Shmuel Character Analysis in The Devil’s Arithmetic

Shmuel is Gitl’s kind brother who looks out for Hannah in the past as if she were his own daughter. Shmuel is about to marry Fayge, but this joyful ceremony is interrupted when the Nazis forcibly relocate everyone in his shtetl to a concentration camp. At the camp, Shmuel gets assigned to difficult woodcutting work and Hannah sees little of him, as the concentration camp is strictly separated by gender. Ultimately, Shmuel dies after a failed escape attempt that allows his friend Yitzchak to escape successfully. Like his sister Gitl, Shmuel is generous and is willing to make sacrifices for others.

Shmuel Quotes in The Devil’s Arithmetic

The The Devil’s Arithmetic quotes below are all either spoken by Shmuel or refer to Shmuel. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“Never mind, little Chaya, never mind,” Gitl said. “Shmuel and I—we are your family now.”

Related Characters: Gitl (speaker), Hannah/Chaya, Rivka/Aunt Eva , Shmuel, Mother, Father

Page Number and Citation: 31

Explanation and Analysis:

“But if there is no Old Rochelle, how can there be a New?” Shmuel mused out loud. “Perhaps there is a Rochelle all alone, though the child does not know it.”

Related Characters: Shmuel (speaker), Hannah/Chaya, Gitl, Fayge

Page Number and Citation: 36

Explanation and Analysis:

Photographs of Grandma’s family but none of Grandpa Will’s, because, Aunt Eva had once explained, no photographs had been saved in the death camps. “We are our own photos. Those pictures are engraved only in our memories. When we are gone, they are gone.”

Related Characters: Rivka/Aunt Eva (speaker), Hannah/Chaya, Gitl, Shmuel, Grandpa Will

Related Symbols: Tattoo

Page Number and Citation: 44

Explanation and Analysis:

Pretty girl, with faraway eyes,
Why do you look with such surprise?
How did you get to be so wise,
Old girl in young-girl disguise.

Related Characters: The Badchan (speaker), Hannah/Chaya, Shmuel, Fayge, Shifre, Esther, Rachel

Page Number and Citation: 55

Explanation and Analysis:

“The men down there,” she cried out desperately, “they’re not wedding guests. They’re Nazis. Nazis! Do you understand? They kill people. They killed—kill—will kill Jews. Hundreds of them. Thousands of them. Six million of them! I know. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do. We have to turn the wagons around. We have to run!”

Related Characters: Hannah/Chaya (speaker), Gitl, Shmuel, The Rabbi

Page Number and Citation: 64

Explanation and Analysis:

“Of course, Jew,” came the officer’s voice. “And then my men will move among you and take your papers and jewelry for safekeeping.”

Related Characters: Hannah/Chaya, Gitl, Shmuel

Page Number and Citation: 75

Explanation and Analysis:

“If something happens to us, you must remember. Promise me, Chaya, you will remember.”

Hannah’s lips moved but no sound came out.

“Promise.”

“I will remember.” The words forced themselves out through her stiffened lips.

Related Characters: Hannah/Chaya (speaker), Gitl (speaker), Shmuel, Yitzchak

Page Number and Citation: 144

Explanation and Analysis:

When it was silent at last, the commandant threw the shoes on top of Fayge’s body. “Let them all go up the stack,” he said. “Call the Kommandos. Schnell!”

Related Characters: The Commandant (speaker), Hannah/Chaya, Rivka/Aunt Eva , Shmuel, Fayge, Grandpa Will

Related Symbols: Chimneys

Page Number and Citation: 159

Explanation and Analysis:

Shmuel Character Timeline in The Devil’s Arithmetic

The timeline below shows where the character Shmuel appears in The Devil’s Arithmetic. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...memory of Aunt Eva’s dead friend. A man that Hannah doesn’t recognize calls himself Uncle Shmuel, and he comes over to hug Hannah. Gitl teases Uncle Shmuel, her brother, about how... (full context)

...mother and father, but somehow, she also feels like Chaya. She realizes that Gitl and Shmuel are actually speaking in Yiddish, but somehow, she can understand them. (full context)

...Gitl about her mother and father, but Gitl just comforts her, saying that she and Shmuel are taking care of her now. (full context)

...still living in the shtetl (small town with a mostly Jewish population) with Gitl and Shmuel. Shmuel asks Hannah if she’s been having bad dreams too. He reveals that even someone... (full context)

Hannah tries to convince Shmuel that she’s really from New Rochelle, in America, but Shmuel just takes it as a... (full context)

...has tried in the past to convince Gitl to marry him, comes over to visit. Shmuel greets him, but Gitl just grunts at him. Yitzchak is preparing his chickens because Shmuel... (full context)

...get dressed. She gives Hannah the dress that she herself wore on the day of Shmuel’s Bar Mitzvah, since all of Hannah’s old clothes in Lublin had to be burned in... (full context)

The whole shtetl comes over to Gitl and Shmuel’s place to celebrate before Shmuel’s wedding. Three girls come over to greet Hannah, and one... (full context)

...she knows the words. The girls gossip about how strange it is that Fayge and Shmuel are marrying for love—most marriages are arranged. (full context)

...Hannah about what it’s like in Lublin. Eventually, Fayge confesses that she’s nervous about marrying Shmuel. Hannah reveals that Shmuel is also nervous. This makes Fayge feel better, and she promises... (full context)

Hannah asks Shmuel what year it is, and he says 5701. The badchan realizes Hannah is confused and... (full context)

Shmuel and the rabbi go to talk to the Nazi officer with medals. When Shmuel comes... (full context)

In a Nazi truck, Shmuel calls out over the singing, pointing out a nearby train station. The truck stops, and... (full context)

...fourth day, the train stops for good, and Nazis begin ordering everyone to get out. Shmuel tells them that more people have died, but the Nazis tell him to just leave... (full context)

While walking to the barracks, Fayge collapses, and Shmuel goes over to help her. Hannah laments that they didn’t run when they had the... (full context)

Hannah asks if Gitl has heard about the men of the shtetl, like Shmuel and Yitzchak (who are in a different part of the camp for men), and Gitl... (full context)

One morning, Gitl tells Hannah that there’s a plan, which involves Yitzchak and Shmuel, but which Hannah must not mention to anyone else. Gitl refuses to say more, so... (full context)

...and tells her to move. As they walk, Hannah is distressed to learn that while Shmuel is going, his new wife, Fayge, has decided to stay behind, as she prefers the... (full context)

The commandant is there again the next morning for a roll call. Hannah sees that Shmuel has been badly beaten and is standing with the violinist from the klezmer band and... (full context)

The commandant gives a speech about how Shmuel and the other men standing in front of him are as worthless as garbage and... (full context)