(Fallen Angels) Roar Post#2 [Pages 62-124]

SUMMARY

After receiving news of Charlie Company being pinned down in Khe Sanh due to battalion sized VC forces, Alpha Company (the one that is Perry is in) has been called to come to Khe Sanh as reinforcements. The landing of the helicopter was very violent, and the group nearly crashed. Their job was to secure the landing zone, and fortunately, there were no casualties in their group. However, Charlie Company lost nine people in total, and it was revealed that they were against North Vietnamese regulars, soldiers much deadlier than the Viet Cong. Soon after, Lieutenant Carroll talked to Perry about his medical profile and said that he doesn’t have to go on patrols if his knee is hurting him too bad.

            One day, a television crew came around and began interviewing the soldiers about their reasons for fighting in Nam. Lieutenant said that it was to demonstrate that America stood for something. Sergeant Simpson said it was to free the South Vietnamese people. Walowick said he only fought because his country asked him to. Lobel and Brew said that if Vietnam fell to the Communists then the rest of Asia would fall to influence as well. Finally, Perry answered by saying that if we defended our country abroad, then we would not have to fight in the streets of America. Peewee did not give a meaningful answer so he didn’t get featured.

            At 1200 hours, Alpha Company headed north to a sandy area about two kilometers from the sea. It was then that the group spotted a Viet Cong and began shooting at him. They lay his body out on the ground and began examining him. The news people were very nosy and took hundreds of pictures of the dead man. It was soon discovered that he too, was a North Vietnamese regular, thanks to papers that he carried with him. Throughout most of the day, the Vietnamese soldier was all he could think of. He felt ashamed as to how his fellow comrades though of him as a trophy, when in fact that man was as human as any American soldier.

            At 0400 hours, Perry got a terrible virus of some sort and had to go to the latrine far too often. He went on sick call and missed the company’s patrol session at 0800. Because he had missed patrol with the group, Lieutenant Carroll had orders to send him to Charlie Company temporarily for another patrol. Unfortunately, his time there did not go too well, as they accidently fired artillery on their first platoon, killing most of them.

            Moving on to better news, Thanksgiving was here and it was also his brother Kenny’s birthday. Money would be too easy of a gift, and he wanted for it to be more meaningful. He asked Lieutenant Carroll if he could send Kenny a knife, but Carroll had an even better idea, and he gave Perry a jacket he had bought in Saigon (it was black silk and there was a map in green of Vietnam on the back).

            Finally, in this section, Alpha Company was assigned to go on another pacification mission (going into villages and befriending the villagers). Then Perry got a letter from Kenny saying that he wanted to enter a local basketball league but he doubted his skills and plus needed ten dollars. Like a good brother, Perry gave Kenny words of encouragement and slipped in twenty dollars in the letter.

QUOTE 

“ How come you always talk about movies?...Because they’re the only real things in life…You didn’t think any of this was real did you?...I’d be real nervous, except I know none of this is real and I’m just playing a part” (Myers 71-72).

REACTION

I feel that this quote really sums up what this section is all about. At some points I the story, you see Perry asking himself what he was doing fighting in this war. Sometimes he would say that he is fighting to help with his college tuition, and sometimes he would say he is fighting because here was nothing else to do in the World. The World is what a lot of the soldiers call the states. For me, this implies that in the soldier’s mind, Vietnam is not reality at all, and they are just trying to fight this war and win, in order to go back home to reality. Therefore, when Lobel says that movies are more real than this war, I feel that there is some truth to it. A lot of Americans in the 1960s also did not like this war, as they felt that it is something that America should have never been involved in the first place. Since The U.S did lose this war, it has always been sort of blurry in American history.

I felt kind of bad for Perry on page 84, because he mentioned that he wanted to have something more in the World than he already had. The back story of this thought is when Lobel and Perry had a conversation about their girlfriends. When Lobel had suggested he meet one of his starlet girls, but Perry dismissed the idea, saying that he wanted something real. I felt bad for him because he didn’t have anything to look forward to when he got home in addition to his family. He wanted to go to Vietnam in order to gain a better understanding of what he needed, but he still couldn’t find it.

Sometimes all of the action, violence, and deaths happening in stories like this, it can be easy to feel kind of down in the dumps. Fortunately, there were two funny moments that resonated with me in the reading of this section. The first moment was when they talked about Perry having that stomach virus on page 88. It was funny how Jamal, the medic said that all Perry got was the runs. But Perry kept on being paranoid and stubborn, thinking that he had been badly poisoned. Also, on page 108-109, there was a scene where Brunner and Monaco were having a dispute and out of nowhere, Monaco took out a grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it towards Brunner. It wasn’t funny at first, but after reading further and finding out that the grenade did not have any powder in it, it became very amusing indeed.

Note

Sorry for the font. It seems smaller than usual, and I can't seem to fix it.

