The Devil's Arithmetic Movie And Book Comparison Essay

“Gitl, she called out, where are you?” The fear. Hopeless. The uncertainty. Life in the concentration camps was never easy. Working hard, just trying to live through another day. Hannah Stern, a teen girl. The literacy producer, Dustin Hoffman and author, Jane Yolen, worked their best to never forget this tragic time. Devil’s Arithmetic and the Holocaust must be remembered in our hearts forever. If we forget what happened in the camps, then we might repeat it again in the future.

Although the book and the movie are based on the same story, there are many differences, but there are also many similarities. In the book, Hannah goes into a dream and time travels back to the concentration camps. She is transformed into Aunt Eva’s friend, Chaya, back in the concentration camps. She survives the harsh conditions. Her friend, Rivka, is getting taken to the gas chambers, when she takes her spot, and dies for her. But, in the movie, released in 1999, it is slightly different. Hannah time travels back to the concentration camps. She meets her cousin, Rivka, and becomes friends with her. She takes Rivka’s place and goes into the gas chamber for her. In both, Hannah is a generous friend and the Holocaust should be remembered forever.

Similarly, the book and movie are alike in multiple ways.

The Devil’s Arithmetic book and movie both include and focus on the main character, Hannah. They both focus on Hannah’s time travel back to the concentration camps. Hannah is constantly trying to tell the people in the camps that she is from the future, but they don’t believe that she is. At the end of the story, Aunt Eva explains her experience, but Hannah already knows and tells Aunt Eva’s story to her. The theme, always remember, is shown through in both the story and the movie. Future generations do not want to forget what happened in those terrible

times.
However, there are many differences between the story and the movie. One difference is the characters. In the book, when Hannah went into her dream, her name changed to Chaya, but in the movie, when she went into her dream, she doesn’t change her name at all. Despite the difference of characters, the plot was different between the two genres. In the publication, Hannah was not interested in love or anyone. However, in the movie, there was a love interest with the Rabbi’s son. Although throughout the differences, the overall view of the book, to focus on the Holocaust and how it affects so many Jews.
In the end, we must never forget what happened in the Horrific experience of the Holocaust. If we forget what happened in the camps, then we might repeat it again in the future. Jane Yolen and Dustin Hoffman helped us to not forget this tragic time. I recommend both the book and the movie. The book, gives specific detail on how life was like in the camps. With the movie, it showed us how horrendous the lifestyle was in the camps. The book told great detail on how each event took place and I would recommend it to anyone. If you are wanting to know what life was like back in the Holocaust, you should definitely read the book, Devil’s Arithmetic By: Jane Yolen. It is clear, that if we forget what events took place in history, we are prone to repeat them. Just always remember to remember.