Gitl Character Analysis in The Devil’s Arithmetic

Gitl is a stern but kind woman who is Shmuel’s sister and who acts as Hannah’s mother figure when she gets sent back in time to 1942 and takes on the identity of Chaya. While Gitl seems tough on the outside, as illustrated by her refusal to marry, she shows her caring nature as she helps Hannah adjust to her new life in 1942 Poland. Later, in the concentration camp, Gitl selflessly gives away much of her own food to the children in the camp. Despite her many sacrifices, Gitl manages to endure her time in the camp, and she eventually moves to Israel to form an adoption agency named after Chaya. Gitl represents the resilience of Jewish people and how difficult circumstances can reveal the real strength of a person’s character.

Gitl Quotes in The Devil’s Arithmetic

The The Devil’s Arithmetic quotes below are all either spoken by Gitl or refer to Gitl. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“Never mind, little Chaya, never mind,” Gitl said. “Shmuel and I—we are your family now.”

Related Characters: Gitl (speaker), Hannah/Chaya, Shmuel, Father, Rivka/Aunt Eva , Mother

Page Number and Citation: 31

Explanation and Analysis:

This quote comes after Hannah walks through a door at her grandparents’ apartment in the Bronx and somehow ends up in a shtetl somewhere not too far from Lublin, Poland, in 1942. Hannah becomes Chaya, a girl who seems to be Aunt Eva’s friend who died long ago. Hannah’s transformation into Chaya is significant because it forces her to do the one thing she has been avoiding so far in the novel: confront the past. Hannah immediately sees similarities between Chaya’s life and her own life in the novel’s present day. Just as Hannah “lost” her parents when she got Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus

“But if there is no Old Rochelle, how can there be a New?” Shmuel mused out loud. “Perhaps there is a Rochelle all alone, though the child does not know it.”

Related Characters: Shmuel (speaker), Hannah/Chaya, Fayge, Gitl

Page Number and Citation: 36

Explanation and Analysis:

This quote describes Hannah’s futile attempts to explain what life is like in the future to her new parent figures, Shmuel and Gitl. For Hannah, her home in New Rochelle is practically all she’s ever known, and so she finds it jarring to learn that in this time and place, people haven’t even heard of her home. This passage is significant because, as much as the novel explores the importance of memory, it also explores the limits of what memory can accomplish. Hannah can remember the times that she learned about the history of the Holocaust in school, and yet Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus c

Photographs of Grandma’s family but none of Grandpa Will’s, because, Aunt Eva had once explained, no photographs had been saved in the death camps. “We are our own photos. Those pictures are engraved only in our memories. When we are gone, they are gone.”

Related Characters: Rivka/Aunt Eva (speaker), Shmuel, Gitl, Grandpa Will, Hannah/Chaya

Related Symbols: Tattoo

Page Number and Citation: 44

Explanation and Analysis:

This quote describes Hannah’s realization that she has never seen Gitl or Shmuel before because any pictures of them were destroyed in the Holocaust. On the one hand, this fact helps Hannah realize the true scale of the Holocaust—in addition to the deaths of millions of innocent people, the Holocaust also resulted in the total erasure of many significant parts of Jewish culture. On the other hand, however, Hannah learns that despite how much of Jewish culture the Holocaust destroyed, many of the most important aspects of this old culture live on in the survivors, who continue to be a Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut.

“The men down there,” she cried out desperately, “they’re not wedding guests. They’re Nazis. Nazis! Do you understand? They kill people. They killed—kill—will kill Jews. Hundreds of them. Thousands of them. Six million of them! I know. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do. We have to turn the wagons around. We have to run!”

Related Characters: Hannah/Chaya (speaker), Gitl, The Rabbi, Shmuel

Page Number and Citation: 64

Explanation and Analysis:

After the Nazis come with trucks and start ordering all the Jewish people to board them to get “resettled,” Hannah tries in vain to convince the others that they are all I grave danger. Hannah, with her knowledge from the future, knows without a doubt that the Nazis pose a real threat to the villagers. Nevertheless, she struggles to convince the people around her that what she’s saying is true. In this scene, Hannah gets an important lesson about how unprecedented the actions of the Nazis were, even in a world where anti-Semitism had a long history. While the villages Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendi

“Of course, Jew,” came the officer’s voice. “And then my men will move among you and take your papers and jewelry for safekeeping.”

