The Devils Arithmetic Study Questions Guide (Ch.

1 through 10 Key)
CHAPTER 1:
Thanksgiving
quiet
exodus
1.

Seder
brother
Easter

Aaron
history
Grandpa Will

question
eating
remembering

Seder
Jewish
Egypt

Passover is a Jewish festival that commemorates the exodus of the Jews from __ Egypt_ and is marked
chiefly by the _ Seder ___ (Passover meal) ritual and the eating _ of matzoth. (Chapter 3 or from PPT notes)
2. Passover is most like the American holiday of __ Thanksgiving __ when we also eat a big meal and re-tell a
story. Passover is nearest in date to the Christian __ Easter __ holiday.
3.

4.

Hannah and her family are going to Grandpa Will and Grandma Belles house for the family _ Seder__

_ Remembering _is so important to Jewish families because they remember how much family means to them and
the events of _ history
_.
5. Hannah is happy to tell her brother _ a story because shes a good storyteller. _ Aaron __ is being a pain b/c
he is nervous about the 4 __questions__ he has to recite at the Seder. The story will get him to be
__quiet___.
CHAPTER 2:
best
Belle

6.
a.
b.
c.
d.
7.

tattoo
Eva

sister
father

concentration
friend

number

Why is Grandpa Will yelling at the TV?

The voices on TV annoy him
Some people went along with Hitler
He sees old photos on the TV of concentration camp victims, corpses stacked like cordwood, and dead-eyed
survivors. He is mad at the Nazis.
The power went out
The __tattoo__ on Grandpas arm is significant to the story because it is his __ number (or identification) from
the _ concentration_ camp.

8.

Why was Grandpa Will so upset that Hannah drew a tattoo on her arm?
a. He wouldnt want her to be in the same situation that he had experienced.
b. She doesnt understand the meaning of the number or what the Jews endured.
c. Tattoos are not appropriate for females
d. both a and b

9.

Aunt ___Eva_____ is Grandpa Wills ___sister___ who lives with Will and ___Belle___. She helped raise
Hannahs _father_____. She shared a special bond with Hannah (favorite aunt) maybe b/c Hannah is named after
her _ best
friend __ (deceased).

CHAPTER 3:
gift
sister
Elijahs

sacrifice
children
privilege

Afikoman
history
headache

13
unselfish

10.

The Seder is special for Hannah because she is allowed to drink watered-down wine for the first time. True or
False

11.

What argument/statement did Grandpa Will use to get what he wanted? When my __sister __ was
____13_______, what she would have given for a glass of wine (guilt)

12.

The __ Afikoman is an important game because ___children can have fun while they remember _ history__. The
child who finds the afikoman can trade it for something they want. See page 16

13.

Hannah is unselfish __ with the wine. She emptied her whole glass of wine into _ Elijahs___ cupshe didnt want
the wine b/c it was giving her a headache. This was not a _sacrifice _ as Grandpa Will believed.

14.

By being unselfish Hannah earns the _ privilege _of opening the door for the prophet and welcoming him in b/c of
her generous ___ gift __.
(A sacrifice unasked is much greater)
CHAPTER 4 and 5:
Yitzchak
1942

parents
Shmuel

nurse
marry

Polish
kids

Gitl
monster

15.

In her mind, Hannah been transported to a _ Polish __ village in __1942_. (setting)

16.

__ Shmuel__ is Chayas fathers brother while __ Gitl ___ is the sister.

Chaya is living with Shmuel and Gitl because her __ parents
_ have died.

17.
a.
b.
c.
d.

Chayas parents died of

starvation
in a death camp
fever
World War II

18.

_ Yitzchak __ is a butcher who wants to __ marry__ Gitl. He has two ___ kids ____. He is referred to as a __
monster __ who only wants a __ nurse ___ for his kids.

19.

Why was Shmuel having a hard time sleeping?

a. He has gone to bed hungry
b. it is the morning of his wedding day and he is nervous about getting married.
c. his house is without heat
d. hes worried about preserving Jewish traditions
20. True or False: Shmuel is afraid of getting married.
21. True or False: Shmuel thought Hanna was telling the truth about New Rochelle being in America.
(He thought she was joking. he joked back with her.)

