Book_Review

5 December 2012 Book Review for Nonfiction 1. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl was written by Anne Frank. Anne Frank had many purposes of writing this book, which started out as a dairy. Anne addresses her diary as a friend to write and share what is going on throughout her life and the war occurring. She had no intention of her diary being published or read. Later throughout her diary, she comes up with an idea to write down all of her experiences, so that maybe others will read it and learn more about what had happened during the war. Anne is speaking in first person and from the perspective of a young girl. Her emotion throughout the book was emotional, fear, insecure, and critical of others including her. 2. Anne Frank shows us that dreams, achievements, and hope can go through the difficult times of life, and are always reasoned to never give up and to keep going. The theme of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, was the loneliness of adolescence. The book also showed inward versus the outward self, and the generosity and greed during the time of war. 3. The diary that Anne Frank had written was during a rough time. The time took place on June 12, 1942- August 1, 1944 in Amsterdam, Netherlands during the time of World War II. Anne Frank and her family and friends were living and attempting to hide from the Nazis persecution of Jewish people, considering they were Jewish. Anne Frank was feeling very lonely and is being misunderstood by the people around her at that time. Being misunderstood, it provides the impetus for her dedicated and committed writing and coloring in her diary. In the beginning of the diary, she writes about her social life and living with her family and friends. Besides the writing of her social life, Anne shows and expresses gratitude of the diary, and that it can act as a confidant with whom she can vent and share her innermost thoughts. She feels very comfortable discussing and venting into her diary, and even likes to discuss it with her friends. At the end of Anne’s diary, she uses a quotation that she had once read and agrees with: “Deep down, the young are lonelier than the old.” She explains that young people are less able than adults to tell and explain their needs to others clearly. In addition, she says the young are most likely to feel misunderstood and lonely. Throughout Anne’s diary, we learned that she feels connected to her father the most. Her father derives strength out of Anne and encourages her. With the encouragement that Anne’s father had given her, he also gives her hope and the will not to give up. 4. The writing in the diary of Anne Frank was clear and accurate. One quote she had said was very powerful and meaningful: “It’s difficult in time like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.” Anne had written this on July 15, 1944. It is a brazen statement of optimism in the face of imminent and incomprehensible cruelty. It also demonstrates how Anne was changed from the time she had gone into hiding with her family and friends. This one quote can demonstrate the importance of all her writing and represent the difficulty of the time she was in. In addition, one quote this powerful, can show and present to the readers that Anne’s period of time was no lie, or something that we should take lightly. She was serious throughout her whole diary and meant what she had written down. 5. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, was a very good historical piece of writing. A young girl had written in her diary that is now published into a good book. It talks about World War II and all of the hard times and moments she had gone through. She talked about her moments she had while growing up, and even her relationships with others. Also, she had explained her hope and encouragement she would get from her Dad a lot. Anne’s last sentence on her diary is another important and powerful statement: “When everybody starts hovering over me, I get cross, then sad, and finally end up turning my heart inside out, the bad part on the outside and the good part on the inside, and keep trying to find a way to become what I’d like to be and what I could be if . . . if only there were no other people in the world.” The statement conveys that both good and evil people do exist. She realizes she has potential but that it is contorted. Anne’s words have an eerie prescience, knowing that she was killed later on. The diary culminates with the insight of people and human nature and a stinging poignancy.