In The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, the audience witnesses the daily struggles and thoughts of an uncensored, young, teenage Jew in hiding. The audience learns about an experience unlike any other. As they follow the young girl in hiding they notice a child who yearns to discover her identity. An identity created for herself and herself alone, not by the Germans, because after all doesn’t somebody define their identity. Isn’t every identity different, just as its creator? That is why throughout the book it seems Anne acts as if searching to disprove her mistaken identity. It was on October 9, 1942, that Anne writes, “ No, Hitler took away our nationality long ago.”(39-40). Nationality is part of a person’s identity,
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“Mrs. Koophuis comes and tells us about her daughter Corry’s hockey club, canoe trips, theatrical performances, and friends. [...] I couldn’t help feeling a great longing to have lots of fun myself for once, and to laugh until my tummy ached.” (123). Anne wants to identify as a child. Unfortunately, she seemed to go through a “premature adulthood”. She understands she must reluctantly act like an adult. “‘Would anyone, either Jew or non-Jew, understand this about me, that I am simply a young girl badly in need of some rollicking fun?’” (124). This is the most significant piece of evidence showing she yearns to be a child. She wants long, warm days sitting in the fresh air with friends gossiping, playing games, and what not. Instead, she is confined to a small room fit for a single person but stretched to fit family. Leaving very few options for enjoyment. Anne wants to identify as a child but …show more content…
“Surely the time will come when we are people again, and not just Jews. [...] Who has made us Jews different from all other people?” (207). Does she feel like that because she was born a Jew, grew up a Jew and is hiding for her life as a Jew she is no longer considered a person? Jews are not considered as humans by the Nazis. Will the thoughts of the Nazis rub off on the Jews? Will the Jews identities alter because of what the Nazis have voiced? Or will the Jews continue to disprove the mistaken identities that the Germans gave them? Anne gives the impression of being under the spell of the Nazi regime by questioning whether she, a Jew, can identify as a human. “[I]s the Jew once again worth less than another?” (238). Here Anne is questioning whether she is worth less than the common German just because she identifies as a Jew. She might be under the impression that the Jews were never truly thought of being inferior to all others. Has it not always been like that ever since Hitler took power? Maybe Anne never truly believed that Jews were thought of as inferior. Anne must not have accepted that because that is not who she wanted to be. She did not want to be inferior because of being a Jew. The germans had made her feel like less of a person and ruined her identity, who she is as a
“Mrs. Koophuis comes and tells us about her daughter Corry’s hockey club, canoe trips, theatrical performances, and friends. [...] I couldn’t help feeling a great longing to have lots of fun myself for once, and to laugh until my tummy ached.” (123). Anne wants to identify as a child. Unfortunately, she seemed to go through a “premature adulthood”. She understands she must reluctantly act like an adult. “‘Would anyone, either Jew or non-Jew, understand this about me, that I am simply a young girl badly in need of some rollicking fun?’” (124). This is the most significant piece of evidence showing she yearns to be a child. She wants long, warm days sitting in the fresh air with friends gossiping, playing games, and what not. Instead, she is confined to a small room fit for a single person but stretched to fit family. Leaving very few options for enjoyment. Anne wants to identify as a child but …show more content…
“Surely the time will come when we are people again, and not just Jews. [...] Who has made us Jews different from all other people?” (207). Does she feel like that because she was born a Jew, grew up a Jew and is hiding for her life as a Jew she is no longer considered a person? Jews are not considered as humans by the Nazis. Will the thoughts of the Nazis rub off on the Jews? Will the Jews identities alter because of what the Nazis have voiced? Or will the Jews continue to disprove the mistaken identities that the Germans gave them? Anne gives the impression of being under the spell of the Nazi regime by questioning whether she, a Jew, can identify as a human. “[I]s the Jew once again worth less than another?” (238). Here Anne is questioning whether she is worth less than the common German just because she identifies as a Jew. She might be under the impression that the Jews were never truly thought of being inferior to all others. Has it not always been like that ever since Hitler took power? Maybe Anne never truly believed that Jews were thought of as inferior. Anne must not have accepted that because that is not who she wanted to be. She did not want to be inferior because of being a Jew. The germans had made her feel like less of a person and ruined her identity, who she is as a