(Fallen Angels) Roar Post#1 [Pages 1-62]

SUMMARY

It was September 15, 1967. The story starts off with the main character, Richie Perry, a native of New York, talking with a man named Gates and a woman named Judy Duncan. We find out that Richie does not really want to fight in the war in Vietnam. Initially him and his unit were scheduled to go to Vietnam, but a doctor at Fort Devens advised for him to not go because of his injured knee. He was then assigned to a supply company while he waited further orders. However, his old company ended up not going to Vietnam, and Richie ended up going instead. The only hope that he has now is the fact that once the army processes his medical profile, he will be sent back to the states. In addition to that, he heard that war was almost over anyways. As the story progresses, he arrives at Tan Son Nhat airport, gets assigned into the Twenty-second Replacement Company, and becomes more acquainted with Gates, a native of Chicago who wants Richie to call him Peewee.

            As Richie reflects on his life back home, he says that although his counselor said he could attend City College, he felt as though that life would not get him anywhere. His family wasn’t exactly rich and he wasn’t saving any money. In his mind, there was no way he could support his mother and his brother Kenny if he was living the same life. Also, his basketball team, the Monarchs, had lost a tournament a week before, which added to his disappointment. There was a lot of pressure in his life to go to college, but he didn’t want to, and to escape from the questions, he joined the army. A newcomer from Fort Dix named Jenkins soon joined Richie’s circle of friends. Then Peewee, Jenkins, Richie, and another person were assigned to the 196^th and had orders to go to Chu Lai.

            After leaving the main base at Chu Lai, he arrived at Headquarters Company. The three of them were told that they were to be hopping abroad a chopper in Alpha Company, joined by an officer named Johnson. But before that, a lieutenant named Carroll went into Richie’s barracks and declared himself to be the platoon leader. Soon after, they met Sergeant Simpson. Before you knew it, the company was going on patrol.

Everything went well, and they did not encounter any Vietcong. However, on the return trip, when the group was less than 100 yards from the camp, Jenkins was caught in a booby trap that cut open his chest. The Vietcong had planted a mine on their path.

            Later in the story, Richie and his company had to go to a village to do some public relations work. The people in the village can be described as being either very young or very old, since all of the middle aged men have gone off to fight in the war, being on either the ARVN (the south Vietnamese army) or the Vietcong side. The soldier’s goal at the village was to hand out C-rations and malaria pills so that they can befriend the Vietnamese villagers. Although most of the soldiers do not enjoy being in Vietnam, Peewee thinks otherwise. For him, Vietnam is the best place because it is Vietnam that all of the soldiers are equal. He also loves the loyalty of the bugs that inhabit Vietnam.

QUOTE (this is a long quote, but very important!)

“I was fifteen, and painfully aware that I was just an observer in life…Being an observer hadn’t been so bad in Stuyvesant…But sometimes even that didn’t work. Sometimes when I was tired and the competition was really rough, things would change for me…It was then that I would feel a pressure to give in…I had told Mrs.Liebow, my English teacher, and she said that it was what separated heroes from humans, the not giving in”(Myers 35-36).

REACTION

First of all, the reason that I picked this quote to be representative of this section because it gives the reader insight into his motives for joining the army. I know that he mentioned in the story that he didn’t want to go to Vietnam and he only went because he was forced to. However, there is probably more to this than meets the eye because he could probably appeal to some sort of office in the army. If he were really against being drafted, he would have more passionate things to say. But instead, his attitude is sort of like, “ Yea, I don’t want to go…Oh, I’m drafted, oh well, I guess I have to go now.” Therefore, I think that he actually does want to go to Vietnam because it is a way for him to fight and be hero, and not just a passive observer in life.

Now I want to talk about another quote that seemed very important. It was on page 44 and it said, “ Lord, let us feel pity for Private Jenkins, and sorrow for ourselves, and all the angel warriors that fall…My father used to call all soldiers angel warriors, he said, Because usually they get boys to fight wars. Most of you aren’t old enough to vote yet.” As soon as a read this, a light bulb went off in my head and I immediately understood the title of this book. At first I thought that this would make a good quote for the section, but I thought otherwise, since it probably would suit the entire book even better.

On page 24, there was a scene that showed Peewee and Richie doing a spit shake with each other, symbolizing their friendship and brotherhood. I thought that this was important because before, they didn’t allow another soldier to be blood brothers with them. In doing this, I think it means that they are willing to be brothers, but they haven’t known each other well enough to be blood brothers. Also on page 31 it said, “ Johnson slept naked on one side, snoring Peewee lay on his back, arms and legs spread, eyes not completely closed. Jenkins had his head under the blanket.” What I thought of this was that the book is trying to say that Johnson and Peewee is not afraid of the enemy at all while Jenkins is absolutely terrified.”

