Symbolism In The Devil's Arithmetic

The purpose about learning about the Holocaust is to spread awareness about it and make sure it never happens again. The Holocaust was one of the worst things to ever happen to mankind. The killing of Jews, disabled people, and literally everyone else who questioned the Führer. The Holocaust and how bad it was is the main idea in these two books: The Devil’s Arithmetic, by Jane Yolen. It’s about a girl who travels back in time and experiences the horrors of the Holocaust firsthand. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, a story told from the point of view from an eight year old as he lived right next to a concentration camp. It is also shown in two Scope Magazine articles; “Betrayed by America” by Kristin Lewis, which describes the

When going through hard times, it is easier to persevere with encouragement from other people. In the novel, The Devil’s Arithmetic, by Jane Yolen there are many examples of this idea when Chaya, or Hannas, experiences the horror in a Holocaust concentration camp. Chaya is motivated to survive and helps those around her as well. The relationships that Chaya has with her friends in the concentration camp, the younger children in the camp and her family back home help her to survive the extreme adversity described in the novel.

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.

The Devil’s Arithmetic features a Jewish girl, Hannah Stern, as the main character. Her and her family live in the United States, as their ancestors had traveled to America after the conclusion of World War II and the Holocaust. The movie goes back in time to 1942 due to Hannah’s lacking interest in learning about her family’s past. The time travel proves as a lesson to Hannah, as it takes her through t he Holocaust with her own family members. Throughout the movie, there are several accuracies and inaccuracies concerning history. Overall, the movie is very precise in reenacting history in order to portray its message about the Holocaust.

The girls are taken in by an older couple, Jules and Genevieve. While under their care, Rachel becomes severely ill and requires medical care. The doctor is a Nazi, and he realizes that Rachel escaped from the camp. He reports Rachel to the officials, causing them to taker her away from Jules and Genevieve. Although she is helpless and near death, the German guards remove her from the home, “[Sarah] heard... Rachel’s thin scream all the way from the top of the house. Rachel torn from the bed by the Germans. Rachel moaning, too feeble to fight back” (129). Rachel is not only denied the right to be cared for by the doctor, but is also mercilessly dragged away from her deathbed to die in a concentration camp, simply because she is Jewish. Having this label, in the Nazi’s minds, equates to being subhuman.

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.

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, taken by itself, is a Black Hole, to look at it directly is to be swallowed up by it.” (“A Quote By.“) David Novak said these words in response to the Holocaust. The Holocaust was the period between 1933 and 1945 where Adolf Hitler oppressed Jews. The story of the holocaust is told in the book The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen. A young girl is sent to Poland after her parents pass. She recovers for few weeks before being awoken to have the mosque burned and be sent to a concentration camp. After discovering the harsh reality, she goes for an escape. After being caught, her friends are sent to the gas chambers. The Holocaust was one of the darkest times in history. A time when Jews, were inferior, and executed because of it.

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.”

Hannah is starting to worry about the order of the Seder dinner and the practices.But some say that she is not willing to put in the effort to get into the practices.Hannah says “It’s about remembering. … I’m tired of remembering.” She is not getting a grip on the true meaning of the religion she is just worried about what she has to say to make it work. And when she has made her part she doesn’t care anymore.But this is not true she does care. It is made obvious when she says “The Seder wasn’t even in the right order, not like they taught in Sunday school.” Hannah wants things to be practiced in the proper order and wants the fullest religious experience.

I say this because it states on page 159, “She lived, had lived, would live in the future-she, or someone with whom she shared memories. But Rivka had only now. Without thinking through the why of it, Hannah snatched the kerchief off Rivka’s head. ‘Run!’ She whispered...Run for you life, Rivka. Run for your future. Run. Run. Run. And remember.’ ” In this part of the story, Chaya performs a selfless act to save Rivka and sacrifices herself in order to save one more life. This scene definitely shows how people in the concentration camps help save each other. Although this scene only shows Chaya doing a selfless act, the book only gives us a glimpse of how the Jews in the concentration camps take care of each other. This is my final reason for why I think Rivka is mostly

Through books, there is a deeper understanding gained by the characters’ thoughts. By adapting a novel to a film, there is a loss of connection and meaning. In The Devil’s Arithmetic, Jane Yolen conveys that remembering is key to identity and the Holocaust must be remembered. The loss of meaning is seen in the film adaption of The Devil’s Arithmetic. The meaning Yolen intends is affected by changes like the changes in characters, the film changes for appeal, and the Americanization of the film.

Throughout many writing pieces, and throughout many authors, the main idea is that the Holocaust is bad and nobody should repeat it. This is conveyed through The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, when a girl in a concentration camp sees horrible things. Another piece about the horrors of the Holocaust is The Boy Who Dared, by Susan Campbell Bartoletti is about a boy who tries to educate people on how horrible the Holocaust is, but is killed by the Nazis. And by two Scholastic Scope articles, Teens against Hitler, by Lauren Tarshis and Betrayed By America by Kristin Lewis. One technique that the author used in The Boy who Dared that conveyed the idea that nobody should repeat the actions took in the Holocaust is the radio.

Jane Yolen wrote The Devil’s Arithmetic with the main theme about remembering what happened,sacrifices, and honoring those who died. Hannah Stern ,a 13 year old girl, is tired of remembering and doesn’t want to go to the Seder. Hannah faces a dream that seems like reality where she learns what happened in Concentration Camps to the Jews. She learns that she must remember what happened to the Jews and she learns about sacrifice and honoring the dead. After waking from her dreams she realizes she must remember the Holocaust, honor the dead Jews, and stay true to her religion. The Devil’s Arithmetic film was made in 1999 based on the book written by Jane Yolen. The movie highlights the horror and dismay the Jews faced in the camps. Hannah the main character faces the disheartening nature of these camps in her dream which feels like reality to her. Hannah learns about the Holocaust and what happens if you were in the camps during the Holocaust while in her dream and she learns to