Friday, November 14, 2008

What are some of Anne Frank's frustrations?

In Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank's frustrations come from her perception of others and their lack of foresight. Anne does not have a friend she can confide in and names her diary "Kitty" so that she can feel like she is sharing her concerns with her best friend. 


Anne does not feel as if she "fits in" with her own family, particularly her mother and sister, Margot. In her diary entry of Sunday, July 12, 1942, she complains that she feels herself "drifting further away" from them. Only her "adorable" father tries to understand her although he still sides with them, in Anne's opinion. The issues between Anne and her mother occupy Anne's thoughts repeatedly. Her mother's inability to see Anne's perspective is a constant reminder of their poor relationship to the point that Anne cannot even bring herself to think of her as "mother." Margot is also a constant irritation to Anne, "morning, noon and night," (Thursday, November 5, 1942).   


Anne is angry with herself for being unable to do better but she is also angry with her parents because they do not recognize their own "inadequecies" (November 7, 1942). The fact that Anne never gets encouragement from "someone who loves [her]" is also a source of disappointment to Anne. She is beginning to feel "deserted."


Anne admits that she is "an incorrigible chatterbox" as her teacher always told her, but she feels that she is unfairly singled out for talking by the "unbearable" Mrs. van Daan (September 21, 1942), and with everyone thinking that she is an "ignoramus," Anne feels that others have no right to disapprove of her. On September 28, Anne tells Kitty that she is tired of adults who criticize her when they cannot attend to their own "quarrels." 


Anne is very distressed at the news of people being transported away by the Gestapo and the treatment they receive. She feels powerless as there is nothing any of them can do. She also feels guilty that she sometimes feels "cheerful" but knows that a "Melancholy Annex" (September 1942) won't help anyone. 


In 1944, in a comment that Anne adds to a previous diary entry from 1942, Anne speaks of her "homesickness" which is always on her mind. After some time in the Annex, she has realized that some of her previous comments were inappropriate and immature and due, in part, to never having had anyone to talk to. She is now so desperate that she "selects" Peter (Thursday January 6, 1944) as someone she can talk to. Their relationship develops but it is very overwhelming. 


Due to being stuck in the Annex, no one ever has anything new to talk about and all that anyone can do is hope that things will eventually change. Anne has no idea how her diary will impact the world and give a face to the many children and adult victims. 

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