After reading 62 pages of the book, I would have to confirm that Walter Dean Myers still writes very honestly and explicitly. I say confirmed because I finished reading The Young Landlords with the very same impression (it was a book also written by Walter Dean Myers). He writes about people pulling out knives on each other and people taking bathroom breaks as though it were things that you say in a normal conversation. For me, that makes the book more interesting and fun to read.

In addition to the honesty of the book, it is also very funny as well. For example, there was a part in the book where Richie was attending the orientation lecture in order to learn about the geography of Vietnam. Then the lieutenant said, “ You are not in Disneyland”.

I also was able to make a few connections in this book. The earliest one I made was when Richie said that Jenkins looked like an Archie Comics character (and I really like Archie Comics). Also on page 35, I found out that Richie attended Stuyvesant high school, which was the high school that was featured in the film Frontrunners.

Roar Post#5 [Pages 272-340] The final section

SUMMARY

This final section in the story consisted of Anne doing a lot of reflection and thorough analysis into her personality, character, and her life in general. Although she notices that she’s often been depressed with living life confined in the Annex, she says that she has never been so depressed as to the point of desperation. On the contrary, she views it more as an interesting adventure, “ full of danger and romance” as Anne puts it. Once again, she notes that she does not want to live an ordinary life after war and just be an ordinary housewife.

            On another note, Anne’s father has been unhappy lately with the way that Anne has been disobeying him and always going on to Peter’s room every evening. In response to this, an angry Anne wrote an extremely disrespectful letter to her father about her feelings toward him. Later on, when her father told her that this was the most hurtful letter that he had ever received, Anne felt absolutely terrible and totally regretted ever writing that letter. Once again, she wrote that she vowed to try and improve herself.

Later on, she writes more about her relationship with Peter, and she says that although Peter loves her, it is not as a girlfriend, but actually as a friend. The reason why she says this is because she feels that he is still hiding his innermost self from her (from pg.316-317).

            In other news, Anne has been studying her head off. She says at one point, “ I’m full to bursting”.

            In terms of politics, everyone in the Annex is extremely apprehensive as to the events of the war. The suspense is rising everyday as to when England will invade the German front. In addition, Anne also talks about the Jewish people, and about how anti-Semitism (the prejudice/hostility against Jews) is increasing. People are accusing the Jews of telling secrets to the Germans about helpers so that they could receive punishment as well. But Anne says that if Christians were in the Jew’s shoes, it would be impossible to remain totally silent in the face of German pressure. On Tuesday, June 6, 1944 Anne wrote that this is D Day and that the invasion has begun. It renewed a sense of hope in the Annex members. Maybe this was the beginning of the long-waited liberation for them.

            After talking about politics and whatnot, begins Anne’s long period of reflection in the diary. She talks about why women are always seen as inferior to men (even though they are just as strong and have to endure much pain and suffering as well (like childbirth)). Then she goes on to talk about the necessity of hard work as opposed to taking the easy path in life. She says being lazy is tempting, but true hard work will give you the true feeling of satisfaction. Then she talks about how young people have to suffer in a way far worse than what adults have to go through. A good quote to wrap it all up is

“ Deep down, the young are lonelier than the old”, which Anne herself read in a book somewhere.

            Finally, Anne ends her diary with talking about herself having two sides. One part

Is always cheerful and happy. It includes being flirty and very comical, the traits that made her popular a few years back. The other side of her, she mentions that it is more pure, deeper, and overall better (the one that is more nice, contemplative, and reflective). The difference between these two sides of her is that the first one is more of an act. At the end of the day, she will want to be her second side, the more honest Anne.

           

QUOTE

“ So if you’re wondering whether it’s harder for the adults here than for the children, the answer is no, it’s certainly not. Older people have an opinion about everything and are sure of themselves and their actions. It’s twice as hard for us young people to hold on to our opinions at a time when ideals are being shattered and destroyed”(Frank 332).

REACTION

            Anne has got to be one of the wisest 15 year olds in the world, and I thought that I was very analytical at that age. I guess that I was proved wrong, because Anne definitely beat me to it. Remember how I mentioned that I was shocked at the amount of reading she had to do. At first it seemed as if she had very strict parents who forced her to study consistently, but most times, she really enjoyed learning. Sometimes I wonder if she and Margot would still be as studious as if they had cell phones and unlimited texting. Nevertheless, that was the 40’s, and I can’t really compare that time period with our time period. You can quickly reach the conclusion that she gained much of her wisdom through reading books on a daily basis, and her mind must have been extremely well developed and stimulated.

