A Summary of the Diary of Anne Frank
The “Diary of Anne Frank” is a young girl’s personal recollection of her life during 1942 – 1944. The diary presents the historical events of World War II, and condemns the inconceivable revulsion of the Holocaust. It is historical because the teenaged Jewish girl, Anne Franks, give a true personal description of her life as she hid from the Nazis. The diary contains the emotional fears of Anne as she endures the two years in hiding. Although she was just a child at the time, she makes incredible observations about humans and their tendencies. Anne started making entries at the age of thirteen and continued until just after her fifteenth birthday. The initial pages of the diary shows Anne as a typical immature girl who writes about her friendships other girls, her academic performance, and the crushes she has on boys. The Franks fled Germany to the Netherlands to avoid Nazi prosecution, but the freedom was short-lived, as the Germans invaded the Netherlands in 1940 and forced Mr. Dussel, the Franks and the van Daans into hiding. They receive limited aid from Otto Frank’s co-workers throughout the time. Their only connection to the war on the outside was through the reports they listened to on the radio. It was these occasional reports that Anne record, which later provides a clear historical background for her personal ideas.
During the first year, Anne writes about being isolated from the rest of the society, and the loneliness that comes with the isolation. Anne records that mother is unable to show the affection and love that she needed. In addition, Anne noted that she was often scolded and criticized by the van Daans and Mr. Dussel. Her loneliness spanned to the distant relationship she shared with her sister, Margot. The closest Anne came to forming a personal bond was with Peter van Daan. However, Mr. Frank, whom she adores, does not condone the close relationship with Peter and the infatuation she feels for Peter lessens. In spite of her youth and happiness, Anne cannot ignore what is going on around her. She records the restrictions that the Germans placed on the Jews. Although the Jews were not allowed to own bicycles, ride trains, attend the theater, work in businesses, of visit Christians, she says she can live with the difficult rules. Anne also adds details of the secret hiding place, the van Daans connection to the outside world, Anne’s concern about the gas chambers and the concentration camps, and the problem of being a teenager in hiding. With the passing of time, the effect of the closeness of the war puts a strain on the relationship with her mother, Dussel, and Mrs. Van Daan. Anne cries more frequently as she listens to the bombs passing overhead. She wonders if they will be bombed next or that they will be betrayed, caught, and sent to the horrifying concentration camps. However, Anne writes that they find a bit of happiness as they celebrate her fourteenth birthday, Saint Nicolas’ Day, and Chanukah. Hope comes to them, as they hear the news that the English were holding firm against the Germans.
Anne’s growth and maturity surface at the start of 1944. She notes that despite their differences, she loves her mother, and feels ashamed of her past anger and hatred. She notes that the problem is based on her mother’s lack of understanding of her. Anne has trouble understanding the reasons behind the hatred for the Jews. It is within this period that the reader realizes that Anne tries to understand her individuality. The final entries in the diary show that Anne had changed drastically. She stands up to her father in a matured way about her relationship with Peter. She knows what she wants and who has become. She has developed self-confidence within the time in hiding and learns to control her temper during the period. In the end, the period is traumatic for Anne, but the lessons she learns, becomes clear in the way her writing moves from a childish tone to one that is more mature and creates the image of someone who is far older than her fifteen years. In concluding, the “Diary of Anne Frank” has been studied by individuals of all age group, as it stands as a splendid proof of a young girl’s courageousness throughout a terrifying period.
