Critical biography of Anne Frank - Essay Example

Critical biography of Anne Frank. Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl was written by Annelies Marie “Anne” Frank in Dutch. She was originally an European Jew, born in Germany, on June 12, 1929. The Nazis seized power over Germany in 1933 and the Frank family escaped into Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Nazis slowly extended their power into the Netherlands too and the Franks were trapped. The Nazis practiced heavy persecutions on the Jews. They had to wear a star sewn on their clothing whenever they appeared in public. This was a mark of segregation and shame. It was reminiscent of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, The Scarlet Letter, whereby the perceived sinner had to wear a red letter A to mark her sin. Anne’s father, Otto, had hidden rooms built into his office building and the Frank family and their four Jewish friends stayed in hiding in these rooms. They lived the secret life for two years until they were finally betrayed and arrested by the Nazis. The Franks were deported and sent into concentration camps. Anne’s sister, Margot, died after about seven months in captivity and Anne followed suit a few days later. Otto Frank was the sole survivor of his family. He found Anne’s diary and had it published posthumously. It was a chronology of her life from June 12 1942 – August 1 1944. In March, 1945, Anne died of typhus while still interned in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. She was a victim of Nazisms Holocaust. After the war, Otto gained possession of Anne’s diary and was surprised at her maturity and understanding of humanity. He edited out material that he considered sensitive and unflattering to the Frank family and sought to have the dairy published in 1947. Anne’s diary became so popular that pro-Nazis and anti-Holocaust advocates started to take action to discredit Anne’s diary. Experts have examined the physical evidence and have certified that the diary is authentic. I have learnt about the importance of inner strength. Anne Frank had no real close friends so she used her diary to become her confidante. She was self-reliant. She wrote; ‘In order to enhance in my mind’s eye, the picture of the friend for whom I have waited so long, I don’t want to set down a series of bald facts in a diary like most people do, but I want this diary itself to be my friend, and I shall call my friend Kitty.’ (Frank 3). Anne lived under the weight of heavy restrictions, curfews and humiliations under the Nazis’ anti-Jewish subordination; ‘Our freedom was strictly limited. Yet things were still bearable.’ (Frank 4). When Anne lacked the resource of money to purchase ice cream, she learnt to use her girly wiles to gain the generosity of the male gender who were never short on money. However, Anne knew how to avoid being cornered by the boys. (Frank 5). She had indulged her secrets to her diary and made us readers beneficiaries of her experience. Some of Anne’s recorded experiences were so moving that they touched me. She showed me how she adapted to the adverse conditions of her environment and made me realize how grateful I am to live in the free world, unhindered by overbearing authorities. I was impressed by her cheerfulness and positive attitude. Usually, whenever a human being is met with oppression, the response would be flight or fight. Most of the time, we cannot run away from our circumstances so we remain and fight to survive. I have read how Anne was flexible in accommodating and dealing with living under the Nazis’ curfews. She knew how to fight off advances from boys and how to make use of them when she wanted to. She had a sensible head on her shoulders because she knew she had more important things to do in life than be involved in boys at her age of twelve or thirteen. I admire her worldly attitude even as she lived in her own isolated position in society of compelled alienation under the Nazi’s anti-Judaism stance. At this early stage of the beginning of her diary, Anne did not write about hatred towards the Nazis, although she had cause to dislike her tormentors. I find Anne’s maturity striking. She was very intelligent and knew how to find solutions to her own problems without having to run to her parents for help, as an ordinary twelve or thirteen year old would do. For example, when Anne was punished for talking excessively in class, she literally cracked her head to think of arguments to write to justify her position of being talkative. She was responsible and answered to her punishments by writing out two essays under obedience and repentance to her teacher, Mr. Keptor. She did not cry nor feel humiliated at having the punishment mete out to her in class. She was very mature and took it in her stride. Anne could grasp the fundamental gender traits and she wrote that she should be excused for being a chatterbox because it was an inherent feminine trait. However, at the third essay, Anne had exhausted her store of mental excuses so she asked her friend Sanne for help. We see all this while that she had not approached her mother for help, as any other typical girl might be wont to do. We realize that there must be a gap or distant relationship between Anne, her mother, father and sister. I am impressed with the way Anne handled her life even without the help of her family. Usually, whenever I encounter a problem, I would think of asking my immediate family for help as they are the ones living to me in close proximity. Anne was a very special girl. She had the ability to attract friends from the same sex as well as the opposite sex. I think she must have had some unique qualities because she managed to catch the eye of Harry Goldberg, a boy who was sixteen years old. Maybe he was attracted to her initially by her good looks but they then discovered they could get along well together. Anne was not a flirty girl and she must have chosen well. For we had read earlier in the book that she knew how to handle the boys that pestered her for company. We didn’t read about Anne receiving instructions from her mother on changing into better clothes before receiving company but Anne knew she had to do this. I am amazed that she knew so much about the social norms and etiquette even though she did not write about getting such coaching from her mother or other mentors. Anne started dating and certainly knew all the social norms about it. She had moral principles. She told in her diary how she made sure that Harry was free from his old girlfriend Fanny, before she started dating him. Anne had scruples and didn’t want to snatch Harry away if he already had a girlfriend although he was the one who approached her first. I learnt from Anne too. In life, we usually look out for ourselves and take our chances with the best opportunities that come along our way. Sometimes, we fight to get the chances but we can see that Anne was a different girl who was honorable in her dealings even as she was living under unfair suppression from the Nazis. She maintained her moral principles even as many people might be tempted to break away from good principles as they become oppressed. I would not be that sure of myself being able to uphold all my high ideals if I had to survive under such harsh conditions. I enjoyed reading Anne Frank’s diary. I would recommend it to every growing teenager. Her maturity will put most of us to shame. Anne may have realized that she was mature for her age but she was not proud and did not put on airs to show off. She wrote that Harry might have been attracted to her because of her maturity; ‘He likes them too, but he thinks my girlfriends are very childish, and he’s quite right.’ (Frank 11). Even Anne admitted that her girl friends were childish. When Anne received the news that her family was to disappear and go into hiding, she did not panic. She was calm and packed her bag with her prized possessions. Even in the face of danger and uncertain future, Anne hung onto memories. She chose to pack her old letters instead of clothes because ‘memories mean more to me than dresses.’ (Frank 14). When the Frank family arrived at their hiding place, only Anne and Otto were physically and mentally strong enough to carry on, getting the place ready for inhabitation. I admire Anne for her hidden reserves of strength that she could call upon in times of need. I should also learn to be strong like her and learn to have patience, calm and strength. Anne was a very young teenager but she didn’t panic when she was forced to live in the ‘Secret Annexe’. She did her share of housework in their new home. That was some sixty years ago. In our present generation and society, it would be a rarity to get a teenager to help out with chores without using incentives as bribery. I wish to see more of our teenagers to have that kind of conscientious housekeeping habit. Anne also impressed upon me how well she wrote to chronicle her journey in life. She was honest in her writings. She wanted posterity to read her work and she had self edited her dairy for that purpose. She focused her attention to her goal of recording her bit of history and refrained from writing hate material about the Nazis. She probably understood that the minions of the power in rule were but subordinates and servants and had very little to do with her sufferings. Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone. The end. Works Cited. Mooyaart, B.M. Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl. USA: Amazon.com. Read More