The Devil's Arithmetic: Chapters 1–4

by Jane Yolen
During a Passover Seder, 12-year-old Hannah is mysteriously transported from 1980s New York to Poland during World War II. When Hannah is forced into a concentration camp, her survival depends on understanding the depraved arithmetic the Nazis use to keep track of their prisoners.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–9, Chapters 10–13, Chapter 14–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. flushed
    reddened as if with blood from emotion or exertion
    She was flushed with April sun and her mouth felt sticky from jelly beans and Easter candy.
  2. deliberately
    with intention; in an intentional manner
    “You know it’s Passover,” her mother said, sighing, in a voice deliberately low.
  3. leaven
    cause to puff up with a substance for fermentation
    Her stomach felt heavy, as if the argument lay there like unleavened bread.
  4. glare
    look at with a fixed or angry gaze
    As her mother turned around and glared at them from the front seat, Hannah patted Aaron’s hand and whispered, “Don’t be such a baby, Ron-ron. The Four Questions aren’t that hard.”
  5. gruesome
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    Glad to be doing something she knew she was good at, Hannah began a gruesome tale about the walking dead, borrowing most of the characters, plot, and sound effects from a movie she’d seen on television the night before.
  6. guttural
    relating to or articulated in the throat
    She still occasionally dreamed of his distorted face and the guttural screams.
  7. steerage
    the cheapest accommodations on a passenger ship
    That’s because my family came over to this country in the early 1900s, second class. Not steerage.
  8. compensation
    the act of making amends for service, loss, or injury
    Although it was Grandma Belle’s place to light the candles in her own home, over the years it had become a family tradition to let Aunt Eva do it, compensation for her not having a house or family of her own.
  9. exodus
    a journey by a large group to escape from a hostile environment
    Her grandfather droned on and on about the plagues and the exodus from Egypt.
  10. yarmulke
    a skullcap worn by religious Jews, especially at prayer
    With the yarmulke covering his fair hair, he looked like a miniature Grandpa Will.
  11. mortified
    made to feel uncomfortable because of shame or wounded pride
    But when he looked down at the book to read the English translation, he stumbled over the word herb, pronouncing the h. Uncle Sam snorted and Aaron stopped, mortified.
  12. rousing
    capable of stirring enthusiasm or excitement
    The rousing repetitive song carried them all along, even Hannah’s mother, who was tone deaf.
  13. cloying
    overly sweet
    And she had discovered, with the very first toast, that she liked the sweet, cloying taste of the wine, even though it made her head buzz.
  14. embroider
    decorate with needlework
    For a moment she thought he meant time for the next toast, and then she realized he meant time to steal the afikoman, the matzoh wrapped in the blue embroidered cloth.
  15. guffaw
    laugh boisterously
    Uncle Sam guffawed. “You left enough crumbs.”
  16. kosher
    conforming to the dietary laws of Judaism
    And it’s not as if we keep kosher or do things as a rabbi would.
  17. wisp
    a thin tuft, piece, or amount of something
    Brushing the stray wisps of white hair from her broad forehead, Eva rose.
  18. piercing
    having or emitting a high-pitched tone or tones
    They spent minutes calling out to each other about how difficult Aaron was to find this year, until Grandpa Will put his fingers to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle that brought them all back.
  19. earnestness
    the trait of being serious or sincere
    Hannah had to laugh at his earnestness.
  20. sacrifice
    a loss entailed by giving up something
    “A sacrifice unasked is so much the greater,” Grandpa Will stated flatly.
  21. fraud
    a person who makes deceitful pretenses
    She felt like a fraud. She hadn’t given the wine out of generosity, but only because she didn’t want it.
  22. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    Glancing over her shoulder, Hannah saw they were all watching her intently.
  23. lilting
    characterized by a buoyant rhythm
    A bird pelted the air with a strange, lilting song.
  24. furrow
    a long shallow trench in the ground
    And across the field, stepping in the furrows, marched a shadowy figure.
  25. ornate
    marked by complexity and richness of detail
    Instead there was a polished table on which a single wooden bowl sat between two ornate silver candlesticks.
  26. crockery
    ceramic dishes used for serving food
    There were shelves on either side of the stove, filled with crockery, pots, and linens.
  27. kerchief
    a square scarf folded into a triangle and worn over the head
    The woman was dressed in a dark skirt covered with a smudged apron, an embroidered blouse with the sleeves rolled up, and a blue kerchief on her head.
  28. hypnotic
    attracting and holding interest as if by a spell
    The woman did not look up from the dough as she spoke but continued to beat it with a steady, hypnotic rhythm.
  29. vaguely
    in an unclear way
    The man was no longer singing but was whistling a vaguely familiar song. When she realized it was “Dayenu,” she laughed.
  30. elaborate
    marked by complexity and richness of detail
    Whether it was a dream or an elaborate game, she’d show them all she was a good sport.
  31. contagious
    easily diffused or spread as from one person to another
    But his joy was contagious. She gave him a hug.
  32. cascade
    rush down in big quantities
    Her thick black hair cascaded down to the small of her back.
  33. genuine
    not pretended; sincerely felt or expressed
    But Shmuel’s smile was so genuine.
  34. conspiratorial
    relating to or characteristic of a secret plot or agreement
    In a loud conspiratorial whisper, Shmuel said, “She is still waiting to hear from Avrom Morowitz, who went three years ago to America, promising to send for her. But why should he send for her when he has not bothered to send even so much as a letter...”
  35. simultaneously
    at the same instant
    With one earphone off, she could hear both languages going at once. It had fascinated her. This was a lot like that, except that the English translations were going on simultaneously in her head.
  36. illogical
    lacking in a correct relation of reason
    It was totally illogical. But dreams, it seemed, had their own logic.
  37. whimper
    cry weakly or softly
    She must have made a noise, some small whimpering, because suddenly both Gitl and Shmuel stopped laughing and looked at her with concern.
  38. sorrow
    an emotion of great sadness associated with loss
    “For He certainly knows there’s enough sorrow in the world. In the countryside as well as the city. Especially these days when laughter is our only weapon.”
  39. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    “I hear Reb Boruch is a solemn man,” Gitl said carefully.
    “Solemn! He would make a donkey look like a joker,” said Shmuel.
  40. insist
    assert to be true
    At last, when she climbed into the hard little bed they insisted was hers, wearing a cotton nightshift that was, also, somehow her own, and Gitl had drawn up the puffy goosedown comforter over her, Hannah let out a long sigh.
Created on Wed Sep 23 19:04:26 EDT 2015 (updated Fri Jul 29 14:34:38 EDT 2022)

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