22. True or False: Gitl is annoyed with the butcher and says to him, do not tell me in my house what is and what
is not and asks him if he left his kids outside in a cage.
CHAPTER 6:
coral
mall
toilets

braces
white
inside

blue
crooked
wealthy

8
brown
shocked

gray
boys
shmatte

ugliest
face

23. Hannah wore a dark __ blue ___ sailor dress with __white ___ piping around the sleeves and neck. It was the
__ ugliest__thing she had ever seen. Hannah says it is a shmatte _.
24. Describe what Hannah noticed in the mirror. Hannahs _ braces _ and the light _coral__ lipstick her mother
allowed her to wear to the Seder were gone. The girl who stared back had the same heart-shaped _face____,
crooked smile, same __brown__hair, same __gray_ eyes.
25.

What name do the other childrens parents call Gitl and why?
a. Gitl the Bear; she is so fierce
b. Gitl the wolf; she is so cunning
c. Gitl the snake; she is so sneaky
d. Gitl the dog; she is so friendly

26.

What method did Hannah use to remember Shifre, Esther, and Yente? Fill in the blanks with their names.
Shifre shifty b/c she had shifty eyes
Esther Easter b/c she was round like an Easter egg
Yente Yellow b/c she had a yellow complexion

27.

Hannah described her house as having 8 rooms and the __toilets_ are _inside__ the house (one upstairs and
one downstairs). The girls were __shocked_ that she lived in a house and thought her parents must be wealthy.

28.

Hannah explains that she goes to school during the week and on weekends she goes to the _mall_. The girls
explain to Hannah that where they are from, only _Boys_are allowed to go to school.

CHAPTER 7:
29.

30.

List at least 3 story titles that Hannah shared with her new friends?
1. Yentl
2. Conan the Barbarian
3. Star Wars
4. Fiddler on the Roof
5. Little Women
6. Wizard of Oz
7. Hansel and Gretel
Back home Hannah was not very __popular___. But in the shtetl, she was ___ popular___________.

31.

Who did Fayges father hire to entertain the wedding guests?

a. A badman
b. a court jester
c. a clown
d. a a badchan

32.

The badchan told Hannah her name means ____life____ a strong name for a strange time.

CHAPTER 8:
God

six

Poland

1942

God

33.

As the wedding party arrives at Fayges village, who is there to greet them?
a. the townspeople
b. the minister
c. the Nazi soldiers
d. the band

34.

Who is the malach ha-mavis?

a. the angel of mercy
c. the angel of death

5701

b. the devil
d. a guard

35.

Fayge tells Hannah that the year is _5701__. This is the year in the Jewish (of lunar calendar) calendar. She
does not understand because she knows it is _1942__ on the Christian (or Roman) calendar.

36.

Hannah warns the group of the future, and they respond with, There are not __six__ million Jews in all of
__Poland_. Do not tremble before mere men. It is _God__before whom we must tremble. Only _God_.

37.

Chapter 8 ends with a simile comparing the waiting Nazis to a steel trap with gaping jaws ready to be sprung.
Explain what this means. P64, They are comparing the Nazis to a bear trap. Big metal teeth lying in wait ready to
swallow the unsuspecting Jews up. The Nazis are often referred to as a well-oiled machine.

CHAPTER 9 and 10:

no one

older

women

Nazis

girls

38.

The Nazis gave the Jews a reason for relocation, what was it?
a. It is government policy.
b. The government has been setting villages closer to the big cities.
c. They were going to provide them with better paying jobs.
d. Both a and b

39.

Check the
___
___
___

40.

The army trucks arrive at the train station. What happens to the Jews and their belongings?
a) There were piles of things spread out along the tracks as if it had been dropped by a
fleeing army.
b) Hannah saw suitcases (some were packed and others had contents spilling out). The Jews
recognize items belonging to family members, but were not allowed to stop and get it.
c) Their papers and jewelry were taken for safekeeping. If they talk, they will be shot! The
Jews were told to lie on the ground.
d) all of the above

41.

42.

statements which show foreshadowing.

The snakes smiles but it shows no teeth
Better the fox to guard the hens and the wolves to guard the sheep
How long is eternity?

