Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Can I get a chapter summary from Chapters 5-8 in "Devil's Arithmetic"?

In Chapter 5, Hannah wakes up and finds she is still in Poland in 1942.  She meets Shmuel, who shares with her his nervousness at his upcoming marriage.  During breakfast, Yitzchak, an older man with two young children who someday is to marry Gitl, arrives.  He has brought chickens as a wedding gift for Shmuel, and the group prepares to travel to the village of Fayge, Shmuel's betrothed.

In Chapter 6, Hannah dresses in clothes Gitl gives her, as her own were burned because of fear of disease.  Half the village is making the trip to Viosk for the wedding, and Hannah, or Chaya as she is called here, meets four girls her age, Shifre, Esther, Yente, and Rachel.  Hannah mesmerizes the girls by telling them stories about her life in New Rochelle.

The high-spirited group travels to Viosk in Chapter 7, and Hannah tells stories from movies and books she remembers along the way.  When they reach Viosk, they are greeted by Fayge's relatives, and everyone enters the village laughing and singing.  Hannah is fascinated by the badchan, a sort of Jewish jester and storyteller.

After Hannah meets Fayge in Chapter 8, the people go to the shul, or temple, but find there are strange trucks with soldiers parked there.  Hannah, having come from the future, recognizes them as Nazis who will kill six million Jews, but no one believes her.  The Rabbi leads everyone forward to see what the soldiers want.

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