Anne says she is a bundle of contradictions because she has a lighter side and a thoughtful side.
Trapped in a secret room over her father’s office hiding from the Nazis, Anne Frank definitely has a lot on her mind. To help her sort through the emotions of being a teenage girl, her father got her a diary. She uses it to explain how she is feeling. One day she describes herself as a “bundle of contradictions.” In the next entry, she explores what that might mean.
A contradiction is something which is hard to explain, because it seems in opposition to itself. Anne means that she sometimes feels as if there are two Annes, who are opposites to each other. One Anne is playful and frivolous, and the other is much more serious.
My lighter, more superficial side will always steal a march on the deeper side and therefore always win. You can't imagine how often I've tried to push away this Anne, which is only half of what is known as Anne-to beat her down, hide her. But it doesn't work, and I know why. (Tuesday, August 1, 1944)
Anne sometimes struggles with the people she is in hiding with. As one of the youngest members of the group, she is often singled out for criticism and she feels as if no one understands her. It is difficult for her to be herself or grow to be herself in such constricting conditions.
I'm used to not being taken seriously, but only the "lighthearted" Anne is used to it and can put up with it; the "deeper" Anne is too weak. If I force the good Anne into the spotlight for even fifteen minutes, she shuts up like a clam the moment she’s called upon to speak … (Tuesday, August 1, 1944)
Part of growing up is getting people to take your seriously. Anne has an even harder time with this because she never gets any time to herself, and she is always under a microscope. She has a naturally big personality, and what she does gets noticed. Fading into the woodwork is just not something Anne is capable of.
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