Diary of Anne Frank Term Paper

ANNE FRANK'S DIARY

The objective of this study is to explain the living situation of the people in the annex where Anne Frank and her family went into hiding and to examine the excerpts read from Anne Frank's diary and answer as to how Anne sees her own situation compared to that of other Jews and what Anne's emotional response was to the situation. Finally this study will answer as to the limitations of the reader's understanding and the connection points and why Anne Frank's diary became so important and so well-known.

Anne Frank writes in her diary on the 13th day of January 1943 that things are happening which are terrible, both during the day and at night and specifically states in her writings that people are being taken from their homes with only a small sack of belongings and a little bit of cash which are stolen from them as they go. More shocking is that families are being separated from one another and specifically that children return home from school and their parents are no longer there. Women who go out shopping come home and find their homes sealed up and everyone gone.

I. The Living Conditions in the Annex

The living conditions in the annex are described by Anne Frank to be such that encloses all the inhabitants in an environment of fear and one that has Anne imagining the suffering that is to come. Anne Frank feels trapped and imprisoned where she is only able to be a small strip of the blue sky when she looks out the window of the place where she and her family are hidden out along with others. Anne longs to go to the country and to feel the sun and smell the fresh air. There are those who are helping Anne and the others who are hidden out by bringing them food, news, books to read and even gifts on birthdays but regardless of the filling of these needs by those she calls 'the helpers' Anne is a young girl who is trapped in hiding experiencing great fear, depression and a longing to escape from what she believes is a terrible fate that is not questionable but most assuredly awaiting her.

II.Anne Frank 1944

By 1944 Anne Frank writes that it must be due to her being unable to go outside for so long that she has

"become so mad about nature… I remember a time when a magnificent blue sky, chirping birds, moonlight and budding blossoms wouldn't have captivated me. Things have changed since I came here. One night during Whitsun, for instance, when it was so hot, I struggled to keep my eyes open until eleven-thirty so I could get a good look at the moon, all on my own for once. Alas, my sacrifice was in vain, since there was too much glare and I couldn't risk opening a window. Another time, several months ago, I happened to be upstairs one night when the window was open. I didn't go back down until it had to be closed again. The dark, rainy evening, the wind, the racing clouds, had me spellbound; it was the first time in a year and a half that I'd seen the night face-to-face. After that evening my longing to see it again was even greater than my fear of burglars, a dark rat-infested house or police raids. I went downstairs all by myself and looked out of the windows in the kitchen and private office." (Blups, 2008,….....