Related Characters: Shmuel, Hannah/Chaya, Gitl

Page Number and Citation: 75

Explanation and Analysis:

This quote by a random high-ranking Nazi provides the people of Gitl and Shmuel’s shtetl with an early warning that perhaps Hannah was correct, and the Nazis don’t simply intend on “resettling” all the Jewish people after all. The Nazi shows several signs that he doesn’t respect Jewish people as fellow humans. To begin with, the Nazi simply calls the man he’s talking with “Jew,” as if to imply that every Jewish man is interchangeable. Furthermore, the Nazis begin to strip the Jewish prisoners of their valuables and their identification papers—the things that prove they are individuals with rights. The Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corr

Something forced Hannah to bend down and stare into the shelf. Little Tzipporah lay curled in a ball, her finger in her mouth like a stopper in a bottle. There was a fly on her cheek. Hannah reached out to brush it off.

“Do not touch her,” Gitl said.

Related Characters: Gitl (speaker), Tzipporah, Yitzchak, Hannah/Chaya

Page Number and Citation: 106

Explanation and Analysis:

In this quote, Hannah goes to rouse Yitzchak’s young daughter Tzipporah, only to slowly realize that Tzipporah has died of starvation. While Hannah has already encountered death, particularly on the train ride to the camp, this seems to be her first up-close encounter with the death of someone she knows. What’s significant about this moment for Hannah is that there is nothing particularly dramatic about Tzipporah’s death—Hannah thinks Tzipporah is simply sleeping right up until the moment when Gitl tells her not to touch her. Hannah learns a cruel truth about concentration camps: the immense suffering that takes place within Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae

Part of her revolted against the insanity of the rules. Part of her was grateful. In a world of chaos, any guidelines helped. And she knew that each day she remained alive, she remained alive. One plus one plus one. The Devil’s arithmetic, Gitl called it.

Related Characters: Gitl, Hannah/Chaya

Page Number and Citation: 135

Explanation and Analysis:

This quote describes Hannah’s complicated feelings as she adjusts to life in the concentration camp while at the same time feeling bad about accepting the cruel order that the Nazis have imposed on their Jewish prisoners. This quote also contains the phrase “the Devil’s arithmetic,” which gives the book its title. While the Devil’s arithmetic might sound like a cruel and arbitrary process, Rivka makes an important observation earlier in the story about how because God created the Devil, God exists where the Devil exists. In other words, the suffering that Hannah and the others are experiencing at the concentration Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consecte

“If something happens to us, you must remember. Promise me, Chaya, you will remember.”

Hannah’s lips moved but no sound came out.

“Promise.”

“I will remember.” The words forced themselves out through her stiffened lips.

Related Characters: Hannah/Chaya (speaker), Gitl (speaker), Yitzchak, Shmuel

Page Number and Citation: 144

Explanation and Analysis:

In this quote, Gitl prepares Hannah (whom she still calls Chaya) for an upcoming escape attempt in which she, Shmuel, Yitzchak, and some others will participate. As the dangerous escape attempt approaches, Gitl’s biggest concern isn’t death but being forgotten, which is why she asks Chaya to make a promise to remember. This passage shows how far Hannah has come since the beginning of the book, which featured her complaining about having to remember the past. Now, Hannah finally accepts her responsibility to remember those who have not survived to tell their own stories. In fact, Hannah was correct about Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt

It later became an adoption agency, the finest in the Mideast. She called it after her young niece, who had died a hero in the camps: CHAYA.

Life.

Related Characters: Yitzchak, Rivka/Aunt Eva , Hannah/Chaya, Gitl

Page Number and Citation: 166

Explanation and Analysis:

This is the final line of the story, occurring in an epilogue that describes Gitl and Yitzchak’s lives after surviving the Holocaust (as told by Aunt Eva to Hannah). Before their escape attempt, Gitl asked Chaya to promise to always remember her. As it turns out, however, Gitl survived the camp but Chaya didn’t. Gitl shows that memory goes both ways, and since Chaya is no longer around to remember Gitl, Gitl instead dedicates her life’s work to Chaya, helping children in need and even naming her organization after Chaya (a name that has double significance, since Gitl is also Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium e

Gitl Character Timeline in The Devil’s Arithmetic

The timeline below shows where the character Gitl appears in The Devil’s Arithmetic. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...that feels like a movie set in the past. A woman with a heavy accent (Gitl) calls Hannah “Chaya.” (full context)

Hannah doesn’t understand what’s happening but decides to play along. She helps Gitl set the table. Hannah remembers that Chaya is her Hebrew name, which she received in... (full context)

