The following journal entries were written by an 8th grader
Anne Frank Journal 1A (pgs. 1-32)
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is a diary about how Anne Frank and her family and friends suffered through World War II. During the first few pages, I felt that the diary started out by showing Anne’s everyday life and how she is a “normal” teenage girl. She starts by somewhat describing her classmates and family, which gives the scene a cheerful and light mood. I like that she describes each classmate with nice detail. She has concerns about her grades and society just like the rest of her friends and they all seem to be living a nice life. One fact that I found a little sad was that Anne says she doesn’t have a “true” friend because she doesn’t share her personal problems with her friends and that’s why she writes in a diary. Anne also reveals that some of her other family members had trouble with Hitler and have fled Germany. Then Anne later starts to talk about how their family has to go into hiding which does not seem pleasant. I found it somewhat depressing that Anne and her family can’t even go downstairs or outside. Either way, these problems just seem like the beginning of their problems with Hitler. I look forward to read more to fully understand Anne’s hardships.
Anne Frank Journal 2 (pgs. 33-59)
During these pages of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, Anne discusses her life in the Secret Annex. I like the fact that Anne talks about her life in the Secret Annex like it is her normal life. She does this by describing how she has little quarrels with her mother and how she thinks that her dad is so sweet. She also describes how her parents and Peter van Daan’s parents don’t get along. Speaking of Peter, the van Daan’s arrive to the Secret Annex before the events above occur. Moving along, I like the fact that Anne is continuing her schoolwork even though she’s in hiding. I thought it was a little bit unusual because she mentioned her parents didn’t really care about her grades. No major events happened except for the fact that her father gets sick. However, I’m pretty sure there will be more conflict as the story goes on.
Anne Frank Journal 3 (pgs. 60-98)
As days go by in the Secret Annex, the Frank’s and van Daan’s seem to gain hope when Winston Churchill declares, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” I think that is a very important quote during the WWII time period. It shows excellent leadership and confidence that can then therefore motivate the public. Also, the Annex takes a new person into hiding named Albert Dussel. After Dussel is settled in, more bad news about deaths of Jews reaches the Annex and the mood shifts from cheerful to gloomy. However, I like the point that Anne says that she can’t be spending a whole day crying and that the gloom will pass. She also goes on to talk about how everyone in the Annex is making fun of her and how she doesn’t want to show how angry she is. To top this off, Anne tells her mom she doesn’t want her to read to her and that she would rather prefer for her father to read for her. Anne’s mom gets so sad that she can’t get her daughter to love her and that’s how the page ends. Hopefully matters will improve later on.
Anne Frank Journal 4 (pgs. 99-138)
First of all, it was Anne’s birthday and her father created a poem about the year. I thought it was very nicely written out especially since it had to rhyme even when it was translated from German to Dutch to English. Anne has a dispute with Dussel about using the table to work on. Dussel has proved to be very selfish and egotistical. Not only that, he’s very defensive about his food. Continuing on, there was a break-in! A lot of money was stolen and if I were them, I would have just been glad they were secretly hiding behind a bookshelf where nobody could see them. Anne starts to get homesick, not that I blame her. If I was stuck in the Annex for a year and a half, I would have gone stir-crazy! Since most of my life depends on the outside world, I would have felt terrible. Anne also says she would like to go back to school. Kids may say that school is boring and pointless, but actually 3 months of summer can get boring too. At least in school there’s a new thing going on everyday and your friends to see everyday. Not that I’m saying I hate summer. I love summer. But I think school is very fun too. Anne also continues to talk about how Dussel and Mrs. van Daan are picking on her for “knowing too much.” If I could give Anne a piece of advice, I would tell her to ignore her. Because I personally think there’s no reason to get so agitated about something that doesn’t really matter much to that person. The last important parts include the fact that Anne gave a complete schedule of life in the Annex, Italy has surrendered, and how selfish Dussel is. Finally, Anne says that matters are glum in the Annex again. I was just wishing to end on a high note but not this time!
Anne Frank Journal 5 (pgs. 139-170)
The first thing that Anne starts out with is that she doesn’t give a “darn” about Mother and Margot as people. She loves them only because they’re related. I thought that was very sad and also that she needs to move on. She stays on one subject for too long and seems to like to live in the past. I think that’s a terrible way to live. Whenever I don’t’ like something, I try to go on in life to improve the situation or to simply ignore it. I think she should think more positively. Anne also admits that she’s in a depression, which seemed pretty obvious to me. That would definitely explain the way she was acting. Anne is also having “visions” about her friend Hanelli and Grandma. She sees them suffering and wanting her comfort which sounds like part of her depression to me. Well, at least the Annex was happy on Christmas! Anne and her father surprised everyone by putting a small gift in everyone’s shoes. Everything and everyone is calm in the Annex except for the fact that there’s a shortage of food. But on the bright side, no one in the Annex is sick. My favorite part of these pages is that Anne finally realizes how harsh she was on her mother! She realizes that she was younger and in a bad mood when she wrote those terrible things. She realizes how much she made it seem that she hates Mother. I think it’s about time that she realizes this but she still says they can’t love Mother with a devotion of a child. I’m just glad that she realizes that her mom is also under a lot of stress. She also starts enjoying Peter van Daan’s company and that’s about it!