            Now I want to talk about Anne’s honesty. Perhaps it is because she is writing in a diary that allows her to be so explicit and honest in what she is talking about. However, in 1944, a member of the Dutch government in exile announced in a radio broadcast that he wanted to collect eyewitness accounts of the suffering of Dutch people under German occupation during the war (in the form of diaries and letters). Anne said that she was particularly interested in this, and yet her style of writing remained the same. It had the same level of honesty and originality, and that’s what I admire about her. She has the honesty and courage to admit her faults and “shortcomings”(as Anne calls it) and talk about ways that she can improve herself.

            Finally, I want to touch upon the quote that I think was most representative of this section. It really gives the reader insight as to the life of a teenager that is coming of age. Although adults to experience a lot of problems and hard work in life, making the transition from child to adult is extremely difficult as well, and maybe sometimes not enough attention is paid to this stage in life. Although this story is about Anne Frank’s life in hiding, throughout the story, a majority of the material is spent talking about the problems of the family. She talks a lot about her growth and about her observations of the Annex members as well as her interactions with them. Her experiences, good or bad, teach her a lot of people as a whole and help her to mature into independent women. Overall, it may be about World War 2 in some respects, but on a deeper level, it is no different than a story about a teenager finding her place in the world.

Roar Post#4 [Pages 204-272]

SUMMARY

            In this section of the story, you can see that Anne talks a lot about her time spent with Peter van Daan. She is absolutely crazy over him, and she just wants to shout it out to him. However, she must restrain herself, because it is far too early to express feelings like this to him. In addition, Peter himself has not openly expressed any feelings of love towards her.

On another note, she reflects on her life in the Annex. In doing so, Anne has come to the realization that before she had to live in the Annex, she had lived an almost perfect life. She had numerous admirers, she was the favorite of many teachers, and was spoiled by her parents. But now as she entered the Annex in 1942, life is totally different. She was being attacked on all sides by the adults instead of being adored, as they were always saying something that irritated her to such an extent that she had to talk back. In the first half of 1943, she always felt lonely and found herself sobbing immensely at night. At this point she decided to change herself a bit so that she wouldn’t seem as disrespectful to the adults.

In the second half of 1943 she was saddened greatly because she believed that she could manage in life without her mother’s guidance (Anne is becoming very distant from her mother) and because she realized she will never be able to confide in her father, because even he is becoming colder. After New Years, when she began having those dreams, she discovered that she really desired a boyfriend, which is where Peter van Daan comes into the mix.

            She loves going up into Peter’s room (the attic), mostly because she could be with him and talk to him in private. The privacy is something that she treasures greatly. She mentions on page 219 that the adults are constantly chasing her from one corner to another. Also, she couldn’t even be alone in her own room because Alfred Dussel’s always in it. Because of that, Peter’s room acts as sanctuary for her, and she enjoys every second spent inside it. When they are together, they can talk about the most intimate things, even topics pertaining to sex. She admits that she may not even be as confident to talk about these things to another girl. But with Peter, there is much maturity and a desire to learn (because Anne is still learning about sex). While the two are having fun and enjoying each other’s company, Margot is always by herself downstairs, and Anne writes in the diary that she feels very bad for her sister. Margot is happy that Anne has found a companion, but the other adults, as Anne notices seem to be jealous of her relationship with Peter, and they always question what the two are doing upstairs (really, what they are doing is just talking). However, they did share a kiss once, and Anne just found it magical.

            Moving onto more gloomy terms, there has been another break in, but luckily the thieves departed the scene quickly upon hearing Mr. van Daan scream police. Unfortunately, someone did alert the police, and the scariest event happened in the Annex that night. The police had shined a light right in front of the bookcase. Of the Annex members had made one false move during that moment, they probably would’ve gotten caught (the bookcase was the only thing separating the Annex members from the police).

They have been saved once again, and Anne was so grateful to God and the good and innocent Christians that are helping them.

           

QUOTE

“ I don’t want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met. I want to go on living even after my death! And that’s why I’m so grateful to God for having given me this gift, which I can use to develop myself and to express all that’s inside me!”(Frank 249-250).

 REACTION

If only Anne were still alive today, she would see how many people have read her diary. She could either be really happy or really shocked that people are reading her innermost feelings, but I do know that she would be speechless. She always doubted herself in this diary, questioning her qualifications. However, at this age, her writing skills are just incredibly good. Her goal about living on after her death has definitely come true. I know I’ve said it before but I just have to say it again. She writes extremely well, and if I were reading this book out of blue without any indication of the author, I would mistake her for an adult.

The reason why I think this quote is representative of this certain section is because in this quote, you can begin to get to know Anne more as a person and more about her motives in writing her diary. She has mentioned before that she enjoys writing in this diary because she has no one to confide to. However, we do see that later on in her life in the Annex, she becomes very close to Peter. So that must mean that there are other reasons for writing this journal, and this quote really tells it all. There is an incomparable joy that comes in writing for Anne, and when she writes, she can just say everything that comes into her mind, without any hesitation. Well maybe some hesitation would exist if she were scared of someone reading it, but nevertheless, no hesitation up to a great extent.

