7808ec+Whole+by+Whole+Essay

 Who Has the Better Set of Rules; Rivka or the Camp

 Do rules ever just flat out annoy you? Have you ever heard too many rules in one sitting? In the //The Devil's Arithmetic,// the main characters were kept at a concentration camp and were pounded with rules the second they arrived. A girl named Rivka follows the camp rules, but also her own set of rules to survive. Rivka's rules help you survive, but if you really think about the camp rules, they help you survive too. They both help you maintain order. But somehow, Rivka's rules help you survive even more than the Nazi's rules would help you. Personally,I think that Rivka was really smart, and her rules are better.

 The rules at the concentration camp were very bothersome. The people who told the prisoners the rules weren't that nice. For example, the "Three-Fingered Lady", and the officer told you the rules in a way that made you know they were in charge and that you had to obey them. Her rules told them what not to do, but not what to do, such as // don't call attention to yourself. //Rivka and the tattooist were nice when they told them the rules. The rules told them what not to do, but not what you can do, such as //don't call attention to yourself //. Also, they want you to never, ever complain. But the only rule that tells you what to do, is do what they say, or die. The rules weren't there so that you would be able to know what not to do and what to do, they were made to help you live //. // Also, they wanted you to forget them, and so that they could make examples of people. Like, if you weren't allowed in this one place and someone went in there, they would make what they did to you very harsh so that people would know not to do that. They would want you to know that they aren't afraid to kill you, beat you, or punish you in any other way. The concentration camp rules were not fair for the Jews, because of they would punish you severely.

Rivka is just a really smart person. As a survivor, she is one of the few who can give the rules that could help you from getting "Chosen." She thinks almost the exact opposite as the Nazis because she wants the prisoners to keep their identity. The reason they gave you numbers to put in place of your name, was to forget your identity. Also, she wants you to know who to avoid. There were Greek Jews at the concentratino camp, and they don't speak Yiddish, so they can't understand the commands fast enough. So the Greeks were always gone very quickly. So basically she wants you to never forget your identity. These two would probably be the most important, keep hope and avoid being "Chosen". If your "Chosen", you are gone.

Even though in //The Devil's Arithmetic,// you have to know what and what not to do. Once you've heard Rivka's rules, you have a very large chance of survival. The Nazis probably don't know about her rules, but those rules are the most helpful rules of all. If the Nazis found out that Rivka was that smart about avoiding the bad, then they would probably kill her instantly so that they could keep exterminating the Jews. If you wanted to survive in the concentration camps, you had to know who to talk to, and ask her for her advice.