A contemporary American Jewish girl, Hannah is sent back in time to shtetl in Poland in 1941, where she is referred to as Chaya. She
experiences the abduction of the village's Jews, who are all brought to a concentration camp by Nazis
.
Why was it important for Hannah to celebrate Passover in the concentration camp?
Passover Seder is important to Hannah's family
because it is about remembering people they lost during the Holocaust
. The novel opens with Passover Seder, and this is an important Jewish holiday. Hannah does not want to go, because she and her brother will be the only kids there.
What does Hannah do in The Devil's Arithmetic?
In The Devil's Arithmetic, Hannah
changes by experiencing the horrors of the Holocaust and concentration camps first-hand
. She therefore comes to understand why certain rituals are so important to her family.
How did Hannah go back in time in the Devil's Arithmetic?
Wishing that she would rather be with her friend celebrating the Christian Easter, Hannah
inadvertently opens the door to none other than the prophet Elijah himself and he teleports Hannah to 1942 Poland during World War II
, at a time where the Jews were suffering the most.
Who has Hannah become Devil's Arithmetic?
In the novel, The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen,
Chaya
is the girl Hannah becomes when she is transported in time back into World War II and the Holocaust. In modern time, Hannah does not understand why her Aunt Eva and her other relatives keep remembering the past.
Who died in the Devil's Arithmetic?
Her brother, Reuven, is presumably sent to the crematorium. In the story, Hannah is a comfort to
Tzipporah
in the camps. Later, Gitl and Hannah discover that Tzipporah died. The little girl looks as if she is sleeping with her thumb in her mouth.
Who is Shmuel in The Devil's Arithmetic?
Shmuel is
Chaya's uncle
who, along with his sister, Gitl, has been looking after her during her illness. At the time Hannah travels back in time, Shmuel is about to marry Fayge, a girl from a neighboring village.
Why is it called the Devil's Arithmetic?
In this light, those who were in the camp,
struggling to find meaning, recognized that God was absent and in its place, there had to be some order
, which became “the devil's arithmetic.” In this configuration, there is both a statement on faith and consciousness, with both overlapping one another.
What is the moral of the Devil's Arithmetic?
The main themes in The Devil's Arithmetic are
memory, death, power, maturity, and identity
. Memory: As a twelve-year-old girl living in modern day New York City, Hannah doesn't understand her family's need to remember the past.
How does the Devil's Arithmetic end?
She embraces her aunt Eva and calls her Rivka, to her astonishment. They speak privately and Hannah fills in details she did not previously know. The movie
ends with the entire family singing traditional songs at the table
– the teenage Hannah is no longer alienated but is now part of the family.
Is The Devil's Arithmetic?
The Devil's Arithmetic is
a historical fiction time slip novel
written by American author Jane Yolen and published in 1988. … During a Passover Seder, Hannah is transported back in time to 1941 Poland, during World War II, where she is sent to a concentration camp and learns the importance of knowing about the past.
What is the main conflict in the Devil's Arithmetic?
The obvious major conflict of The Devil's Arithmetic is
the Holocaust
. Through the story, the protagonist, Hannah, finds herself transported into a period when the Nazi government was systematically imprisoning, enslaving, and murdering Jews like herself.
What is the midden in the Devil's Arithmetic?
In The Devil's Arithmetic, “midden” means
the garbage dump
.
On what does Hannah blame this daydream like scene?
On what does Hannah blame this daydream-like scene? She blames it
on the wine she drank
.
What does Shmuel look like in The Devil's Arithmetic?
Shmuel's physical appearance in The Devil's Arithmetic is of
a big, bearded man
. Chaya's uncle may smell of sweat, grass, and horses, but his joy is contagious, and Chaya gives him a hug.
What is Chaya's last name in the Devil's Arithmetic?
During a Seder dinner she is suddenly transported to Poland in 1942 where she inhabits the life of her own distant relative,
Chaya Abramowicz
, who sacrifices herself to save Rivka. Through this process Hannah comes to appreciate her own history and that of her family. Aaron Stern Hannah's younger brother.
