The Devil's Arithmetic: Chapters 10–13

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. periphery
    the outside boundary or surface of something
    There were armed guards standing in front of the station house door and scattered around the periphery.
  2. protruding
    extending out above or beyond a surface or boundary
    Fayge’s wedding dress caught on a protruding nail.
  3. satchel
    luggage consisting of a small case with a flat bottom
    “That is Grandma’s satchel,” Fayge shrieked, pointing to a tapestry bag with wooden handles.
  4. profound
    of the greatest intensity; complete
    There was silence so profound, Hannah wondered if she had gone deaf.
  5. persistent
    never-ceasing
    But except for the quiet snuffling of the children, a man’s persistent hacking cough, and Rachel’s labored breathing, no one made a sound.
  6. tremulous
    quivering as from weakness or fear
    “Where?” a tremulous voice called out.
  7. spontaneous
    said or done without having been planned in advance
    Spontaneously several voices cried out, “Help! Help us!”
  8. alienate
    arouse hostility or indifference in
    The proverbs say ‘He who harps on a matter alienates his friend.’
  9. impudent
    marked by casual disrespect
    “Do not be impudent.”
  10. trough
    a container from which cattle or horses feed
    The dead baby was torn from its mother’s arms and cast behind a horse’s watering trough.
  11. feeble
    lacking strength or vigor
    A feeble pounding came from the other boxcar.
  12. runnel
    a small stream
    Tears ran down her dirty cheeks, leaving gray runnels.
  13. inflect
    vary the pitch of one's speech
    “Run,” Fayge said, catching the last word, and repeated it in a soft, uninflected voice.
  14. stark
    severely simple
    “You are zugangi, newcomers, the lowest of the low,” the tall, dark-haired woman said to them as they huddled in the stark barracks room.
  15. baffle
    be a mystery or bewildering to
    Whatever it was they were supposed to read there baffled the women and they murmured together.
  16. vehemence
    intensity or forcefulness of expression
    “No!” said Hannah, surprised at the vehemence in her response.
  17. vulnerable
    capable of being wounded or hurt
    Hannah thought they looked so vulnerable, so helpless.
  18. prominent
    having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
    His own head was shaved, and with the bones so prominent on his face, he looked to be all forehead and nose.
  19. discernible
    perceptible by the senses or intellect
    He cut their hair without any discernible skill, often pulling great clumps out with the blunt scissors.
  20. eaves
    the overhang at the lower edge of a roof
    The room they were herded into was a small, low-ceilinged place with a single window high up under the eaves.
  21. unadorned
    not decorated with something to increase its beauty
    An unadorned light bulb dangled down over several long wooden tables piled high with rags.
  22. rummage
    search haphazardly
    Hannah rummaged quickly through the pile of clothes and found a blouse and jumper that looked as if they might fit.
  23. sludge
    any thick, viscous matter
    The man looked at her and his eyes were the saddest she’d ever seen, a muddy brown, like river sludge.
  24. croon
    sing softly
    Little Tzipporah was next, and Hannah held the child on her lap, covering her eyes with ice-cold hands and crooning a song into her ears.
  25. interval
    the distance between things
    The barracks they were assigned had a long brick oven along one end and deep trenches on the sides in which sleeping shelves were placed, like triple bunk beds, at impossibly narrow intervals.
  26. unearthly
    concerned with or affecting the spirit or soul
    She knew it was Fayge because, even with her hair shorn, her face the color of an old book, and wearing a shapeless brown print dress, Fayge had an unearthly beauty.
  27. garish
    tastelessly showy
    Putting her hands on her hips, barely covering the garish flowers on the red print dress, she smiled mockingly.
  28. affirmation
    a statement asserting the truth of something
    “So?”
    “So!” Hannah whispered back. In that dark, cold place it seemed a kind of affirmation.
  29. rote
    characterized by mechanical or thoughtless repetition
    “They will get used to it,” the soldier said as if the words were rote in his mouth. “They will get used to it.”
  30. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    The smokestack and the ominous black curl emerging from it, dissipating against the bright blue sky, reminded her of something.
  31. dissipate
    go away, scatter, or disappear
    The smokestack and the ominous black curl emerging from it, dissipating against the bright blue sky, reminded her of something.
  32. overwhelm
    overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
    The thought of sleep, horizontal sleep, suddenly overwhelmed her.
  33. unwarranted
    incapable of being justified or explained
    It was all Hannah could do to free her arms enough so that she could pat Gitl’s shorn head, touching it with as much tenderness as she could muster, while her cheeks still burned from the unwarranted slaps.
  34. arbitrary
    based on or subject to individual discretion or preference
    After the meal, the zugangi were lined up again in what seemed to Hannah to be a totally arbitrary order, orchestrated by the same three-fingered woman.
  35. orchestrate
    plan and direct (a complex undertaking)
    After the meal, the zugangi were lined up again in what seemed to Hannah to be a totally arbitrary order, orchestrated by the same three-fingered woman.
  36. fervor
    the state of being emotionally aroused and worked up
    She dealt out slaps and pushes with such fervor that they all did her bidding without protest.
  37. elusive
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    There—she had it, an elusive slip of memory.
  38. discipline
    the trait of being well behaved
    “You will have discipline,” he said suddenly, without preamble. “You will work hard. You will never answer back, complain, or question. You will not try to escape. You will do this for the Fatherland. You will do it—or you will die.”
  39. resolve
    reach a conclusion after a discussion or deliberation
    She wondered if Gitl would know what it was, and resolved to ask her.
  40. raucous
    unpleasantly loud and harsh
    But the raucous swallows, the woman’s droning commands, the ground bass of the machinery mesmerized her.
Created on Wed Sep 23 19:21:01 EDT 2015 (updated Fri Jul 29 17:40:09 EDT 2022)

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