The Devil’s Arithmetic is a book that shows the fear and horror of life in a camp during the holocaust. The main character Hannah, or Chaya as she is commonly known through the book, is a young thirteen year old girl who doesn’t want to remember anything about the holocaust. She is mysteriously transported to the past and learns about the true pain and horrors the people in the camps went through. At the beginning of the book Hannah is upset about going to her grandparents dinner because she didn’t care what happened in the holocaust. After going through the horrors during her grandparents time during the holocaust she understood what had happened and was acted more appropriately at the dinner. Hannah also made several friends during the story, and by the end they were all dead. Another instance of this is that Rivka lost her entire family except for her brother. This shows that the people in the camps lost many of their friends and family but had to live through that pain and fear of knowing that their friends were gone and they may be next. Hannah was a good story teller and told stories to her friends. They were always interested in the stories which took their minds off what they were doing. Hannah told some of these stories in the camp, took people's mind off the terror they were in. During the story Hannah loses memory …show more content…
When they would plead to live if they had been chosen or for a loved one not to be killed it shows the fact that they were scared in the camps. They didn’t want to lose their loved ones sent to the “smoke house” because they were all they had left. They were so scared they forgot everything else they had once had, the lives they had once, and the loved ones they’d never see again. The fear and pain that the Jews experienced during the holocaust was indescribable, and that’s what the entire book brought forth to the reader of the
The Devil’s Arithmetic is gripping book that grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go. It is a book to helps children of this generation remember the horror the Nazis caused. It is important for us to remember the past. We should always try to remember. This book is to remember the chilling tale furthermore.
To start off, in The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen (historical fiction), the author writes the novel in historical fiction. The first technique she used was foreshadowing. On page 8, Hannah says, “Across the screen marched old photos of concentration camps,” After this quote, Hannah then goes on to explain that the pictures are Jews in concentration camps and Nazis mistreating Jews. Jane Yolen included this in the book to introduce the theme and central idea to the reader. This quote shows the beginning of the reader realizing that the Holocaust had a negative impact on everyone who was in it, which is the theme, because of the way the picture of the camps were described in the pictures. To add, Hannah shows a little bit of sympathy for the people that were being mistreated introducing the theme of people should be treated equally. To add, the
Do you know what happened in the holocaust? Hannah is a girl who at first hates her “stupid” religion. This young 16-year old’s attitude is very typical for most girls her age. Hannah from the “The Devil's Arithmetic”m has many experiences. Hannah values also change. She learns a lot too.
The men and women are separated, and put to work. There is a Commandant who hates them, and they are slowly killed off(The Devil’s Arithmetic) per commandant’s orders. Working daily, Hannah and her camp companions steal things such as scarves to get warmer during the frigid days and gelid nights. Some young men form a plan to escape, but of no avail, even when they change their course of action. Next, they are caught and killed in a merciless manner, as is expected of the horrendous Nazis, who are currently killing more Jews daily than ever, probably due to the fact that the Allies are winning the war. Soon after, Rivka(Hannah’s friend) is chosen to die, to Hannah responds by taking Rivka’s scarf and going in her place to be killed; when she arrives at the chamber, the mysterious power that has transported Hannah to a seemingly dream past grasps Hannah
Hanneli ‘Hannah’ Pik-Goslar was much like other Jewish children in Germany in the 1930’s, she was shunned, not allowed to go to the movies or ice skate, and was forced to attend a special school. Most of Germany was segregated against the Jewish and against her family. Hannah was born in Germany in 1928 to Ruth Klee and Hans Goslar, by the time she’s 5 years old she and her parents are already on the run from Nazi’s. When she’s 12 her sister Gabi was born. She is already friends with Anne when she hears they’ve fled to Switzerland. This is not true as they have just started their two year hiding period in the Secret Annex. In 1942 Hannah’s mom dies in childbirth with a stillborn baby. While her dad managed to get passport, they were still arrested
Hannah’s background as a Holocaust survivor is important for understanding the experience of the Holocaust. Her story provides unique insight on the Holocaust outside of concentration camps, dispels myths, and captivates the emotional aura of living during the Holocaust. Hannah’s story is one of resistance, danger, and the importance of family.
Imagine being a thirteen year old enjoying Passover with your family, until your transported to a Polish village in the year 1942. In the book The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen there is a thirteen year old, Hannah, or known as Chaya by the people in the village. Hannah is confused why the people are calling her Chaya. During a wedding in the village she is captured along with everyone else. They are all taken to to a concentration camp.
The Holocaust was one of the world’s major tragedies. If you were a Jew the Nazis would take you to concentration camp and you would have to do everything they said, you would get your head shaved, and be treated awful. Millions died. They would choose Jews to take to the gas chamber, usually the weakest and most unhealthy ones because they weren’t much good to work anymore. “Yolen, Jane. The Devil's Arithmetic. New York, NY, U.S.A.: Viking Kestrel, 1988. Print.”
The film mainly illustrates the life of Chaya, a politically active young woman who grows to embrace her culture after bonding with Simcha, a young Hasidic Jewish boy. Chaya very rarely visits her parents, and understands and cares little about their past and their experience with the Holocaust. Her mother refuses to speak about it and spends her energy baking
First of all, Hannah doesn't want to respect or remember her history, until she sees why it's important to at the end of the story. When Hannah was with her family at the Seder dinner, she got to open the door for the prophet, Elijah. When she opens the door she gets transported back through time and meets Shmuel and Gitl.
Her mother and Aunt are so impacted by the holocaust they start to developed a hatred toward Helen. As Helena and Lara are talking, Lara informs Helen, “Mom is furious, Lara said, she talked to Zosia and they both think you're sick. They want to have you institutionalized” (338). At this point Helen truly realizes how much pain her mother and Aunt are going through. Searching through their past is making their ability to cope and live harder than ever
The Diary of Anne Frank is a remarkably moving book about the short life of a young girl and her family. The Holocaust was a horrible time for Jewish people and Anne and her Jewish family’s lives were completely turned upside down as a result. The war resulted in the deaths of countless people, mostly innocent people. Before the invasion on D-day and the end of the war not too long after, the rest of the world didn’t know the real disaster going on over seas. Anne Frank’s once secret diary has introduced the immense suffering and horror that occurred during the Holocaust.
Hannah also mentions that she spent most of her time at Tante Rose’s house or at home by herself strictly following the Sabbath. This shows that she didn’t get a lot of freedom in her life,
This quote reveals that Hannah had a negative personality because she was thinking about committing suicide because she couldn’t take all the pain anymore. If Hannah had a positive personality, she would have try harder to get help or looked at her life and situation in a positive
The period between the wars was a very difficult time in Germany. The currency was enormously depreciated and there were extreme poverty, depression, and political instability. When the Nazis took power in 1933, horror was their method of achieving their goals. Fear and violence became very common among a society that was still in shock after the First World War. In the book The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink, one of the main themes is a conflict with the inner-self. This is seen throughout the book when Michael is young and indecisive between spending time with Hanna or his new friends, when Hanna is on trial and does not know whether to confess her illiteracy or accept being declared guilty, and finally when an older Michael is trying to decide on whether he should save Hanna or respect her dignity.