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?