5613ku+Whole+by+Whole+Essay

// Rules //

Rules were made to be followed, but then why are so many broken? In //The Devil's Arithmetic, //Hannah and her friends learn that some rules can help them, and some can hurt them. Knowing that all of the rules can be helpful, Hannah and her friends use precautions to make sure that they follow all of them.Keeping the prisoners healthy is the intent of some of the rules made by Rivka and the camp. Both rules had a certain importance to the story.

The three fingered woman, the tattooist, Rivka, and the commandant all told the prisoners rules. They were all rules that you would need to obey at camp. They told the prisoners to have discipline. Another rule was to know your number. These people also said that to live you have to work hard. The intent of these rules is to keep the prisoners healthy enough to work while depriving them of their dignity and humanity.

NOTE Rivka also told rules to Hannah and her friends. Rivka is a girl that Hannah and here friends met in camp. One of her rules was to never stand next to a Greek, because they can't speak German or Yiddish. This is a problem because they wont follow rules fast enough. They were also told to know their own number, for this was of great importance for the prisoners. It had to be part of their identity. They were also told to respect people with lower numbers, because that means that they have been at the camp longer. The intent of Rivka's rules is to keep healthy and keep their humanity.

In this story all of the rules hold a great importance in the plot. Made to be followed, rules can be broken also. Hannah and her friends try to follow all of the rules they can. They use precautions to make sure that this happens. Both Rivka and the Nazis expect there rules to be followed, and doing the opposite could be deadly.