An Analysis of the Plot in The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
Hannah, the main character in the novel The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, wants nothing to do with her heritage, until a sudden transformation shows her the importance of history, and the importance of family. In the novel, Hannah is transported back in time to the Holocaust in an unknown concentration camp, where she forgets her modern knowledge and lives the life of a girl from that time named Chaya, which is her Hebrew name because of her Aunt Eva’s friend who died in the concentration camps. In the novel The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, the setting changes many times, beginning at the Passover celebration with the main character’s family, then being transported back in time to a small town just before the town’s Jews are ‘relocated’ to a concentration camp. Later in the novel, Hannah is transported back to modern times with her family.…