Choose a short passage from your novel that made an impact on you as you read it, that made you stop and think maybe even say "Oh wow" to yourself. It may have made you stop and think because you made a personal connection. It may have made you wonder and ask a question. It may have made you react in some emotional way to the words on the paper. In your response, quote the passage and list the page number that it can be found on. Explain, in detail, why you chose this passage, what reason did you have that made you stop and think or had you reacting in some way. Include your feelings and emotions as well as state any connections you made (text to self, text to text, text to world). An example from another novel of how to start is this:
"Big signs were posted at the pool saying"No Jews or Dogs Allowed". pg 14
As I read this passage I couldn't believe that this could happen. How could the Jewish even be compared to dogs?"
So far The Devils Arithmetic is a great story.
ReplyDeletehi other people I'm loving the book so far I'm on chapter 7 what chapter are you on???
ReplyDeleteChapter 6.
DeleteI'm around page 60
DeleteDevil's Arithmetic for me is a great story so far.
ReplyDeleteP.g 20-21 " Outside, where there should have been a long, windowless hall with dark green numbered doors leading into other apartments, there was a greening field and a lowering sky. The moon hung ripely between two heavy grey clouds. A bird pelted the air with a strange lilting song. And across the field, stepping in the furrows, marched a shadowy figure. He had shapeless cap on his head, a hoe over his shoulder, and he was singing: Who asked you to be buried alive? You know that no one forced you. You took this madness on yourself."
ReplyDeletelet me say that this is very descriptive. and i had a million questions in my head and here they are:
Who is that man?
What kind of song in that?
Where is Hannah?
Who is Elijah?
What was the man burying alive?
What year was it???
Good QUICK-THINKING questions.
DeleteYou have the idea of what to do but all of these
questions can be answered easily in the book or by
quick knowledge otherwise your on the right track.
Also, one of your questions doesn't relate to the passage and one other isn't properly stated: "who was the man burying alive?". Who said the man was burying someone alive?
DeleteHi and good morning!! i have a Q and I need A: is anyone else finding the book hard to follow or is it just me?? I mean I like the book and everything but it is a bit confusing to me. So can anyone tell me what they think??? And I do not want to switch book.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it is a bit difficult to follow. I have just started the book and I am already confused.
Deleteonce you get to page 50 ish you will get it you are just at the slow part of the book
DeletePage 76
ReplyDelete“Hours later-or so it seemed-they were allowed to stand up again, Gitl had her hand up to her neck. There was a red mark that ran around it as if a necklace had been torn from her. Fayge's beaded headdress and her earrings were gone. Her dress was smudged and torn. Several men were bleeding from their noses and Shmuel had a dark bruise starting at his temple. But except for the quiet snuffling of the children, a man's persistent hacking cough, and Rachel's labored breathing, no one made a sound."
I had an “Oh Wow!” moment there because if I was in Hannah’s position I would have been frightened see my Uncle bleeding. I couldn’t imagine that happening to me. The are no words to describe this, but the Jews were not even close to being treated like humans they were more likely treated like animals… What caused the Nazi’s to act like this? Not only their religion and belief but what else?
@ Katniss
Deletethis part was one of mine as well it made me wonder about how hard it was to take a breath and how I would stand looking at my family beaten and bruised. That was so an "OH WOW" moment.
@ Katniss
DeleteI was asking the same question: What made the Nazis treat the Jews so inhumanly? The Nazis would be just following Hitler's orders which brings up the question: Why did Hitler treat the Jews in this way? Did he have some sort of hatred for them? Or did he just want to kill many people? Overall this is a great response.
@Game
DeleteI had a lot of questions when I was reading this Chapter and Game it's just hated not hatred.
@Katniss That was definitely an "Oh Wow" moment for me to. Knowing that they have all been scared and hurt in some way is very hard to look at especially because they are family and its hard to go through looking at family that in seconds could no longer be living and that they have been beaten.
