The book Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl starts off very happy. The Frank family is living in a house, with no problems whatsoever. The book starts out on Sunday, 14 June, 1942 on Anne Frank's 13th birthday. Anne is excited with all of her gifts, but the one she deems the most special is the diary her father gave her. All is well and happy in the Frank home, yet little do they know that their lives will change forever. They are soon forced to leave their cheerful home, and make their way to the Secret Annex, a place where they will be hiding out in for three years. While at the Secret Annex Anne begins to share her stories by writing them down in her diary, and thus the book Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl is born.
In the introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt, she talks about how much she loves Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl because it is one of the wisest and most moving commentaries on war and its impact on human beings that I have ever read. She goes on to call it a remarkable book, and says despite the horror and the humiliation of their daily lives, these people never gave up. Eleanor is talking about the adversities that Anne Frank and everybody else in the Secret Annex faced while hiding from the threat of the Nazis finding them. Instead of everyday becoming more and more depressed with the fact that each new day could be their last in the Annex, they were mostly cheerful and joked and even celebrated holidays like nothing bad was going on in the world. They celebrated Hanukah, and St. Nicholas Day, and even exchanged presents. They tried to make the best out of the situation that was being dealt to them. Eleanor also took note of Anne writing about normal teen stuff, like her problems with her parents, developing self- awareness of herself and others, the things going on around her, and the hardships of growing up. She is quoted as saying: I felt how close we all are to Annes experience, how very much involved we are in her short life and in the entire world, because her diary tells us much about ourselves and about our own children. I think the meaning behind this is that Anne tells the reality of the relationships between parent and child using truth, and shows us how children really think and feel, and how they think and feel about others. It also shows how one minute a child can think this, and then the next they realize something and they begin to ponder with a new approach to the problem or question or statement. The diary represents the thoughts of a young girl, and how she matured throughout the wars progress. Eleanor realizes this, and comes to the simplified conclusion that reading it is a rich and rewarding experience.
In the journal entry from November 17th, 1942, we learn that a man by the name of Mr. Dussel joins the residence of the Secret Annex, and he happens to be a dentist. This becomes great news, because they can save another person from the Nazis, and it is not as if adding one more person to the mix is going to cost the seven of them a lot of food or supplies. At first, Anne does not mind Mr. Dussel moving in, but as the days go on she realizes that his staying in her room just complicates her life because she loses more privacy. I think that the addition of one more person to the Secret Annex will cause them more trouble than they can imagine. The cons of bringing in one more person is there is one more mouth to feed and more supplies are needed for the person. Mr. Dussel, thinking that the Franks were in Belgium, is shocked to find out that they were actually hiding near home. After he is notified about how the Franks escaped unnoticed, he is given a copy of the Prospectus and Guide to the Secret Annex, which is a detailed list that describes what to do and not to do during his stay in the Secret Annex. This shows that the van Daans do have a sense of humor after all, because the guide is written like a typical tourist tract and describes the hiding place as if it is a luxury resort for Jews. The entry ends with the list of things included in the guide, such as speaking softly, a fat-free diet, lessons, small pets, mealtimes, bathing, and radio.
Thursday, November 19th, in 1942, Anne writes another journal entry concerning what Mr. Dussel has told the rest of the group. Apparently, most of the people who the Franks and the van Daans knew are dead, have been captured or are simply gone. The news shocks everyone. Anne writes this about the news- I feel wicked sleeping in a warm bed, while my dearest friends have been knocked down or have fallen into a gutter somewhere out in the cold night. I get frightened when I think of close friends who have now been delivered into the hands of the cruelest brutes that walk the earth. And all because they are Jews!" I feel as if she does not comprehend the intensity of the situation because all of her friends could be dead for all she knows, and she does not write about how much she misses her friends, or how sorry she feels they might have died, but says my dearest friends have been knocked down or have fallen into a gutter somewhere out in the cold night, which is her saying that they are still alive, and are just suffering out in the cold. On another note, after Mr. Dussel explains what is happening in the outside world, he moves in with Anne into her bedroom, and becomes her roommate. This causes Anne to become annoyed at her loss of privacy, yet she states Quite honestly, I'm not so keen that a stranger should use my things, but one must be pre-pared to make some sacrifices for a good cause, so I shall make my little offering with a good will. 'If we can save someone, then everything else is of secondary importance,' says Daddy, and he's absolutely right. So even though Mr. Dussel has to stay in her room, she can handle it because saving someone is of more importance than anything else.
