The Devil's Arithmetic

Hannah Stern is the protagonist of the novel, the main character and the person the reader is supposed to be rooting for. At the beginning of the novel, Hannah comes across as self-absorbed. She doesn’t want to go to the Passover Seder and doesn’t seem to appreciate her family or have much empathy for what they had to endure. She tells her mom: “I’m tired of remembering” (11). As her mom reminds her of the family’s suffering, Hannah “rolled her eyes up and slipped farther down in the seat” (12). She is petulant and dismissive of history. She tells her mom, “It’s all in the past. There aren’t any concentration camps now. Why bring it up? It’s embarrassing” (17). She doesn’t want Grandpa Will to meet her friends; he might humiliate her. Her main concern is herself and her life. She’s rather selfish and privileged. She lives in a big house, and her parents can buy her clothes for her Barbie dolls. Presumably, Hannah doesn’t have to worry about food, shelter, or money.

Conversely, Hannah isn’t completely selfish. The novel shows her redeeming qualities and potential for kindness. She’s relatively nice to her brother, admires Aunt Eva, and is not unaware of the Holocaust or Jewish tradition.