Delete@Katniss to Game I think that with the way that he meant to say he is right for saying for it and I think it is properly said as hatred in that sentence because that right and he did have a certain hatred for them. Yet I don't know what that hatred was it is still is a state or fact of hatred that he had over the Jews.
Page 102
ReplyDelete"I hear nothing important from Jews," the soldier said. "But I have something important to tell them. See that?" He pointed to a brick chimney towering over a flat roofed building where a thin line of smoke curled lazily into the air. "That's Jew smoke! Learn to eat when its given to you, Jew, or you, too, go up in that stack."
I had one of my "Wow!" moments here because when the Nazis came in and said they could not have food until it was given to them made me thin "These people are not being treated like humans or animals, they are being treated like a rock." Rocks don't need to eat and the Nazis believe the same would go for the Jews. I also thought "The Nazis are terrible for many reasons and one is how they tortured the Jews with hunger then fed them, then let them starve once again." This made me think, what made Hitler and the Nazis act this way? And, what made them want to torture and kill these Jews?
@ Game
Deleteyou need to make shur you put a K at the end of think.
@DaisyDuck
DeleteYou need to make SURE you correct your spelling errors
Page 55 :
ReplyDelete"Pretty girl, with faraway eyes,
Why do you look with such surprise?
How did you get to be so wise,
Old girl in young-girl disguise."
I believe that this man is saying this because he has realized Chaya/Hannah's knowledge about things that seem to not exist in there world. He may also believe that Chaya seems to know too much for her age. What he doesn't know is that Chaya/Hannah is from a different world and knows so much from the future. So far I have found "The Devil's Arithmetic" very interesting and I cannot wait to finish it.
their**
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete*Spoiler*
ReplyDeleteWhy does Hannah (Chaya) think that she is being tricked into a sort of "game" by her family and not even think to consider that what she is experiencing might be real? If I was her I would probably panic, even if I was drinking wine like her. pg.24
Hey on page 130 whin Gitl said that she "All right. I organized it" daes that mean she stole it ????
ReplyDeleteI'm getting the felling that Hannah is forgeting that she is hannah and that she has a family and also lives in another time because she doesn't remember anything. She isturning in to Chaya each day. For exaple page 136-137 she remembers pizza then she doesn't. It is confusing how it happens but it is also intersting to find out what Chaya is going through and what her life is like. I also wonder what is happening in Hannah's would like did time freeze of is it moving and she is living it like she would normaly and off in la la land??????
ReplyDelete@Daisy Duck Remember how the story goes back and forth and in the beginning how people call her Chaya but she denies that and says her name is Hannah from New Rochelle that is how its like right now. And I totally agree with you it is like she doesn't remember anything and she use to remember all of these things.....
DeleteDaisy make sure you check your work before publishing!
@Daisy Duck, I also was thinking what is happening back at New Rochelle. Could it possibly be a dream? Hannah could be dreaming, but she is feeling the pain.
DeleteIn Hannah's time
ReplyDeleteOh Wow page 140:then he piked Reuven up. "A boy your age sould be with his mother," he said, smiling. " So I shall make sure you go to her." This is more like and omg moment and it was sad very sad I almost cryed. This like 4 year old boy that hert him self and didn't get to the garbge in time for a mean sick game that they play on the sad little jew kids. And then he was just going to send a 4 year old to the hevens for no good reason. This mad made me mad because I love little kids and I never would hert a hair on there little soft heads grrrr im all worked up now! grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHey I finished the book it was a very good book and my eyeballs poped out of my head when I read the ending. I enjoyed reading this book very much. I loved it because it was a book you could never put down. For future readers hope you like the book and be prepared to get hooked.
ReplyDeleteOh Wow Moment: When Hannah starts to realize where she is living now but not New Rochelle, New York.
ReplyDeletePage 40-When Gitl said he was a monster and Hannah said he was "nice" I started to wonder why Hannah was thinking that why Gitl thinks he is a monster.....
"Silly child" she said her voice curiously hushed, "it is 5701."