Anne Frank Journal 6 (pgs. 171- 200)
In the beginning of the second half of Anne Frank, Anne shows visible signs of maturity. Instead of being prejudiced against the van Daan’s, Anne thinks about both sides of any quarrels or arguments that occurred in the Annex. She realizes that the van Daan’s aren’t the only ones who started the quarrels and that her family actually might have started most of them! Also, the Annex is starting to prepare for an invasion, which was not necessary so far. One point that I realized so far is that Anne hasn’t mentioned much about Albert Dussel like she used to. Instead, she’s back to talking about how her mother is always blaming her for things she didn’t do. In my opinion, I think that Anne started some of her “arguments” with her mom. Moving along, Anne has finally become friends with Peter, which I think is great! I think they should have become friends ages ago because that would definitely make life better for me if I was Anne. Anne is also looking at things at a more positive attitude. Hopefully, the book will continue like this.
Anne Frank Journal 7 (pgs. 201-232)
I like the fact that Anne has started spending more time with Peter. I think this is good because Anne has seemed lonely without any friends and now that she’s spending time with Peter, she seems much more cheerful. Anne now writes in her diary how happy she is now, which sure seems like a change to me! I’m also glad Anne is friends with Peter now because Anne said that he needs to be loved, and she could be the on to help him. However, Anne sometimes seems to care too much for Peter. She says she thinks about him day and night and jumps to conclusions on his feelings for her. I find this whole situation a bit humorous because I remember when the van Daan’s first came to the Annex how Peter and Anne couldn’t stand each other. And now Anne has changed and enjoys Peter’s company. Anne is also becoming more independent and not as close to her parents. I feel that becoming independent is okay, however it is also important to follow the advice of parents since they probably have more experience in life and can be very helpful. Anne doesn’t seem to agree with what I just said since she no longer loves her mother and now she’s growing apart from her father. Finally, Margot tells Anne that she wants to have a friend to share her thoughts with too and I feel bad that Margot hasn’t gotten that opportunity.
Anne Frank Journal 8 (pgs. 233-258)
Anne realizes how hard it must be for Margot to sit downstairs alone while Anne can enjoy Peter’s company. I thought that was very thoughtful of her. This is because, up to this point, I haven’t really seen Anne show any affection towards Margot. Anne invites her although Anne and Margot both know that it will be very different in the attic when all three of them are up there. Anne also seems to be maturing by the pages. She wisely remarked to Mrs. van Daan, “It is not our place to criticize the people who are helping us.” This was obviously said after Mrs. van Daan criticized the people helping them. All the members are starting to get along now although I have a feeling this won’t last. The adults in the Annex seem to be very unpredictable. The easiest way to explain how they are like is like imagining the waves of the ocean as kindness. When it is high tide, there are many waves and the adults get along. When it is low tide, the waves are weaker and the adults get grumpy again. That is just something I noticed, but maybe it’ll change. One final point that I like is that Anne is determined to finish her schoolwork. It keeps her busy and she wants to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. She says she wants to “live after her death” and I believe she has successfully accomplished that. She is very well known although she may not be living and I believe that is a great goal. To do something good for the world and be remembered for it even after the person dies! That is a very good mindset and she should keep up her good attitude!
Anne Frank Journal 9 (pgs.259-284)
Not much during these pages. Anne and Peter have become really close which I already mentioned was good. As I predicted, Dussel is mad at Mr. van Daan since he’s no longer allowed to go downstairs in the evening to work. Dussel went downstairs anyway and Mr. van Daan got really mad. I would hate living in the Annex because sometimes everything just seems to bad. The adults are fighting, you can’t go outside, the food is bad, the toilets are always clogging up, so many break-ins are happening, and there’s nothing to do. I wonder how the people in the Annex could cope with all this. And I’ve realized that it was very hard. Anne does express how she misses nature and how she would love to go back to her own life. If I were in the Annex, I’d try to make everything happier the whole time. I wouldn’t encourage arguing or disobeying orders because there really is no point. These are the things I would do and maybe the experience wouldn’t be all that bad.
Anne Frank Journal 10 (pgs. 285-325)
There was another good day in the Annex! It was Mr. Frank’s birthday and everyone in the Annex had a great time. Even Albert Dussel, who apologized for his poor behavior. Next, I like the fact that Anne cares so much for her work. When a vase of water fell on her work, she was very sad since she loves all her notes and textbooks (except Algebra). Anyway, Mr. van Hoeven, the man who used to bring potatoes to the Annex, was arrested. The Annex felt bad for Bep since now she has to haul all the potatoes. I feel bad for her too. I feel that Bep has helped the Annex out the most. I’m not sure exactly what she does, but the way Anne describes her, Bep seems like a very hard-working person. Something I found interesting was that Anne also kind of used my “wave theory”. She said that one day the Annex is happy, and the next day there is tension and fear. Anne also said that she can’t understand why people don’t like to work, which exactly what I think too! I didn’t realize how much we think alike!
Anne Frank Journal 11 (pgs. 326-341)
These are the last few pages of Anne’s diary. I found the Afterword a bit sad. The part I didn’t understand was that someone had tipped off the police where the Annex was. Was it someone helping the people in the Annex? Or was it one of the warehouse workers? I wish that was more thoroughly explained. Also, in Anne’s last entry, she was talking about how she wants to change and become a better person. The Annex didn’t seem to expect the police at all! Anyway, all eight members were arrested and all of them died in various ways except for Otto Frank. Anne died from the typhus epidemic as well as Margot. Mr. van Daan was the only one who was gassed. Otto Frank decided to start a new life and remarried. He published Anne’s diary into now what is known as The Diary of Anne Frank.