Theme Of Little Polish Boy Standing With His Arms Up By Jane Yolen

In the two differing pieces of literature about the Holocaust, The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen and “Little Polish Boy Standing With his Arms Up” by Peter Fischl they both have similar themes and purposes for writing their piece of literature, but have opposing tones. The novel The Devil’s Arithmetic talks about how the Nazis tortured and dehumanized the innocent Jewish people. The tone of Jane Yolen’s novel is a respectful one, she wants us to remember everyone that was important who died. In the poem “Little Polish Boy Standing With his Arms Up” is mainly about how the Jewish citizens should have been honored because they fought through every obstacle that the despicable Nazis threw at them. The tone of this poem is teaching because the author wants the bystanders to teach others how horrific the Holocaust was.

Jane Yolen's compassionate tone in her novel is to impact and teach others how the dehumanizing, despicable, and evil Nazis tortured the innocent Jews in the Death Camps.

For example in the novel it states,”.....Programmed misery, such a routine of torture, all couched in a language of manufacture.” This exemplifies that the Nazis are demoralizing and torturing the Jews. While the Jews are trying to defend themselves but their was no way to. In the text Yolen portrays, “not to lift a hand against the Germans had become the quiet passive heroism of the common Jew. That heroism- to resit be dehumanized, to simplify out live one tormentors, to practice the quiet, everyday caring for one's equally tormented neighbors. To witness. To remember. These were the only victories of the camps.” On the other hand, the Nazis will never get rid of the spirit in their hearts even if they are getting torn apart. With the author's respectful tone it sets a mood of enragement because of all the wicked Nazis and what they did to the

Jews.

On the other hand, the aggressive tone from the poem by Peter Fischel is a remembering and honoring one. With this tone it sets a considerate mood for the readers. The author chose those tones because she wanted everyone to look up to this boy that was held captive. This boy was far more important than any Nazi. For instance Fischel states,”Ten billion miles high will be a monument so the whole universe can remember of you Little Polish Boy.” This models that the boy was very important but no bystanders would remember/teach others about him so, now the author is trying to show the universe how important he was.

All in all, Yolen and Fischl both used differing tones to show how the evil, despicable, and wicked Nazis changed the world forever. While Yolen had a remembering and considerate tone so we can honor all the important people that died who impacted the holocaust. Fishcl had a demanding one so that he could get his thoughts through to the bystanders so that peers can teach others so we can remember. Both these authors wrote the pieces of literature so they can persuade others about the horrific time in the past called the Holocaust and everything that happened then.