Classes took the spelling test.
We discussed the book briefly after a short journal entry, with special emphasis on the transition in chapter 4 (where Hannah is transported back in time), keeping the names straight, and the importance of the wedding march in chapters 7 & 8 (in serving as contrast for the coming events).
Hannah's purpose in the story is for young people from today to 'experience' the horror of the death camp through the eyes of someone their own age.
The following is a list of the main characters to help students keep track of names and relationships (afterwards is the spelling/voacab list for next week):
The Devil’s Arithmetic
Dramatis Personae
The Bronx: Present Time
Hannah: main character
Aaron: her younger brother
Aunt Eva: Hannah’s favorite aunt, camp survivor
Grandpa Will: Aunt Eva’s brother, camp survivor
Gitl’s House: Poland, 1942
Gitl: Chaya’s aunt
Chaya: Gitl’s niece from Lublin. Chaya’s parents died from cholera and was sent to live with Gitl in the country. Hannah is sent back in time and becomes Chaya through the use of a literary device of the book’s author.
Shmuel: Gitl’s brother. He’s about to get married. A successful farmer.
Yitzchak: butcher who arrives at Gitl’s house with wedding presents
Reuven: Yitchak’s young son
Tzipporah: Yitchak’s young daughter
The Wedding March
Shifre, Yente and Esthe: girls Chaya/Hannah meets, they become her friends
Badchan: jester, joker; speaks his mind
Fayge: Shmuel’s fiancé
Reb Boruch or Rabbi Boruch: Fayge’s father, rabbi
The Camp
Blokova: non-jewish prisoner in charge of Chaya’s group. She is missing fingers.
Rivka: girl in the camp, befriends Chaya, helps her learn the rules of the camp and how to survive
Wolfe: Rivka’s brother
Commandant Breuer: Nazi officer in charge of the camp
Spelling List
1. article – (n) a particular or separate thing
2. characteristic – (adj.) showing a distinctive feature
3. independence – (n) being free from control by another person or thing
4. obstacle – (n) a thing that obstructs progress
5. weight – (n) an object’s mass numerically expressed according to a recognized scale of units
6. author – (n) the writer of a book or article
7. auditorium – (n) the part of a building where the audience sits
8. guest – (n) a person visiting by invitation
9. comfortable – (adj.) giving ease and contentment
10. respect – (n) admiration felt toward a person or thing, and the politeness arising from this