As she states in page 250, “ When I write I can shake off all of my cares. My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived!” It is just one of those things a person can fall back to when all else in the world goes wrong. Sometimes I feel the same type of joy when writing.

            Also on page 250 she contemplates, “ But, and that’s a big question, will I ever be able to write something great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer?” Upon reflecting on what she said here, I would have to say that yes, without a doubt, she would have became a writer or journalist. If only she had survived the war, and Anne continued study hard and writing passionately, she would definitely go places, big places. She has a unique story to tell.

Roar Post#3 [Pages 136-204]

SUMMARY

In this section of the story, Mr.Kleiman has to be hospitalized in order to get an operation on is stomach. In spite of his pan and suffering, he still remains the epitome of happiness, as Anne notes.

At one point of in the diary, Anne talks about a dream that she had. In her dream, Hanneli Goslar, a childhood friend, was seen dressed in rags, while also having a worn face. She seemed absolutely miserable, and Anne couldn’t do anything except watch and prolong her suffering. She represents everything that Anne would have been if she hadn’t gone into hiding. But although she is safe from the Nazis, life in the Annex still is torturous of its own accord. A few days later she writes that she longs to ride a bike, to dance, to whistle, and to just be able to look at the world. She writes that she wants people to understand her as simply a teenager that wants to have fun. This leads to Anne talking about missing having a mother that understands her. She wants a mom that doesn’t take offense to everything too quickly and understands people, but also has the capability to take Anne seriously at times. On another note however, Anne has definitely matured more in this section. When she looked back at her diary entries from last year, she was shocked at how openly she wrote of her feelings of hatred toward her mother. She admits that she was extremely moody at the time and that caused her to see things only from her own perspective without even considering the feelings of those that she had offended. She also goes on to say that all of these hateful writings in her diary are expressions of her immense anger on paper that she could’ve let out while locked in her room (if she didn’t have her diary). In addition, she mentions how although she is more wise and aware of her Mother’s nerves and they seem to be getting along better, she can’t love her mother with a devotion of a child anymore.

At this point, Anne is adequately aware of puberty and the changes going on inside of her body as well as outside. She says that whenever she gets her period, although it is although it is painful, discomforting, and messy, she enjoys it because it is like she is carrying a secret. In addition to this, Anne really longs for someone to talk to, and she chose to go to Peter van Daan. At night, she had a dream about Peter (a different Peter, (Peter Schiff)) and that made her realize that she was sill in love with him. Over the next few diary entries, she keeps on mentioning her love for him.

Anne’s attitude towards the van Daans has changed greatly, because she is more understanding of them. Before she always thought that it was always 100% the van Daans fault for starting arguments, but she realizes that her family deserves some blame as well.

Before Anne came to live at the Annex, the topic of sex was spoken in either a secretive or disgusting manner (at home or school). Now that she is here, when she talks about with Peter van Daan, she found out that he has none of those intentions. He was able to talk about a very awkward subject in a very normal voice. Anne is amazed because she is never able to even to talk to a girl about this subject in this way.

            On another note, Anne says that she extremely grateful of people like Bep, Miep, Mr.Kleiman, and Mr.Kuglar because they risk their lives to volunteer to help those in hiding. She says that while some show heroism on the battlefield, these people show it everyday through their good spirits and affections.

            Finally, one morning Anne sat in front of the window and looked outside at God and at the sky and just nature overall. And inside her a pure happiness was awakened.

QUOTE

 “Riches, prestige, everything can be lost. But the happiness in your own heart can only be dimmed; it will always be there, as long as you live, to make you happy again.”

(Frank 196).

REACTION

I first want to comment upon what she said on page 154. She said that sometimes she wonders if people will be able to overlook the fact that she is sometimes ungrateful or the fact that she is Jewish and look at her purely as a teenager. I’ll admit that it wasn’t until I read this that I began to sympathize more with her. I guess it was because she writes in such an adult style that sometimes I mistake her as being 18 or something. Sometimes it is tough to think of her as 14 or 15 because most 14 and 15 year olds that I know (including myself) do not write as elegant as she does. Upon saying this, this probably reinforces my statement about life in the 40’s. About how there was much emphasis on education. Once again, it is seems like learning and reading books isn’t even a chore for Anne. On the contrary, it seems like loads of fun.

On page 168, Anne says that before coming to the Annex, she didn’t think about things as much as she does now. A light bulb turned on in my head when I read this, and I immediately I made a connection to the autobiography “ A Hole in My Life” by Jack Gantos. In “ A Hole in My Life”, Jack is sentenced to prison, and during his prison life is when he is given so much leisure time that he is able to reflect on his life and write stories. Anne has a somewhat similar situation here, because excluding the reading, eating, and chores that she must do, there is really not much to do. When you are given leisure time like this, you think, and most of the time, that thinking can lead to very enlightening discoveries.

