The Devil's Arithmetic

The book and movie of The Devil’s Arithmetic have similarities and differences, and they help the viewer gain more understanding of the story, the Holocaust, and the way that the mistreated Jews dealt with adversity. Both of the forms of media benefit the execution of their respective genres.

Released on March 28, 1999, The Devil’s Arithmetic is a movie designed to get people to remember the past. One of the two executive producers, Dustin Hoffman, introduces the movie by explaining how it is important to remember the past. The summary of the movie is as follows; Hannah is a 17, give or take, year old girl who doesn’t care about or accept her Jewish heritage. Without much enthusiasm, she reluctantly goes to Seder at her Aunt Eva’s house; As

To set the scene, Yolen begins the story with Hannah arguing with her mom about going to the Seder at her Grandpa Will’s apartment. Because it is the custom at the Seder, Hannah drank the wine and was chosen to open the door for the prophet Elijah. When she opened the door, she found herself back in the past. Waking up, Hannah found herself in the home of a brother and sister, Shmuel and Gitl. To the excitement of Shmuel, it was his wedding day. Much to the dismay of Hannah, Gitl gives her an ugly dress to wear. At the wedding, there were many Jews eager to celebrate the marriage. Interrupted by the Nazis, the wedding was put on hold. Persuasively, the enemies convinced the Jews that they were going to a new home; well, instead of relocating the Jews, the Nazis take them to their concentration camp. The women are forced to get different clothes, that would be more accurately described as rags, and have their hair cut. Attemping to put up a fight, the Jews try to resist the Nazis, but to no avail. While she is staying at the camp, Hannah meets a girl named Rivka. Rivka helps Hannah and her friends in the camp, but the time came for them to be chosen. All except Hannah. Instead of Rivka dying, Hannah switched places with her so Rivka would survive. After Hannah went into the gas chambers, she found herself back in the present time at the Seder. Curiously,

The characters are very different. For example, Rivka is introduced while Hannah is in the concentration camp. But in the movie, Rivka is the first person Hannah meets when she goes back to the past. Another difference about Rivka in the book and the movie is her personality. She is much more afraid, quiet, and laid-back in the movie. In the book, however, she is a little more outgoing and isn’t as scared. Another difference between the characters of the book and the movie of The Devil’s Arithmetic is Grandpa Will. In the book, he is a major character because he hosts the Ceder. Later, it is found out that Grandpa Will is Wolfe, Rivka’s little brother. Grandpa Will is not afraid to make his opinion known in the book. On the contrary, in the movie, Grandpa Will isn’t even mentioned. There is no Wolfe, either. Instead of Grandpa Will hosting Ceder, it is Aunt Eva. As we are considering Aunt Eva, let us notice the differences of her persona from the book to the movie. In the book, she is much quieter than in the movie. She also lost all of her family in the Holocaust, but that isn’t really talked about in the movie. Some other characters who are in the book, but not the movie, are Yitzchak, Gitl, Rachel, Yente, Shifre, and Fayge. On the other hand, the movie contains the character Ariel, but he isn’t mentioned at all in the book. The plot also differs from the book to the