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.
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