Finally, I want to comment more on Anne’s literary humor, as it still is present even this far into the diary (I would’ve expected conditions at the Annex to be very gloomy by now). On page 180, after saying that sometimes she wishes to be left alone she says, “ Who knows, perhaps the day will come when I’m left alone more than I’d like!”. It is a dark humor in a sense because she saying that when she is old she will not have a husband, children, or friends. It also comes full circle to what Anne said in the beginning of the diary about her not having a true friend to confide in. In addition, on page 191 Anne says that, “What happens in other people’s houses during the rest of the week happens here in the Annex on Sundays. While other people put on their best clothes and go strolling in the sun, we scrub, sweep, and do the laundry”. This was amusing because she is saying that their life is inversely different with other people. But then again, isn’t everyone in the same conditions as them? Because even Non-Jews must be impacted by the bombings and the war right?

Roar Post#2 [Pages 68-136]

SUMMARY

In this section of the book, we see that the Frank family and van Daan family

 (Dubbed the Annex family) have allowed for another person to join their hiding place because the Jews were being treated worst as the days go by and plus, they had enough room and food. His name is Alfred Dussel, a dentist, and he is known to be a quiet and refined man. When he got settled in, the Annex family gave him a set of typewritten rules and regulations for the Secret Annex. It was called “ Prospectus and Guide to the Secret Annex”, subtitled “ A Unique Facility for the Temporary Accommodation of Jews and Other Dispossessed Persons. This document was very thorough, going through everything a newcomer needed to know about the Annex life. It touched upon how the bathroom was structured, when to use the radio, the importance of observing each other’s rest hours (which seem to be crucial in case an emergency occurs and you need to wake an Annex member up), rules for entertainment, obligations and responsibilities, and even codes of conduct. During the first few days of Mr.Dussel’s stay, he has been providing them with information of the world outside of the Annex. Many news and stories were very troublesome. Anne says that despite all of the bad things that were happening, the family should still strive to be happy. However, sometimes she admits that she feels very guilty when she is cheerful, because there are hundreds of Jews being mistreated. Nevertheless, life goes on, with bad things and good things happening. They have been using too much electricity and now had it cut off for 14 days. But on the bright side, St.Nicholas Day (which I assume to be Christmas) went by splendidly, and it was the first time that the Frank family had celebrated this day. Going back to Mr.Dussel, he wasn’t all he was cracked out to be. In fact, he was rather strict and uptight. It is not long before Mr.Dussel develops a rivalry with Anne, since Anne encompasses a lot of the things that he dislikes. She is extremely talkative and opinionated, and Mr.Dussel does not like that.

            Anne is noting that the city outside of the Annex is absolutely horrible. She sees that poor and helpless people are being captured sporadically during the night and day (it doesn’t mention who though) and it is essentially destroying the families. It is pretty obvious at this point how much involved Holland is in the war now. People are mortified, because they know that they can die any minute. Once again, Anne states that the Annex family is quite fortunate to the other Jews suffering, and she feels as though they are so selfish about how they are talking about what to spend their money on after the war when they should really be using it to help people in need.

            Moving on to less broad problems, Anne is once again having quarrels with people in the Annex. She says that: when she talks, people mistake it as showing off. When she remains silent she is ridiculous, when she answers she is insolent, when she has a good idea, she is cunning (probably in a bad way), when she’s tired she’s lazy, when she eats a lot she is selfish and many more acts of prejudice on their part. This is not true, and Anne says that she does do her best to please everyone, but it is impossible for her to be happy one day and hostile the next.

            One day in the Annex, the Frank family was sitting together peacefully when all of a sudden, Peter came in and whispered to the Father that someone was fiddling with the door to the Annex. Everyone was extremely afraid that someone could find out about their hiding place, and if that were to happen, the consequences would be horrendous. Fortunately, nothing happened after that, and the Annex family assumed that burglars were in the building, but left when they heard footsteps in an otherwise quiet building. After that little incident, the Westertoren bells stopped chiming, so now they cannot tell the time anymore. More bad news for Annex family is the fact that their friend Bep has the flu, Mr.Kleiman has to stay in bed for at least three weeks due to gastrointestinal hemorrhaging, and Mr.Voskuijl is suspecting an ulcer and has to get surgery. In addition to that, the Annex family has been witnessing a number of dogfights between the English and German fighter planes and the bombings have been keeping the family wide awake for a number of nights. Talking about more happy events, it was recently Anne’s birthday, and she received a poem from her father, as well as a big book on Greek and Roman mythology and other lovely presents.

            Another break-in had occurred in the building where the Annex was located, and this time both he warehouse door was open and the street door was opened. What happened was that burglars broke in and they stole 2 cashboxes containing 40 guilders, blank checkbooks, and coupons for 330 pounds of sugar (a terrible loss). With all of these problems occurring around them, Anne longs for the war to be over so that she can go back to school.