...including her mother and father, but somehow, she also feels like Chaya. She realizes that Gitl and Shmuel are actually speaking in Yiddish, but somehow, she can understand them. (full context)

...quiet and tries to understand her new situation. When Hannah goes to bed, she asks Gitl about her mother and father, but Gitl just comforts her, saying that she and Shmuel... (full context)

...in fact still living in the shtetl (small town with a mostly Jewish population) with Gitl and Shmuel. Shmuel asks Hannah if she’s been having bad dreams too. He reveals that... (full context)

Yitzchak, a butcher who has tried in the past to convince Gitl to marry him, comes over to visit. Shmuel greets him, but Gitl just grunts at... (full context)

Yitzchak has two toddlers, Reuven and Tzipporah, and when he brings them in, Gitl asks tells them to go sit with Hannah. After Yitzchak leaves, Hannah says he seems... (full context)

Gitl tells Hannah it’s time to get dressed. She gives Hannah the dress that she herself... (full context)

The whole shtetl comes over to Gitl and Shmuel’s place to celebrate before Shmuel’s wedding. Three girls come over to greet Hannah,... (full context)

Hannah panics as she feels her memories of her house in New Rochelle fading. Gitl interrupts her thoughts and introduces her to Fayge, who will soon be Hannah’s aunt. When... (full context)

...Somewhere, a child cries that she can’t use the bathroom, and later Hannah smells it. Gitl says they must pray because they’re in God’s hands now. (full context)

...to help her. Hannah laments that they didn’t run when they had the chance, but Gitl says there’s nowhere to run now. (full context)

...Hannah tries to warn everyone that the showers will actually be lethal gas chambers, but Gitl and the others again think Hannah is getting reality confused with fairy tales. (full context)

...hair to prevent lice. Hannah struggles to recognize people without hair, but she eventually finds Gitl. Hannah is sobbing, but Gitl makes her promise to never cry in front of the... (full context)

...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. (full context)

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... (full context)

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... (full context)

...lying still with a fly on her face. Hannah reaches out to rouse Tzipporah, but Gitl warns Hannah not to touch her, and Hannah realizes Tzipporah is dead. (full context)

Hannah and Gitl are some of the last ones in the food line. A girl named Rivka gives... (full context)

...talks, Hannah sees smoke in the distance coming out of a chimney. Hannah looks at Gitl, and Gitl gently touches her hand. (full context)

...tries to pass on Rivka’s kindness by giving some of her bread to Reuven. But Gitl says Hannah must make sure she gets enough nutrition herself. Hannah notices, however, that Gitl... (full context)

Later, Gitl manages to steal a blue scarf, which she gives to Hannah as a birthday present,... (full context)

Hannah asks if Gitl has heard about the men of the shtetl, like Shmuel and Yitzchak (who are in... (full context)

One morning, Gitl tells Hannah that there’s a plan, which involves Yitzchak and Shmuel, but which Hannah must... (full context)

...for several days, and Hannah gets impatient. Then, one night, after a seemingly ordinary day, Gitl wakes Hannah up and tells her to move. As they walk, Hannah is distressed to... (full context)

Gitl tells Hannah that they’ll meet at the garbage dump and that they should stop talking.... (full context)

When Hannah and Gitl get back, the blokova hears them and asks what they were doing. Gitl says she... (full context)

In the barracks, Hannah suddenly worries to Gitl that in her haste to flee, she left her shoes behind. Hannah now worries Nazis... (full context)

...violinist from the klezmer band and four strangers. When Hannah tries to ask about Yitzchak, Gitl tells her to be quiet. (full context)

...has a fresh bloody bandage on her hand. When Hannah finally gets to talk with Gitl, she reveals that Yitzchak wasn’t spotted anywhere among the dead bodies. (full context)

...from Chaya’s shtetl survived: Yitzchak, who actually did escape and joined a resistance force, and Gitl, who survived until the camp was liberated, even though she only weighed 73 pounds. (full context)

Yitzchak and Gitl both moved to Israel after the war, never marrying anyone but remaining good friends and... (full context)

Gitl Character Analysis

Gitl Quotes in The Devil’s Arithmetic

Chapter 4 Quotes

Chapter 5 Quotes

Chapter 6 Quotes

Chapter 8 Quotes

Chapter 10 Quotes

Chapter 13 Quotes

Chapter 16 Quotes

Chapter 17 Quotes

Epilogue Quotes

Gitl Character Timeline in The Devil’s Arithmetic