The entry of Monday, December 7th, 1942 is a happy one, as everyone is celebrating Hanukah and St. Nicholas Day (or better known as Christmas in the USA). In Germany, St. Nicholas day happens on December 7th, and Hanukah happened on December 6th in 1942. I do not think they would have celebrated Hanukah if it werent for Mr. Dussel, because Mr. Dussels wife is Christian and he probably wanted to celebrate it like he usually did. Miep decorates a large basket, which contains presents for everyone. Although Miep is risking her life to hide the families, she goes beyond the call of duty to be cheerful and even brings everyone Christmas presents. It reminds me of the times I spent with my own family, chilling out in front of the big Christmas tree and opening up all of the presents we each obtained from Santa Claus. Although they did not have a Christmas tree or a Menorah, or a mound of presents awaiting them as they awoke to realize it was a holiday morning, they still spent the two days happily and I believe it brought them all closer together.
Unlike the last entry I reviewed, this entry has a depressing tone to it. And it rightly should, because it is regarding the destruction of North Amsterdam. In this entry, which is taking place on Monday, July 19th 1943, Anne talks about what is happening in North Amsterdam, the deaths and the newly proclaimed orphans, and the trains headed for the hellish concentration camps. I believe this showed Anne that things were not all fun and games, that there was still a war going on and they had to be cautious, or else they could be the ones boarding the next train to the camps.
As the entries continue, we find that Anne is maturing more and more. In the entry from Saturday, January 22nd 1944 Anne is considering the fact that the van Daans are not always wrong, and that sometimes the Franks can be the ones in the wrong. This is realized because her own mother can be difficult, and Anne knows that sometimes it can be very hard to talk to her. She decides that she will look at things from another stand point other than from her parents, and that she herself will analysis the facts and deem what she thinks is fair in the matter. Anne finds that she should not be biased in her judgments, and thus wants to start fresh and reexamine her relationship with the van Daans. This entry interests me very much. It obviously shows that Anne is maturing and she is trying to become more rational and less on the defensive. This seems to be the turning point in the diary, the point where she realizes that she was being childish beforehand and now gains a greater understanding of peoples feelings. This new ability helps her to blossom into a (almost) full grown adult.
The entry of Thursday March 23rd, 1944 is introduced with a synopsis of what is currently going on in the war, and the other half is about her growing relationship with Peter van Dann. A plane was flying near the Secret Annex and crashed, yet the occupants were able to jump out with a parachute before the plane touched the ground- or school in this case. As they were floating down a group of cowardly Germans began to shoot at the soldiers. The death count though was only two people. All of the ladies were apparently so spooked, they all jumped up at the sound of the gunshots. Then Anne tells the audience that she often goes upstairs after supper and takes a breath of the fresh air, usually along with Peter. Mr. Dussel and Mr. van Daan make remarks when Anne goes to see Peter, such as Annes second home and Is it suitable for a young gentleman to receive young girls in semidarkness?, but Peter says that the grownups are just envious. Although, Peter blushes when he hears the remarks, so could there be a growing romance in the Secret Annex? That will have to be determined as the story goes on, yet I think that they will stay good friends, and then gradually grow to realize they really like each other. The ending is a conversation between Peter and Anne about how Peter likes it when Anne laughs because [she] gets such dimples in [her] checks. This inspires an aw! moment from the audience (me) and the conversation ends with them both agreeing that the other is very pretty/handsome.
On the day of Wednesday, March 29th, 1944 Anne learns of the news that an M.P. from the Dutch News from London (it is not said what M.P. stands for, but perhaps it is like someone in America who, if they earn a doctors degree in college, they are called Doctor before their name, even if they arent a real doctor) wants to publish Jewish diaries so people will read about how the Jews lived in hiding. Everyone is excited and they automatically make a mad dash for Annes diary. Yet Anne is more interested than excited, because if she were to publish her diary under the name of The Secret Annex the tittle alone would be enough to make people think it was a detective story. Yet with the prospect of the diary being published, Anne begins to describe the kind of war events she thinks readers might be interested in. As any other well educated author knows, the best way to sell a story is to incorporate action into it. No one would buy a story if it was all just words and there was no real plot to it. Conflicts are what make a story so readable and entertaining. Take the story called Inkheart, for instance. It is about a girl and father who have the amazing ability to go inside a book- literally. If the characters did not have a care in the world, and the whole book was a happy ending, then no one would want to buy it. So the author puts in a bad foe or two and BANG! They have an interesting story that will sell millions. So Anne writes about the children and even the adults who are stealing from anyone they can, and no one dares to leave their own house unattended for fear of robbers. How the tables are turning because fewer and fewer Dutch people are collaborating with the Germans and the war feels as if it is coming to a slow end. This leaves the reader in suspense, wondering what will become of the war, and of the hideaways in the Secret Annex. Is the telling of all of the bad events taking place an unknown foreshadowing of a horrible event to come, that no one knows about or will anticipate? Only time will tell.