ReplyDelete"5701? But this can't be in the future," Hannah said. "It doesn't look like the future. You don't have movie's or new cars or....." If I were Hannah I would've been very frustrated because she knows she has been living her life with cars and other technology around her but the people think she has a illness because she has been zoomed back into the past.... pg.63
"Do not be afraid", Rivka said quickly. "We have little to fearing the night. Any 'Choosing' is done during the day. THey do not run the gas at night. They let us out for a hour each evening for enforced recreation. If you are alive now, this minute, it is enough." - Page 122
ReplyDeleteWhat does Rivka mean by "enough"? When they are in the camps, living their lives there, how could that possibly be enough. The Nazi's are taking their lives away. That minute or moment wouldn't make up for your whole life.
I like your deep thinking question I was thinking the same thing as I read this
Delete"The badchan was right. This is the Devil's place." - Page 113
ReplyDeleteThis got me thinking of the title of the book, I'm confused on what the word "Arithmetic" means. I know it means some kind of mathematics, but it doesn't make sense to me. Does it mean the Devil's plan? Hopefully, if I keep reading it will make more sense to me.
"Let me take the child mother. I will hold her for a while' There was a small movement as everyone tried to adjust. 'Oh my God, the child is not senseless. The child is dead." pg. 83
ReplyDeleteThis was a "Wow" moment for me because , I mean, how small can a room be and how many people have to be in it to have a child suffocate to death?
P.S. *SPOILERS* for this post and second :)
Delete"In my village, in the camp . . . in the past," Eva said, " I was called Rivka." pg.164
ReplyDeleteThis put me in a bit of shock having discovered that Aunt Eva was a big part of the story
having thought Rivka was just a person of the past.
I just started reading this book and found that it was really good. I was impressed with the fact that the author could make a book that can be modern and somewhat ancient at the same time. I can't wait to read the rest of it. :D
ReplyDeleteI don't know why the Nazi's would do this to the Jews. It is totally inhumane and the Jews didn't even do anything to the Nazi's. When Hannah said of what the Nazis did, I had shivers going down my back. The strange thing was that even though I was freaked out, I couldn't put the book down
ReplyDeletethis is a hard to follow book to start but when you get to the good parts you are just amazied on what the nazies did to the jews and how absoulutly inhumane they were and what scares me the moast is that non of the nazies felt regret of anything after killing the jews
ReplyDeleteGood comment, but there are grammer, spelling mistakes, and it is a run-on sentance :)
DeleteThis book had me at shock last night. When I read that one of the girls who was 10 years old had experienced that much. I could never do that when I was 10, I simply would have just given up on life. This shows how brave and mentally strong humans can be when put in a life-or-death situation.
ReplyDeleteThoughtful reflection, Matt. I really wonder how strong I would be in these situations. I often feel that I would not fight the battle of survival but I guess you just don't know until you are living through it all.
DeleteThoughtful reflection, Matt. I really wonder how strong I would be in these situations. I often feel that I would not fight the battle of survival but I guess you just don't know until you are living through it all.
DeletePg. 63
ReplyDeleteSilly child" she said her voice curiously hushed, "it is 5701."
"5701? But this can't be in the future," Hannah said. "It doesn't look like the future. You don't have movie's or new cars or....."
If I was Hannah I would have felt like no one had trusted me and it was just a dream. But I would also be very confused because she knows she has been living her life with technology around her but the people think she has a illness because she has thinks she has been zoomed back into the past.
Once I first started reading this book, I thought breathtaking. But then i noticed it was more than that. A 10 year old girl has gone in time to experience the Holocaust(1933 - 1945) for what it truley is. What I think, is that she has been given a chance to go back in time and fix everything and make life more peacefull for the jewish. So, a girl has been sent to 1942, Could this be the work of the Devil?!
ReplyDelete@Matt I thought your comment was very deep thinking and very striking about this book, it must be harsh for a 10 year old girl to experience the holocaust. Keep posting comments like that. I want to read more.
ReplyDeleteWow Moment; "Silly Child" she said, her voice curiously hushed, "it is 5701." "5701? But this can't be the future." Hannah said " It doesn't look like the future. You don't have movies or new cars or ..." Here voice was hoarse.
