How Does The Change In The Diary Of Anne Frank

Imagine being stuck in an attic with strangers for over two years. That is the story in the play The Diary of Anne Frank and Related Readings by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. The Diary of Anne Frank and Related Readings is a play based on the diary kept by 13-year-old Anne Frank that told her story of hiding during World War 2. Anne and her family were Jewish and lived in the Secret Annex from 1942-1944. The Frank family lived alongside 4 others who were strangers to Anne upon arrival. She used her diary as an outlet to document her daily life in hiding until the Nazis discovered them on August 4, 1944. During her time in hiding, Anne transforms by reimagining her future, opening up to others, and learning to live with others, which

At the beginning of her time in hiding, Anne dreamed of being an actress or performer in hopes of fame. After being told that a husband would prefer a quiet housewife, Anne says, “I’m going to be a famous dancer or singer . . . or something wonderful” (38). She did not want to live her life quietly but wanted to be in the spotlight, doing something remarkable. As time went on in the Annex, her future plans changed. Toward the end of her time in the Secret Annex, Anne thought about her life differently. When talking about her past, she realized she had changed when saying, “I think more seriously about life now. I want to be a journalist . . . or something. I love to write” (98). She changed from having the stereotypical goal of being famous to a more sophisticated goal of wanting to be a writer. Being a writer was something that she could practice while in hiding by writing in her diary. That acted as an escape from reality and brought some positivity to life in

In the beginning, Anne was hard to live with and annoyed some of her fellow hiders. Anne had a very talkative personality and would talk about anything to pass the time. One day, while she was doing this, Mr. Van Daan, another hider, pleaded, “Don’t you ever get tired of talking? Suppose you try keeping still for five minutes. Just five minutes” (36-37). Mr. Van Daan had gotten tired of having to listen to her ramble almost constantly. He finally snapped, which Anne reacted to by following him around and mocking him. Being in such close quarters, they sometimes needed a break from each other, which Anne didn’t let happen often. The others got tired of her quickly and did not see living with her as an enjoyable experience. The longer she lived in the Annex, the more she learned how to act in a way that respected everyone’s boundaries. Later in their time in hiding, Anne was trying harder to be a more enjoyable person to live with. Anne had begun to realize how she was making the others feel, and she felt guilty for it. When telling this to her father, she explained, “I’m trying. Really I am. Every night I think back over all of the things I did that day that were wrong … I say to myself, that was wrong. I make up my mind, I’m never going to do that again!” (58). Anne was putting effort into how she treated the others, which eventually paid off. As she grew and matured she learned how to act that the other