            Anne has developed a new tactic for dealing with the Annex members. She has decided to talk to herself more during meals than to others. This serves the dual purpose of not annoying the others and also by making Anne not become annoyed by their opinions.

QUOTE

“ I’m terribly ungrateful, Kitty, I know, but when I’ve been scolded for the umpteenth time and have all these other woes to think about as well, my heads begins to reel!” (Frank 74).

REACTION

First of all, I want to talk about my overall thoughts after reading this section of the book. I truly admire her honesty because she doesn’t try to be someone she isn’t. If she is feeling grouchy one day and she comes into contact with an Annex member, she will still be grouchy. She is definitely not like her mother, who will virtually ignore Anne for two days if she is mad. Then one day she would forget about the entire thing and treat Anne normally again. I guess it isn’t entirely bad because as the saying goes, time heals all wounds, and no matter how small the wound is, sometimes we all need some amount of time to blow off some steam. Personally, for me, whenever I get mad at someone, I do ignore them like Anne’s mother does. I tend to sleep it off. When I wake up, I usually will not feel that angry anymore. Now I want to change topics and talk about the internal conflict that I noticed Anne battling an internal conflict in this section. I’ve noticed that she mentions this several times in this section. She doesn’t know whether to feel sad about her fellow Jews being persecuted or to feel happy whenever something in her life does bring her joy (like receiving new books). There are pros and cons of doing each. For example, by being sad you are showing sympathy and compassion for those who are suffering under the Nazi regime. However, you can see that being sad all the time probably isn’t that good for your health and it probably won’t be accomplishing anything besides the showing of compassion. On the other hand, when you are happy, obviously you are happy, which is a good thing. In times like this, when the world is at war, your life is in danger, and you are spending every second of life trapped in a secret building, you need a smile on your face to keep hope alive. However, there is a con of being happy in times like these as well, and Anne also ponders on this, and this is probably the main reason why Anne feels so conflicted. The con is that you are being selfish, because why should others like you suffer while you are happy and laugh your troubles away? Now, different people could interpret it different ways. If it were up to me, I would just be happy and grateful for the fortunate situation that I am in. But overall, I guess you should be both sad and glad at different times, and in moderation as well. I would just say you should never be indifferent, because that is really bad.

            Now let’s talk more about Anne’s writing style. It is still exceptionally good. Once again I am baffled by the fact that she has such a broad vocabulary. She has a very keen eye, noticing many minute details with exceptional detail. Also, something new that I have noticed is that she has a sense of humor. It is not a laugh out loud sense a humor, but rather, cleverness with writing that is funny as well. For example, on page 97, she writes, “ Dearest Kitty, I’m not really in the mood for pranks (see the date)” (Frank 97). When I looked at the date and saw that it said Thursday, April 1, 1943, I have to admit that I laughed, and found it to be a very clever type of writing. Another example of her literary sense of humor was when she talked about how the food at the Annex was bad and she said that this was the food to eat if you wanted to diet. Since we are on the topic of writing style I want to say that I noticed in some instances that Anne writes about herself in 3^rd person. Instead of saying I, she just says Anne, for example one time she writes, “Margot and Mother do the dishes, Mr. and Mrs. van D. head for the divan, Peter for the attic, Father for his divan, Dussel too, and Anne does her homework” (Frank 125). In my opinion, I think this works rather well, because it is a nice break from the usual I in diary writing.

Totally irrelevant here, but I just want to add it anyways because I noticed this. Anne mentions at one in her diary entries that the Westertoren bells have stopped chiming. What I got from that fact was a form of real life symbolism of doom or even foreshadowing that something bad and sinister was to come. Later on, as I continued reading, I found out that the Germans had removed the bells entirely in order to melt it for use in the war effort. So possibly the bells could have stopped chiming because of that reason.

Roar Post #1 [Pages1-68]

SUMMARY

Anne Frank seems to have everything that a girl would want. She has a few girlfriends, admirers who absolutely adore her, and a loving family. But deep inside, Anne is not happy, because she doesn’t have that one true friend who she can confide to and share her innermost feelings with. For that reason, she thinks of this diary as her friend. In addition to that, she creates a character known as Kitty to talk to (because saying Dear Diary is too plain). She starts off by writing about her life before the diary. She has an older sister named Margot who was born in Frankfurt am Main in Germany in 1926. Anne herself was born on June 12, 1929. Her father, Otto Frank received a job that allowed him to immigrate to Holland in 1933, and her mother, Edith Hollander Frank followed. Margot and Anne stayed in Germany for a short while before joining their parents in Holland. Life was good for a while, but eventually Hitler’s anti Jewish laws found their way to Holland, and Anne and her family were caught in the midst (since they were Jewish as well). The restrictions were endless, ranging from being forbidden to ride cars and bicycles to being forbidden to attend theaters, movies or other kinds of entertainment. To make her life even more oppressive, she had to wear a yellow star to signify that she was Jewish.

