favorite, something dear. Just like his “Greta,” Misha’s past is just a fantasy.
Nobody (motif)
Before he becomes Misha, he is “nobody.” His “yellow stone” marks him as a Gypsy, his “armband” says that he is a Jew, but the truth is that he doesn’t know who he is. If you ask him about his real name, his answer would be rather confusing. “Call me thief. Call me stupid. Call me Gypsy. Call me Jew. Call one-eared Jack.” “Empty-handed victims” once told who he was. Then Uri told him, then “an armband,” then “an immigration officer.” The very last person to give him a new name is a little girl, his granddaughter. “Her voice will be the last,” he says.
