The Devil's Arithmetic Themes

Over six million Jews died in the Holocaust. Around seven million Soviet soldiers died in the Holocaust. Over a million Gypsies died in the Holocaust. Over a thousand homosexuals died in the Holocaust. The list of deaths goes on and on. The crimes committed by the Nazis were felt all across the globe. The Devil’s Arithmetic illustrates these atrocities wonderfully. There are a few similarities and many differences between the book and movie of The Devil’s Arithmetic. There are two recurring themes, know your past and persevere, that are presented in both the book and the movie too.
There are a few similarities between the book and movie of The Devil’s Arithmetic. One of these similarities is that both the book and the movie are formatted and written in the same style as The Wizard of Oz. This book was mentioned as one of Hannah’s allusions in both the book and the movie. Another similarity between the two is Hannah. Hannah is the only character in the movie that isn’t altered in any major way. She is represented by the actors with having the same thoughts and feelings that she has in the book. A third similarity is one of the conflicts, which is man versus self. This is presented throughout both the book and the film when Hannah is doubting herself. She is fighting herself on whether she should fight back against the guards and what she can do. She also experiences feelings that she could be doing more. One last similarity is the second conflict: man versus society. In the book and the movie, Hannah and the other prisoners are fighting the society of Germany. The German society allowed the Nazis to gain power and commit the many crimes they did. They were in a constant battle between them and people who thought they had caused all the problems of the world. There are also plenty of differences between the book and the film. …show more content…
The first theme is to know your culture and your past. One of the times this was shown in The Devil’s Arithmetic is when Hannah was complaining to her parents that she had to go to her grandparents’ Seder dinner. This showed that she was ignorant and needed to know more about her religion and culture. Another time when the writers showed this was when Hannah didn’t know about the tattoo on her grandfather's arm. The writer of the book showed it greatly when her grandfather screamed at her for not knowing such an important event in world history. The other main theme was that you should always persevere no matter the circumstances. In these stories, Hannah and the others prisoners were persevering even under the horrible conditions. One of the times that this is presented is when Rivka said, “We are all heroes here.” This showed that they were all heroes in the concentration camps just because they constantly fought the Nazis by living. They also never gave up their spirits or their motivation to live. The second time that the writers showed this was when Rivka was giving Hannah a rundown on camp procedures. She was telling them that they could never, ever give up like the ‘musselmen’ had. These themes represent life values that we should all