            Despite all of these problems, life still goes on for Anne. In school, she is a very talkative girl, and usually gets in trouble for talking. At her graduation ceremony at the Jewish Lyceum, she received a D, a C- in algebra and all the rest were B-‘s, B’s, and B+’s. Her parents do not worry about report card grades, because to them, as long as she is healthy, happy, and doesn’t talk back too much , they are satisfied.

            But then more problems arise, because Margot receives a call up notice from the SS. Upon hearing this, Anne’s father decides the family has to go into hiding. When packing, Anne puts in her diary first, followed by curlers, letters and handkerchiefs rather than clothes. They left at five thirty in the morning, and Anne has to leave behind her beloved cat Moortje. The hiding place was decided to be in the father’s office building, since he had few workers there and they were all people they could trust. It had many sinple looking passageways and doors but really, is like amaze of sorts, and the Secret Annex was to be the Frank family’s living quarters. Life in the Annex is tiring at times, and the silence is horrible. The only visitors that they can have are Miep, her husband Jan, Bep Voskuijl, Mr.Voskuijl, Mr. Kugler, Mr.Kleiman and Mrs.Kleiman (friends & co-workers of Anne’s father). Although they are hiding and can never leave the Annex, Anne says that the Annex is the ideal place to hide and the family has done some minor decorating to make the Annex feel more like home. Nevertheless, they still can’t make too much noise because the workers downstairs might hear them.

            Anne notes that her parents seem to treat her more harshly then her sister Margot. She feels as though she doesn’t fit in with the rest of family (almost like a black sheep).

Eventually, Mr.van Daan and Mrs.van Daan and their son Peter arrived to live with the Frank family and there were now a total of 7 people living in the Secret Annex. However, the Frank family do have their fare share of disputes with the van Daan family.

            Life in the Annex can be boring, and a great source of comfort is reading books. However, Anne is not allowed to read adult books while her sister Margot can (she feels that this is unfair). As time progresses however, Anne is allowed to read more adult themed books.

QUOTE

“ It’s just that I’d like to feel that Father really loves me, not because I’m his child, but because I’m me, Anne” (Frank 63).

REACTION

I’ve got to admit, Anne Frank is an extremely good writer. She writes with such a style that is down to earth and truthful and easy to enjoy. Her knowledge of words such as hypochondriac are amazing, since she started writing this diary at age thirteen, which is younger than me. I actually had to go and look up a lot of the words that Anne already knew. This is probably because Anne reads so many books. In fact, she even gets them for birthday presents. Can you believe that? I get rather disappointed when I receive a book as a present. This is one thing that I truly admire about Anne, her passion for reading and writing, as she does it on a daily basis.

Now I want to say that I connected with her in so many ways. To begin with, she mentions in page 17 that her parents are not strict about grades as many other parents do. They only care if Anne is healthy, happy, and doesn’t talk back too much. I can connect so much to what she says here, because my parents are very similar. If I bring home a test with a bad grade, then although they will be sad, they will not lash out at me and scold me for hours on end. Another connection that I had was when on pages 28 and 29, she mentions how she has noticed that she doesn’t fit in with the rest of her family. Sometimes, I do feel this way with my family as well. Don’t get me wrong, I do love them very much, just as Anne has tried to tell the reader. However, I think that Anne says it best when she says that  “ I love them, but only because they’re Mother and Margot. I don’t give a darn about them as people “(Frank 62). Although my feelings are not intense as hers, I feel there is truth to it, and maybe every teenager has felt this at least once in their life. The feeling that you get when no one in your family understands you, and for a few seconds, you just close your eyes and want to not be affiliated with your family in any way whatsoever. I also feel that Anne is probably writing right after an argument with her mother, because usually as humans, we tend to blurt out things that we don’t necessarily mean. But then again, since she does mention this conflict with her mother more than once in the diary, I can assume that maybe she isn’t as close to her mother as an average teenager would be.

This leads to the larger story as a whole. The quote mentioned above on page 63 is what I feel is the quote that best represents this first section of the book. I believe so because time and time again Anne talks about how she is closer to her father than her sister and mother. But another difficulty that exists is the fact that her father doesn’t blatantly express his love for Anne. He does show that he cares for her and her well being, but Anne wants her father’s love on a deeper level. She feels that her father is too reserved to open up his feelings. In addition to this, she is hurt by the fact that he treats her sister differently than her because he tends to take Margot’s side in an argument or dispute. On the plus side, he is the only one in the family who understands her. Therefore, as you can see, there are ups and downs in their relationship, and Anne wants their relationship to be 100% up.