The Devil’s Arithmetic, based on author Jane Yolen’s novel, is a 1999 film that aims to educate viewers about the horror, importance, and impact of the Holocaust. The director, Donna Deitch, depicts the journey of a modern teenager, with an apathetic view of her Jewish heritage, who travels back in time during her family’s Seder feast to a concentration camp in 1941. The protagonist experiences the terror of the Holocaust first hand as she develops a new, appreciative meaning for her existence and family’s history. The film serves as a non-violent and efficient way to inform young viewers, who may be uneducated or disinterested, of the Holocaust. This is especially true when considering the film’s engaging plot, cinematic techniques that recreate the horror of the Holocaust, and the film’s primary purpose. …show more content…
The film begins with the main character, Hannah Stern, being indecisive about what tattoo she should get with her friends. Before she can decide, she is obligated to leave the tattoo parlor for her family’s Passover dinner. Hannah despises the dinner every year due to her being disinterested and embarrassed by her Jewish relatives and heritage. She is also constantly reminded of how much she looks like her Aunt Ava’s cousin who she was named after, which irritates her. During the dinner, Hannah is asked to open the door as part of the Seder feast. As Hannah opens the door, she is transported to 1941 Poland and unknowingly becomes her Aunt Ava’s, formally known as Rivkah, cousin as she steps into the life of a prisoner in a German concentration
“Passover isn't about eating, Hannah. It's about remembering.” Pg.4. This quote from Hannah's mother is a huge contribution to the story. It represents what will happen to Hannah- she will learn to remember.
Devyn Weber Mrs. O’Leary / Ms. Donovan ELA 29 March 2023 Remember Your Heritage We all have our own unique heritage. The common theme of the novel, The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, the video “Auschwitz survivors reunited 70 years on” from BBC News, and the poem “Homesick” by Anonymous, is to always remember your heritage. This theme is shown in The Devil’s Arithmetic when the prisoners in the concentration camps get their number tattoos and they relate them to their lives and families.
“Imaginary Witness” Hollywood and the Holocaust “Imaginary Witness” Hollywood and the Holocaust is a documentary directed by Daniel Anker that explore the treatment of the Holocaust in Hollywood film and how it dealt with the holocaust. The documentary starts with the 1920s talking about the lack for portrayal in Hollywood movies about the rising Nazi threat back and the uneasy relationship between the Hollywood studios, also to explore the history of the holocaust in Hollywood films. Moreover, there were some compelling portrayal of life under the Nazis and how it affected the Jews. It determinately split into two parts: how the Nazi Germany was presented on Hollywood screens before the war and how the Holocaust was depicted on Hollywood screen after the war.
The novel ‘Night’ written by Elie Wiesel and the film ‘Schindlers List’ directed by Steven Spielberg, are both based in World War 2 and more specifically the holocaust and the attempted cleanse of the Jewish race. These two texts both heavily demonstrate the horrors and brutalities that the Jewish people had faced during the holocaust. The two depictions of these events have many similarities although one being word and the other being film, however they differ in perspective, Schindlers List showing an outside look at the events where Night is a first person experience. The two representations of the holocaust, although are opposites of perspective both do not shy away from showing the brutalities and the wickedness that took
Two compelling novels going back to the dreadful past during World War II Holocaust, including the death camps with millions prisoners, The Devil's Arithmetic, by compassionate Jane Yolen, and aggressive Peter Fischl’s poem,”The Little Polish Boy Standing With His Arms Up, are analyzed progressively. Both writings have a similar purpose and meaning. Both of the outstanding writings inform about history repeating.
It all starts with a young Jewish girl and her family going to a passover meal. After dinner Hannah is transported back to the days leading to the Holocaust. She begins to feel the pain of her past family members who were sent to concentration camps during this tough time for Jews. Hannah had to take risk and put herself in danger to save other family and friends while at the camp. After Hannah is sent
To make sure Rivka is not recognized, Chaya takes away the handkerchief. The handkerchief is the only feature Rivka can be identified with. So, by impersonating Rivka, Chaya put herself of being chosen. Hannah is still terrified of the guard and what he would do to the other girls. Even so, Hannah chooses to act even though she was afraid.
Hannah has chosen to isolate herself from society and neglect her surroundings. This ignorance allows her to separate herself from the normalities someone of her age would live with, leaving a life revolving solely around piano. She disregards her friends and family, which portrays her level of ignorance. Furthermore, as Hannah progresses through her youth, she begins to realize all the things she misses due to the way she lives. As she becomes more aware of this, an urge builds up inside of her to “break [her] promise to Tante Rose” (4).
She willingly endures the unimaginable hardships of the concentration camp to protect her younger brother; her sacrifices exemplify the heights one can reach when putting the needs of others before their own safety. Rivka's acts of selflessness leave an indelible mark on Hannah's consciousness; as Hannah experiences the horrors of the Holocaust firsthand through a time-traveling experience, Rivka's example lingers in her mind, transforming her perspective and awakening her to the preciousness of life and the freedoms she often takes for
Rejection is to refuse or disagree. In the Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen Hannah has many new emotions ever since she walked through the door from Grandpa Will’s to Gitl and Shmuel’s house. Although some people believe in Hannah is starting to accept her Jewish Heritage, I know that Hannah is still rejecting her heritage. Hannah’s new name is just one reason why she is rejecting her heritage. Many people are saying that Hannah is starting to accept her new name.
holocaust. The main characters are two Jewish girls, Zlatka and Fania. They both live in ghettos, until their lives drastically change. They are both sent in cargo trains to one of the biggest death camps, Auschwitz.
The Holocaust was a horrible event in history that will scar humanity forever. With the events of the Holocaust being experienced by millions there are many different perspectives of said events. One such perspective is presented in Night, a memoir written by Elie Wiesel about his experiences as a young Jewish boy during the Holocaust. Another perspective is presented in Schindler’s List, a film directed by Steven Spielberg (based on the novel Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally) about Oskar Schindler, a gentile who saves over one thousand Jewish lives during the Holocaust. Both pieces show heart wrenching stories of the abuse of a group of people in different ways, each using different mediums to convey their points.
It talks about loneliness, desperation and confusion that anyone who has no guide to ease them into the world goes through. It also talks greatly about the human mind’s ability to repress the memories that it finds too traumatic to deal with. The plot starts out simple, an unnamed protagonist attending a funeral in his childhood hometown. He then visits the home that he and his sister grew up in, bringing back memories of a little girl named Lettie Hempstock who lived at the end of the lane, in the Hempstocks’ farmhouse, with her mother and grandmother.
The Holocaust was a horrific tragedy which started in January of 1933 and ended in May of 1945, the Holocaust was the mass murder of millions of people. The word was derived from the Greek word that meant Sacrifice to the Gods (Steele 7), also called the Shoan which is the Hebrew word for catastrophe (Steele 7). So many countries took place in this 12-year genocide, including, “Germany, Italy, Japan, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria, which were also known as the Axis Powers” (Steele 34). But, although there were all those countries they were all part of one larger group called the Nazis, were the ones who were killing all the different denominations of people. (Bachrach 58).
This makes the themes of belonging and family even more prominent. Foreshadowing is used within these flashbacks, as the events that occur in these begin to mirror those happening to Taylor. Readers discover that Hannah has also struggled with belonging, as in chapter 14 Hannah (Narnie) speaks of how she doesn’t know what to do since Webb’s disappearance. This foreshadows Taylor’s journey, as losing those close to her resulted in her lack of self-belonging.