In the boxcars, __older__ people were pushed in first, followed by ___women_____ and ____girls___. So
many people were shoved in, you couldnt move at all. The ____Nazis___ locked the doors; it was dark with only
patches of light, airless and hot.
They pass peasants in the fields what was their reaction to the Jews in the train?

They thought they were going towards freedom.

They thought they were going to die.
They thought they were going to work in the fields.
They thought they were going to be reunited with family.
43. Many passengers tell about people who had escaped. Fayge explained that it was only gossip and reminded them
that ____no one____ escaped. On page 83, Fayge said, No more stories! Nothing more will happen to us
it will pass; we are going to be resettled. That is all. Then I will be married.

CHAPTER 11:
1. The word zuagangi means newcomers.
2. What was the first lesson that Hannah and the others needed to learn at camp?
a. How to cook their soup and bread.
b. They needed to learn not to call attention to themselves.
c. They were trained on how to sort prisoners belongings.
d. They learned how to become leaders and stand up for their group.
3. True or False? Hannah didnt want to add to their misery so she decided to keep her
knowledge about what happened in the camps to herself.
4. Which of the following show that Hannah has changed since the beginning of the story?
a. Hannah isnt ignorant anymore.
b. She has learned to care for others.
c. She now appreciates remembering and why it is important.
d. All of the above.

CHAPTER 12 and 13:

ten
bowls

metal
washing

sleeping
hard work

ovens

life

5. The name Chaya means life.

6. The barracks that the women were housed in had long brick ovens along one end and deep
trenches on the sides in which sleeping shelves were placed (like triple bunk beds) at impossibly
narrow intervals.
7. Each newcomer received a metal bowl in which they use to hold food for eating and water for
washing and drinking.
8. The three fingered woman tells the prisoners to expect hard work.
9. Rivka is a ten year old girl who helps the newcomers with their bowls and she meets Hannah
when Hannah goes to get her bow.
CHAPTER 14:

midden
year

rules
brown
musslemen
walking dead
Wolfe

10. A typical meal served to the prisoners consisted of:

a. watery potato soup and a small slab of dark bread
b. day old bread and water
c. left over food from the German army
d. cornbread
11. SonderKommando means walking dead and Rivkas brother, Wolfe, has been given that title.
12. Rivka is a plain-faced, brown-eyed, ten year old girl who is nice and has been at the camp for a
year. She is important to Hannah and the other girls because she helps them learn the rules.
13. People earn the title of Musselmen if they decide that life is not worth fighting for.
14. What does Rivka mean when she says she can organize things?
a. They can organize or straighten the belongings.
b. Rivka means that she can steal or take things.
c. Items can be sorted into clothing, jewelry, shoes, etc for the prisoners to claim.
d. She has been given a gift of organizational skills.
15. The midden is a garbage dump where all the children go to hide.
16. Explain Rivkas recitation of her tattoohow and why does she remember her number that way?
Rivka thinks that her tattoo is her authority and she remembers her number that way because
you need to read the numbers as a name.
17. On page 117, who does Hannah hear?
a. a. Gitl
b. Fayge
c. her grandfather

d. Aaron (her brother)

CHAPTER 15:

Bear

heart
water

midden

shoes

clothes
SS men
Germany

stolen
walls
barracks

18. Hannah saved a camp baby who was still cradled in a washtub by jumping in the midden. They
were upset with her because Hannah jumped in the midden with her clothes on and they were
filthy!

19. Most of the jobs the prisoners had were mindless. Many jobs were meant to keep the camp
running such as cleaning the barracks, the guards houses, the hospital, the kitchen; cutting and
hauling wood for stoves; building more barracks. Most of the workers were used in the sorting

shed, stacking clothing, suitcases, and possessions stolen from the prisoners dividing these
into piles to be sent back to Germany.
Jobs for the men:
hauling wood
21. making shoes
22. -making rings on order from SS
men
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jobs for the women:

20. -hauling water from the pumps
spooning out meager meals
washing the giant cauldrons used to cook
the soup
23. Scrubbing walls

