Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Devil’s Arithmetic, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Memory
Sacrifice
Jewish Culture and Identity
Hope
Summary
Analysis
As she waits for the barber to finish on everyone, Hannah begins to get hungry. The blokova orders all the Jewish people to pick new clothes to wear from the camp supply. Hannah notices that the blokova is missing two fingers on her right hand. A weak Gitl asks Hannah to help the younger children find clothes.
The blokova’s missing fingers show how, while the Nazis technically gave her a position of authority, they also took away some of her own agency (since hands are associated with action). The loss of their hair is another way that the Jewish prisoners lose their individuality in the camp.
Themes
The prisoners line up to get tattoos on their arms. Gitl gives Hannah’s name as Chaya, and she receives the tattoo J197241. An old man sees her and says that she is wearing the dress that belonged to his daughter, who lived in Lublin and was also named Chaya. The man reminds her that “Chaya” means life, and he urges her to keep living for his Chaya and for all the other Chayas in the world.
Hannah learns that the clothes the prisoners receive used to belong to previous prisoners—suggesting that those earlier prisoners have died. Even though the old man’s Chaya is dead, he urges Hannah to keep on living. The man sees the Jewish community as connected and hopes that the sacrifice of his daughter might at least help Hannah to live more life.
Themes
The sleeping area in the camp is small and cramped. Gitl and Hannah want to go out to get food for the children, but a soldier stops her. The soldier says everyone will have to get used to having less food. Reluctantly, Hannah goes back and dreams of the food from a Seder dinner.
Once again, Hannah learns a lesson about the horrors of the past and how good she has it back in the present day, where she never has to worry about whether or not she and her family will have enough food to survive.
Themes
