Blog for Week 12/14/15 - Anne Frank Diary of a Young Girl

Prompt: Why did you choose this to read? Give at least 3 reasons.

One of the reasons that I chose the Diary of Anne Frank to read is that I love history. I really like reading about history and learning about history. The second reason that I picked up this book is that I am really interested in the Holocaust. I don't know why I'm so interested in it. Another good memoir about the Holocaust is The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson. The third reason that I chose this book is that I have always heard about Anne Frank and her diary, and I've always wanted to read it, but I never have. Eleanor Roosevelt said in the introduction to the book, "...it is one of the most wisest and most moving commentaries on war and its impact on human beings that I have ever read." My mom always said that it is one of the best books that she has ever read. Those are the reasons that I chose to read this book. 

Prompt: What is the mood of what you’re reading (happy, sad, funny, serious, etc.)?

I think that the mood of this book is very serious. I think that most books about the Holocaust are serious. It was a very scary and horrible time for a lot of people. In the book, Anne describes what it is like to be in hiding, and what they have to go through on a daily basis. Recently, she has been talking about bombs and air raids and how they happen quite often. She also talks about how she feels awful because she left her friends and doesn't know wether or not they are alive. I think that this, and most other books about the Holocaust have a very serious mood. 

Prompt: List three questions you have about what you read.

Question 1: Anne always said that they had to keep quiet while they were in hiding, but she also says quite often that the other family that they are in hiding with (the Van Daans) scream at each other and pound on the floor and make tons of noise. What happens if someone hears them?

Question 2: Why do you worry so much about beauty, when there are so much more important things to worry about in you life? (In the entry on August 4th, 1943, it says, "Then teeth cleaning, hair curling, manicure, and my cotton-wool pads with hydrogen peroxide (to bleach black mustache hairs)...") I think that there are much more important things that she should be worrying about, rather than beauty. 

Question 3: Why is it that the Van Daans got to keep their cat, when you had to leave yours behind when you went into hiding? Also, wouldn't the cat make a lot of noise, meowing and running around the house? Aren't you trying to avoid making noise so that no one downstairs can hear you?

Blog For Week 12/1/15 - Exploring Nonfiction - Anne Frank Diary of A Young Girl

I am reading Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. This book is the diary of a thirteen year old Jewish girl during the Holocaust. Nazis were occupying Holland, so Anne and her family went into hiding. Here's what has happened so far. Anne and her family have gone into hiding in an old building in Amsterdam. In the last couple diary entries (October - November, 1942) Anne has not been getting along well with the rest of her family. She says that she is not taken seriously and that her family always praises her sister, Margot and "drop everything on her". She says that she wants her father's "real love" and that her parents don't notice that they treat their daughters differently. Also, the Frank family is in hiding with another family, whom which they constantly fighting.

One thing that I find interesting is that the Van Daans (the other family that Anne is in hiding with), specifically Mrs. Van Daan insult Anne and her family, constantly. I just think that in a time where they are wanted and have so much to loose, they wouldn't want to make any more enemies. Mrs. Van Daan mainly insults Anne. In the diary entry on September 28th, it says "Am I really so bad-mannered, conceited, headstrong, pushing, stupid, lazy, etc., etc., as they all say? Oh, of course not. I have my faults, just like everyone else, I know that, but they thoroughly exaggerate everything." Anne is telling her diary all of the mean things that Mrs. Van Daan is telling her. And that's not even all of them. She says that Anne was not well brought up and that she would've been so much kinder and have much better manners if she had grown up with her.  She tells Anne to her face that she is spoiled and conceited. I just find it interesting that Mrs. Van Daan would choose to make so many enemies when she has so much to lose.

Something that I have learned is that even though you fight with your family, they still stand up for you and they still will protect you. Even though Anne and her mother fight all the time, she still defends her daughter when Mrs. Van Daan insults her, or calls her lazy or conceited, etc.  I think that it is important to know that even if you fight with your family, they still love you and they still will stand up for you.

I commented on: Amilee's Blog, Brimady's Blog, and Amelia's Blog.