On the day of Tuesday August 1st, 1944, Anne records her final diary entry. This entry is the most emotionally heartbreaking entry out of all the others. Here, Anne talks about her dual personality, and how she wants to act how she really feels inside, but cant seem to make it break free. She interprets herself as being more connected with herself. Her dual personalities are deeper than, say, a person who is bi-polar. Anne is afraid. She is afraid of what people might think if she shows her deeper side. She has a good reason to be scared, as she says Im awfully scared that everyone who knows me as I always am will discover that I have another side, a finer and better side. Im afraid theyll laugh at me. Anne is scared of what other people will think about her if they find out about her other personality. This quote shows that Annes self worth is like a fetus, not matured at all. If Anne is afraid of what people think then she is not ready for what they will actually think. She will not look at the lighter side of showing her other personality, but she will look at the darker side of showing her personality. Being pessimistic is evidence that she has not developed her private and public self. Even though some of her past entries have made her seem mature, this clearly shows that that was all a bluff. If she were to be more optimistic and not think of all the bad things her personality offers she might be able to mature more into the person and personality she deeply wants to. More evidence that shows Anne is undeveloped is her wimpy will to fight off the personality she doesnt like and show everyone the personality she wants to. She is quoted as saying on page 720 that: Sometimes, if I really compel the good Anne to take stage for a quarter of an hour, she simply shrivels up as soon as she has to speak, and lets Anne no. 1 take over. Anne writes that she cant push out her deep personality because it will shrivel up as soon as it creeps its little head out. Why will it shrivel up? Because Anne doesnt have any willpower. She lives her life taking no action but what is given to her. The personality that makes Anne acceptable to public is a personality that other people around Anne originally formed. Anne didnt have a personality and others formed a materialistic one for her, she took it and morphed it into her own so she could live with it. Deep down inside Annes real personality is, I wish I could say, bubbling up ready to explode out, but its not. It is just sitting inside her being pushed deeper and deeper down farther away where she can ignore it. I think that if Anne had more willpower to fight and get her personality out it would be a lot easier for her because she would not care as much what people thought or how they reacted to her deep personality. Even though Anne cant bring her deep personality out she still has a great understanding of her relationships with others. She understands other people better then they understand themselves. Anne observes more, I think when she is in her materialistic mode rather then her real mode. When she observes she goes deep into peoples feelings to write down what she thinks is going on in their head. Her she says, on page 503:Father accepts Mother as she is, is often annoyed, but says as little as possible, because he knows the sacrifices Mother has had to make. Anne has observed her parents so long; she has come to the conclusion that they are in fact not in love. They are only together to sustain a family. With these words you could say that Anne has definably personally grown more and understands things better. The reason Anne has had such personal growth is because all she can do is observe. If her deep personality peeked its head out she would be very nervous and anxious because she has no self esteem. Anne would crumble if she tried to observe with her deep personality. She is too scared and does not have enough self esteem to bring the deep personality out. Even though she might have grown personally, I think she will never learn that she has to force herself to push out the deep personality and be who she really is.
The Diary of Anne Frank was a great autobiography, because it showed the deep thoughts of the writer, and not just what was happening in their life, like most other autobiographies. Without knowing it Anne took autobiographies to a new level. She showed us what it was like to live with two personalities. Out of all the autobiographies I have read, I think that hers is the best, because she actually goes into depth. Not all auto biographies are the same. Some are more interesting than others. Some have more lies then others. But when you analyze a single biography, you become one with the writer. You go so deep into their writing you feel like you know them; this is what happened when I read Anne Franks Diaries. To be in her head was an adventure all of its own.
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