The Devil's Arithmetic: Chapter 14–Epilogue

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. valise
    a small overnight bag for short trips
    She works in the sorting shed and sometimes she can organize ointments from the pockets of coats or valises.
  2. sanctuary
    a shelter from danger or hardship
    One of my sisters could not run fast enough to disappear into the midden’s sanctuary.
  3. maroon
    a dark purplish-red to dark brownish-red color
    Quickly, she sorted through them until she found three pairs, two of which matched exactly and a third that was at least the same size and style, though one shoe was dark maroon and the other brown.
  4. scuff
    mar or wear away by rubbing or scraping
    The shoes were badly scuffed and worn through at the toes, but wearable.
  5. clog
    footwear usually with wooden soles
    “You are lucky to have real shoes,” Rivka answered. “And not just clogs. When I got here, I had to run around for months on wooden clogs my mother carved for me.”
  6. alternate
    do something in turns
    Even the camp guards joined in, alternately clucking and laughing, waving the children on toward the garbage pile.
  7. pervasive
    spreading or spread throughout
    Though she’d already gotten used to the pervasive camp smell, a cloudy musk that seemed to hang over everything, a mix of sweat and fear and sickness and the ever-present smoke that stained the sky, the smell in the midden was worse.
  8. contorted
    twisted, especially as in pain or struggle
    Leye’s face was contorted with anger.
  9. gaudy
    marked by conspicuous display
    She’d worried that the clothing would be gaudy signals to the commandant, but clearly he already knew—as did the guards—where the children hid.
  10. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    She and Shifre were set to work with Rivka in the kitchen hauling water in large buckets from the pump, spooning out the meager meals, washing the giant cauldrons in which the soup cooked, scrubbing the walls and floors.
  11. luminous
    softly bright or radiant
    Those big blue eyes and the luminous, infrequent smiles reminded her of someone she couldn’t name.
  12. burnish
    polish and make shiny
    The commandant was a small, handsome man, so clean-shaven his face seemed burnished.
  13. cremate
    reduce to ashes
    “A person is not killed here, but chosen. They are not cremated in the ovens, they are processed. There are no corpses, only pieces of drek, only shmattes, rags."
  14. override
    prevail or be more important than
    Her certainty overrode Hannah’s own. Besides, she asked herself, who knew what day it was, what year, in this place?
  15. cobbler
    a person who makes or repairs shoes
    Tzadik the cobbler is doing what he has always done, making shoes and belts.
  16. stifle
    smother or suppress
    The woman in the green dress clapped her hand over Fayge’s mouth, stifling the scream, pulling her onto the sandy floor.
  17. sonorous
    full and loud and deep
    Gitl began reciting the Kaddish, rocking back and forth on the sleeping shelf with the sonorous words, and the prayer was like the tolling of a death bell.
  18. erode
    become ground down or deteriorate
    And so one day eroded into the next.
  19. stubborn
    refusing to change one's mind or ways; difficult to convince
    They were in the tipped-over pots on their hands and knees, scraping off bits of burned potato that still clung stubbornly to the vast pot bottom.
  20. novelty
    originality by virtue of being refreshingly new
    “An orange, I think,” she said slowly. That was a change. Usually she said an egg.
    “An orange,” Hannah echoed, pleased with the novelty.
  21. relentless
    not willing or able to stop or yield
    It moved relentlessly toward the hospital, which squatted at the compound’s end.
  22. endure
    persist for a specified period of time
    A pain that began before time and would endure forever.
  23. portent
    a sign of something about to happen
    And yet, when it finally happened, Hannah was surprised that she hadn’t known, hadn’t even suspected. There had been no signs or portents, no secret signals.
  24. bribe
    make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence
    “It’s not locked!” Hannah said, shocked.
    “Some guards can be bribed,” Gitl whispered.
  25. staccato
    a series of sharp, distinct sounds
    And then there came a shout. A shot. And another. And another, rumbling, staccato.
  26. drawl
    speak in a slow and drawn out way
    “You Jews,” the blokova’s voice drawled sleepily, “you can never do anything quietly or efficiently. That is why the Germans will finish you all off. If you have to relieve yourself, wait until the morning or do it in your bed. Or you shall have to deal with me.”
  27. flank
    be located at the sides of something or somebody
    Commandant Breuer himself stood at the front of the assembly, flanked by SS guards.
  28. defiantly
    in a rebellious manner
    At last he turned his attention to Shmuel, who stood chin thrust out defiantly.
  29. volley
    rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms
    He bent down and kissed the top of her head as the guns roared, a loud volley that drowned out birdsong and wind and screams.
  30. parody
    humorous or satirical mimicry
    The Kommandos lifted their heads at the sound and in mocking parody of the soldiers marched over to the wall.
  31. conscious
    showing realization or recognition of something
    Still he carried Fayge as one might carry a loved one, with conscious tenderness and pride.
  32. frail
    physically weak
    She had lost a lot of weight, the dress hung in loose folds on her frail body, her eyes were dead.
  33. superimpose
    place on top of
    Suddenly, with great clarity, she saw another scene superimposed upon it: two laughing girls at a water fountain dressed in bright blue pants and cotton sweaters.
  34. draft
    a current of air
    “Then come back to the table and shut the door,” called out the other old man. “There’s a draft. You know your Aunt Rose gets these chills.”
  35. irony
    incongruity between what might be expected and what occurs
    Wolfe! And the irony of it was that he was as gentle as a lamb. He changed his name when we came to America.
  36. partisan
    a fervent and even militant proponent of something
    Yitzchak, who had indeed escaped, had lived in the forest with the partisans, fighting the Germans.
  37. liberate
    grant freedom to; free from confinement
    When the camp had been liberated in 1945, Gitl weighed only seventy-three pounds because she had insisted on sharing her rations with the children.
  38. ration
    the food allowance for one day
    When the camp had been liberated in 1945, Gitl weighed only seventy-three pounds because she had insisted on sharing her rations with the children.
  39. salvage
    save from ruin, destruction, or harm
    Gitl, known throughout the country as Tante Gitl and Gitl the Bear, organized a rescue mission dedicated to salvaging the lives of young survivors and locating the remnants of their families.
  40. remnant
    a small part remaining after the main part no longer exists
    Gitl, known throughout the country as Tante Gitl and Gitl the Bear, organized a rescue mission dedicated to salvaging the lives of young survivors and locating the remnants of their families.
Created on Wed Sep 23 19:30:43 EDT 2015 (updated Fri Jul 29 18:05:32 EDT 2022)

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