ReplyDeletePage 63#
Deep thinking moment: Page 112# That evening, after another meal of watery soup and a small piece of bread.
ReplyDeleteHow would they survive with only that much food, Since it is the holocaust I wouldn't expect them to get alot of food, but at least give them some food to keep them alive.
This was meant to JUST keep the Jews alive. They didn't get enough, I know thats what your saying but the Jews were only given just enough food to keep them from starving to death
Delete@BlackHawk86580 I thought pg 164 was very magnificent a very good page to read.
ReplyDeletePg. 123
ReplyDeleteI was glad when Chaya grabbed the baby to save it. That took a lot of courage and I was astonished because for the little kids to survive they had to jump into a giant, stinking garbage bin. As it said in the book, its just a sick, twisted game where only the Nazi's are allowed to play. If I was Chaya, I would only have my mind holding me back. In my head I could already see Hitler getting mauled by Jews, having the smell of hot lead being fired from a Nazi soldier's rifle, trying to protect their leader. I could hear the roar of the Jews after killing Hitler and running free from the concentration camps. This was all in my mind though. Not real, as in reality, I was scrubbing pots and dishing out lunch to my fellow Jews.
"The shtetl is no longer there anyway. But wherever it was, the villagers were made to lie down in trenches, like herring, head to foot, And then, Lord God, they were slaughtered as they lay there, by soldiers with machine guns. Lime was put on top of them when they were still warm and the next ones were made to lie down on top of that. Six times they made herrings. Six times. Until they were all dead." I was horrified when I read this passage because it made me think of all the horrible things that have happened in the world, and that I am just a witness who was standing by watching and can't do anything to stop or prevent it from happening. Another passage that made me frustrated was "You can't believe that!" Hannah cried. "What else can we believe?" Shmuel asked. "Gas ovens? Lilith's bridegroom? Poisoned swords? The Angel of Death?" I was so mad and scared about what was going to happen, because Hannah knew what the Germans were going to do to the Jews and they wouldn't believe her. I would be so mad I would probably be yelling and screaming at everybody and I would run away. What is going to happen? Will Hannah survive? Will she go back to her grandpa's house? what will happen to Shmuel and Fayge?
ReplyDeletePage 84
ReplyDeleteThat was when they discovered that three old women had died and the fourth was near death and could not climb out of the car. All four bodies were slung out by the soldiers onto a siding. The dead baby was torn from its mother's arms and cast behind a horse's trough.
When Hannah was traveling in the boxcar, I became so angry that the Nazis would put so many Jews in one car that they had no room to breathe, nothing to eat, or sit. They would do this until they arrived at their location, some Jews would be killed in the process because of suffocation or starvation. It makes me angry that some Nazis could live with themselves knowing that this is happening because of them. The same kind of thing happened in Daniel's Story where they travelled in a boxcar from camp to camp and many people died because the Nazis gave them no air, no water, and no food. This also makes me think: Were the Nazis ok with this kind of treatment? Or were they just following orders so their families would not be killed? Also, what made Hitler have that kind of hatred for the Jews?
page 100 SPOILER ALERT "the malach ha-mavis" "what? what?" hannah asked " that is my daughters dress you are wearing, Chaya Abramowicz. my Chaya. i brought it as a present for her in Lublin." "Chaya" hannah said " the same name to. god is good. your name maens life ." his voice broke " life" hannah repaeated.
ReplyDeletei could not take having a kid and then getting to a camp and waching her get beat and hurt and wroked almost to death and then her dieing and another girl coming up in her dress and whith the same name as her it woould be so hard not to cry.
I just started this book and i think its really good
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the movie and reading the book, though they are a lot of similarities was very informative because to see what Auschwitz actually was like and that it was no charming place. There was no grass, not even gravel. It was mud, just mud, nothing else. People slept in barns with nearly enough room to lie down. The place was miserable. If you got out of it, you either had the most luck in the world or you were more mentally strong than Jesus.
ReplyDelete