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Our first book will be Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Visit the Anne Frank Museum Amsterdam: annefrank.org
As we begin this book it might help to have some discussion questions. Here are some that I have found from a quick google search. We do not have to necessarily answer these questions. They are just there to help us get started.
- What role does the diary play in Anne's life?
- How is Anne affected by the various break-ins? How is her response connected to her general mood while in hiding?
- Do you feel that Anne believes she is going to survive the war? Why or why not?
As we go, I am sure we will have our own questions and ideas about this young girl's life. I think I will mostly be thinking about when I was Anne's age and kind of comparing her outlook to mine. I'm not sure just how much I will be comparing though, as I could never understand the lifestyle, fear, or courage this young girl had.
I have always been a bit scared to read Anne's diary because I know the outcome. To live years in one room with other people and not being able to talk, move, or experience what a normal 13 year old girl is suppose to be experiencing. And to have her life cut short in the end just months before the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp of typhus. It is impossible to imagine. With that I am also a strong believer that these types of stories should be read and carried on to the youth of the world so we never forget these people's stories. So in the spirit of carrying on despite evil and hardships lets keep Anne's story alive and share our thoughts about her amazing spirit.
My favorite quote from Anne Frank: "I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart."
What are your favorite Anne Quotes and why?
June 1942-July 1942:
ReplyDeleteWhat I have noticed in the first months of Anne keeping her diary is that she was like many other young girls that I have read about during the Holocaust. They had this feeling that something was very wrong and would ask many questions, as any young child her age probably would do. They tended not to think that whatever was going to happen would last that long. I'm not sure anyone expected it to last for as long as it did.
Toward the end of July I felt I could connect with her when she spoke about feeling alone when it came to her family (her mother and sister mostly). She didn't feel like she fit in with them. She said she would rather be on her own. I remember feeling that way many times with my family when I was younger because my parents were usually talking amongst themselves or with friends and my sisters were usually talking with each other or their friends. I kind of always felt like the odd duck that never was part of the conversation because I was too young. And also like Anne, I felt that I was closest to my dad when I was younger. Like he was the only one who would understand me.
The last thing I noticed in the first two months was that when Anne and her family first moved into the Annex it was kind of that honeymoon/vacation feeling when its not so bad because its different from what your used to, then after a while it gets boring and dull. Considering they couldn't go outside or really interact with the outside world it is understandable that life in the Annex would be boring and dull. I wonder if others felt the same way.