24. What sacrifices did Hannah make for others? She began saving the softer insides of the bread
and slipping it to Reuven.
25. You are chosen for processing (death) if you
a. cant get out of bed and cant work
b. are the youngest in your family
c. are the first born son
d. dont support the Nazis.
26. Fayges father was chosen because he was in the hospital with a broken heart.
27. Badchan was chosen because he said, This is not a place for a fool, where there are idiots in
charge.
28. What Gitls nickname? Gitl the Bear
29. What does it mean?explain
CHAPTER 16:

Rivka

fingers
rumors

control
killed

barracks
laboring

30. Each time the Blokova loses control of the Jews in her charge, the Nazis take off one of her
fingers as punishment.
31. The Commandant chooses Reuven because he didnt run into the Midden like all the children
under the age of 14 were supposed to do. (circle one) True
False
32. When the new arrivals came to camp they were immediately killed. This is something different
because they were usually sent to the barracks when they first arrived. This change in
procedure caused the prisoners to become worried and rumors began to spread throughout the
camp.
33. Rivka says, We are all heroes. She means that they are heroes because they took the more
difficult path of laboring in the camps to try to stay alive while others simply got killed.

CHAPTER 17:

34. When Gitl becomes concerned that something might happen to her, who does she ask to be
sure to remember? She asks Hannah/ Chaya
35. What is Gitls plan? To escape from the camp
36. Gitls plan was / was not successful. Shmuel and the other men were caught and later
shot/killed.
37. As a direct result of Gitls plan, the Blokovas shoes were found outside the door.
38. How is she punished? She loses another finger.
CHAPTER 18:
39. The commandant had six men in chains. Who were they and why were they chained?
Shmuel, the Violin player, and 4 strangers/others/men.
40. Why? They were chained because they tried to escape.
41. Shmuel, who was always agreeable with his captors, shows signs of change when he:
a. spits at a soldier
b. remains silent when questioned
c. smiles while looking for Fayge in the crowd.
d. All of the above
42. How do Fayge and Shmuel die?
Fayge runs to Shmuel and he bends down to kiss her, the Nazis shoot them both. Their bodies
are cremated and the ashes go up with the smoke.
43. Yitzchak escaped from the camp.

(True

False )

44. 48. A guard was sent to find 3 girls who were not working. Why or why not were these girls
chosen?
Why was she chosen?
OR
Why was she not chosen?
Esther She was the least healthy.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Shifre
Rivka

Hanna
h

She protested too much.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She tells the guard she was working, but

she holds up an empty bucket. The guard
says she looks like an old lady and chooses
her.
Though she was not technically chosen, she
decides to trade places with Rivka. She
tells her run for her life and her future.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The guard winks at her so he must think she

is pretty and doesnt choose her.

49. At the Passover Seder in chapter 1, Hannah tells her mother Im tired of remembering. By
the end of the novel, how has her view of remembering changed? She now feels remembering
is so important that she sacrifices herself and trades places with Rivka. She tells her to, Run
for your future, run, and remember.
50. On their way to Lilliths Cave, why is Hannah able to comfort the other two girls and not feel
afraid for herself?
a. She doesnt believe the stories about the cave
b. She knows, she lived, had lived, would live again in the future
c. She believed it was a mistake and they would be saved in time
d. all of the above
CHAPTER 19 and Epilogue:
51. This chapter begins in Hannahs Grandparents (Grandpa Will, Grandma Belle) apartment
building, the night of the Seder, where the story began.
52. Grandpa Will is Wolfe, Evas brother. He was known as Wolfe when he was a child in Poland
working as a SonderKommando, or the walking dead.
53. Hannahs Aunt Eva was known as Rivka. (Chayas friend in the concentration camp) She
changed her name when she came to the U.S. after the war.
54. At the camp, Chaya had given up her life to save Rivka.

What happened?
55. What do we learn about Yitzchak?
Living; escaped; immigrated to Israel; not married; became a politician and member of the Israeli
Senate.

56. What do we learn about Gitl? Gitl survived the camp and left when it was liberated in 1945.
She immigrated to Israel. She never married, and was known as Tante Gitl and Gitl the Bear.
She organized a rescue mission dedicated to help survivors locate their family members. This
mission later became an adoption agency named after her niecce, Chaya (life).

57.

What do we learn about the Blokova? She died in camp.