The Devil's Arithmetic: Chapters 5–9

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. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    “Being married might be scary,” Hannah agreed tentatively.
  2. companionable
    suggestive of friendship or amity; friendly
    She shivered, then followed him out to the barn, where they fed hay to the work horses, Popel and Hopel, in companionable silence.
  3. muse
    reflect deeply on a subject
    “But if there is no Old Rochelle, how can there be a New?” Shmuel mused out loud.
  4. expansive
    able or tending to extend in one or more directions
    “Have some coffee, Yitzchak. It is a long way through the forest from the shtetl to here, and even longer to Fayge’s village,” Shmuel said, gesturing expansively with his hand.
  5. gabble
    speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly
    Look how the morning flies, and we sit here gabbling about wedding nights, which will be here soon enough.
  6. slovenly
    negligent of neatness especially in dress and person
    I have still to clean the house. I will not have Fayge coming here, fresh from her father’s house where there is a serving girl to clean, and think me and all in this shtetl slovens.
  7. venture
    put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation
    “I thought he was nice,” Hannah ventured.
  8. efficiency
    skillfulness in avoiding wasted time and effort
    Instead, she began to clear away the dishes with silent efficiency and seemed to be the only one who was surprised that she was helping.
  9. distinguish
    mark as different
    What was dream and what was real were getting harder and harder to distinguish.
  10. privy
    a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
    She had already discovered, to her horror, that the bathroom was a privy outside the house, and it had no light for night visits.
  11. bodice
    part of a dress above the waist
    Hannah pulled the dress on. It fit her perfectly in the bodice and the sleeves, but came down way over her knees.
  12. bearable
    capable of being endured
    If she pretended she was going to a Halloween party, the outfit would be bearable.
  13. plait
    a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair
    Gitl braided her hair into two tight plaits, then held up a pair of blue velvet ribbons.
  14. coax
    influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
    By noon, half the shtetl was gathered outside their door, laughing and trading stories so loudly the chickens hid in the barn, refusing to come out even when three little boys in short pants and yarmulkes tried to coax them with corn.
  15. timidity
    fear of the unknown or fear of making decisions
    Hannah felt a lot like the chickens, nervous about all the loud, strange men and the laughing, chattering women. Sensing Hannah’s timidity, Gitl kept her close as she greeted everyone by name, thanking them for the gifts as if she were the bride herself.
  16. tribute
    something given or done as an expression of esteem
    Looking surprisingly beautiful in a dark green dress with a broad white lace collar, Gitl made sure all the tributes were piled onto two wagons: crocks of butter, lengths of cloth, a white lace tablecloth, wooden bowls, and a pair of truly ugly silver candlesticks that Shmuel announced had been sent over by the rendar himself.
  17. yeshiva
    an academy for the advanced study of Jewish texts
    I heard once about a girl who disguised herself as a boy and went into a yeshivah to study Torah.
  18. appalled
    struck with dread, shock, or dismay
    “Chops off her hair!” Appalled, Shifre put her hands up to her own pale braids.
  19. compression
    the process of becoming smaller or pressed together
    She told them the plot of Little Women in ten minutes, a miracle of compression, especially since her book report had been seven typed pages.
  20. mesmerize
    attract strongly, as if with a magnet
    She mesmerized them with her tellings.
  21. jostle
    make one's way by pushing or shoving
    Walking through the woods behind the wagons, the girls kept jostling one another for the place of honor by Hannah’s side.
  22. clique
    an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
    There was even one clique of girls—Rosemary called them “the Snubs”—who never spoke to her, though three were in her Hebrew class and one was actually Rosemary’s cousin.
  23. snub
    a refusal to recognize someone you know
    The Snubs came over and called them babies just when Jordan Mandel went by.
  24. canopy
    the uppermost layer of branches and foliage in a forest
    Sunlight filtered through the canopy of large trees, spotlighting the forest.
  25. muddle
    mix up or confuse
    Hannah was in the middle of a muddled version of Hansel and Gretel, having temporarily run out of movies and books and fallen back on the nursery tales she told Aaron or the Brodie twins, when her attention was arrested by a high, thin, musical wail.
  26. leisurely
    not hurried or forced
    The pace of the walk, which had become leisurely, quickened.
  27. abandon
    a feeling of extreme emotional intensity
    Behind them came Shmuel, dancing with abandon, his hands above his head and his black hair a dark halo around it.
  28. uproarious
    marked by boisterous merriment or convulsive laughter
    Each knot of people he left was laughing uproariously.
  29. callus
    a skin area that is thick or hard from continual pressure
    She expected a princess’s hand, small, fine-boned, soft. But Fayge’s hand was large and strong, with calluses in the palm.
  30. procession
    the action of a group moving ahead in regular formation
    The bride’s wagon was turned around at last, and the procession started up again.
  31. dominant
    most frequent or common
    The dominant color was brown: brown wooden buildings, brown sandy streets, as if it were a faded photograph.
  32. dour
    showing a brooding ill humor
    She gave him a hug, and his normally dour face lit up.
  33. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    Somehow the badchan materialized in front of the wagon.
  34. lucid
    having a clear mind
    “Sometimes she is lucid, other times she talks of Rochelles and needles and snakes.” He tapped his finger to his forehead.
  35. plaintive
    expressing sorrow
    “What about our wedding?” She meant it for his ears alone but Hannah was close enough to him to hear every plaintive syllable.
  36. adamant
    impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, or reason
    “We will be married, in God’s sight,” Shmuel said adamantly. “I promise you that nothing will keep us apart.”
  37. decree
    issue an authoritative order
    The government has decreed that we are to be relocated for the duration of this war.
  38. assent
    agreement with a statement or proposal to do something
    There was a murmur of assent from the men.
  39. desecrate
    violate the sacred character of a place or language
    At my request, the soldiers will pay special attention to the shul to make sure the peasants do not desecrate it.
  40. objection
    the act of expressing earnest opposition or protest
    “Whatever your objections, be still. This is not one of your stories that ends happy-ever-after. There are not imaginary bullets in those guns. Listen to the rabbi. He is right to calm us. If we go quietly, no harm will come.”
Created on Fri Jul 29 11:38:09 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Jul 29 17:05:32 EDT 2022)

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