One’s true self is only ever revealed in times of great desperation or hopelessness, and only then can the true extent of their morality be determined. Within Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett’s play The Diary of Anne Frank, the eight inhabitants of the aptly proclaimed “Secret Annex” were forced into close quarters for an extended amount of time. During this period, Petronella Van Daan proved herself to be the worst, personality-wise, of them all. Such is easily seen throughout various conflicts within the play, in which Mrs. Van Daan slowly reveals herself to be reactive, materialistic, vain, and generally antagonistic to both the reader and the occupants of the Annex. One instance of Mrs. Van Daan’s rather unsavory behavior with particular …show more content…
Van Daan bolstered her negative characterization amongst the families within the Secret Annex through her consistently antagonistic, pessimistic, and reactive behavior. Such can be found throughout the entirety of her time in hiding, as, in the words of Anne Frank, “‘Mrs. Van Daan [didn’t] need an opportunity to be unpleasant.’” (Page 756) One of the most incriminating events to support this concept of Petronella’s fondness for deliberate hostility occurred as Anne went to Peter’s room for a private discussion, fully prepared to ignore the older woman’s heckling based upon prior experience. Mrs. Van Daan stated, “‘My God, look at her! I don’t know what good it is to have a son. I never see him. He wouldn’t care if I killed myself.’” (Page 756) Anne then assured her mother of her good behavior, before asking Mrs. Van Daan for permission to continue on. Despite the respect Anne showed her through this action, Mrs. Van Daan refused to abandon the conflict, stating, “‘Are you asking me? I didn’t know I had anything to say about it.’” (Page 756) Mrs. Van Daan, in this circumstance, seemed to be purposely attacking Anne in a failed attempt to invoke the teenager’s retaliation, as well as spiting her son in the pursuit of sympathy. This hostility, in their situation, only served to worsen the overall mood and quality of life within the Annex, once again proving Mrs. Van Daan to be the most problematic of its
Jews. He took it upon himself and Miep to give the two families in hiding
On an early morning in July of 1942, the Van Daans and Franks meet up for the first time at the annex. All of them are covered in layers of clothing to carry as much to their new home as possible. They are all introduced to each other. Living in the secret annex is Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan, Peter Van Daan, Mr. and Mrs. Frank, Margot, and Anne Frank. Mr. Van Daan is a selfish, greedy man. Mrs. Van Daan likes the finer things, thinks pretty highly of herself and adores her husband. Peter is shy, quiet, and just truly doesn’t say much. Mr. Frank is a kind, caring, leading man. Mrs. Frank is motherly, caring, and sweet. Margo does as others say and tries to keep a low-key profile. Anne is wild and unique. She doesn’t let others push her around, and she is very independent. Everyone in the annex is very different.
Wisps of burnt-out curtains drape over shattered window frames, fluttering helplessly like a bird with injured wings. Pieces of wood collapse snapping once they hit the ground. Smoke swirls around in the wind. No sound can be heard except for the occasional sobs escaping the chapped lips of people visiting what is left of their homes. The once busy city of Amsterdam is now nothing but a city of forgotten souls. In 1942, the Franks and the Van Daans moved into a warehouse located in Amsterdam to escape the perilous world outside, where the Holocaust was taking place. Jews like the Franks and the Van Daans had their rights taken away from them. The Gestapo, the police working for the Nazis, rounded up people to be sent to concentration camps, where people worked to death. Margot Frank was one of them. Many Jews had to leave the country to escape, while the two families, and later on a man named Dussel, lived on the top floor of the warehouse called the Secret Annex. Living in such a small space and having sparse food with so many people was not easy. On weekdays, not a noise was to be made otherwise the workmen below would hear them. Food and other items had to be brought in by Miep and Mr. Kraler, who risked their lives to help the members of the Secret Annex. To keep herself company, Anne Frank wrote in her diary almost every day. Later on, her diary was published, and two authors decided that they would write a play based on the published diary, named The Diary of Anne Frank. Goodrich and Hackett created memorable characters in their play. Among these people, Otto Frank stood out, who emerged as a good leader because he put himself before others, made rough decisions when problems rose, and stayed positive and optimistic even dur...
This would happen to be my report on what happened to Anne and her family while World War II was in action once it was converted to a play and a movie format. I'm sure they both these versions are much less graphic than Anne and her family saw it. I just hope Anne feels that they do her story justice. Both the play and film version of The Diary of Anne Frank focus on Anne Frank and her family's experiences in hiding. However, there are some similarities, including how Anne hands out presents to her family members and the other people in the Annex, and some differences, such as Anne and Peter's relationship and, Margot and Peter's relationship.
How would you feel if you were a Jew in World War II? Anne Frank was a Jew in World War II. The play we read was called the diary of Anne Frank. She said, "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." According to the diary she believed in the quality in people even after hardships her family has endured. Anne Frank had to go into hiding from Hitler because he wanted to kill all of the Jews. He thought that they should not be allowed to practice their religion. Because of this, she had to go into hiding for two years. Here are some ways she showed her belief that people were good at heart. The first reason is she thought of different ways to make her family happy in the darkest of times. The second reason is Mr. Van Daan stole bread to feed himself. The third reason was she found someone to talk to even when she was trapped for two years. She was believing in everyone else as they were breaking down in fear.
Imagine what it would have been like to be cooped up in an attic during the Holocaust,with only very little space eight people in one little attic. For the Franks and the Van Danns it was eight people and a cat for most the time. With no one to talk to they have to keep everything in, unless they write it. In “The Diary of Anne Frank” the two families live this way. Anne and Peter were two of the characters who experienced this. Anne is a teenage girl who has a sister and lives during the Holocaust. Anne also had a lot of friends so she was popular; she loved to read and write in her journal. She was very loud and obnoxious. In Act one Scene two ,Peter says “I was always by myself, while you were in a big crowd of people.” This shows that Anne was very popular and is used to people; while Peter was not used to as much attention and people. Then in Act one Scene three, Mr.Van Dann says, “ Why can’t you be more like your sister Margot?” This proves that the Van Danns like Margot more than they like Anne ; it also proves they think Anne is obnoxious.
Anne’s diary began on her thirteenth birthday. She had a normal life for a girl of her age, and valued the same things as any girl; she loved being with her friends, enjoyed school and already had established a passion for writing which she expressed through her diary. She first wrote “I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support,” it is established that Anne, although a very social young girl, felt that she could not confide in her friends. The tone with which she wrote and the trivial matters that she wrote about exemplify her young age and lack of maturity. She wrote for the sake of writing, and wrote about the happenings in her life. When the first signs of anti-Semitism started to show, signs of worry showed through her writing, but she never wrote too deeply about it.
As Anne's sister, she was very nice and didn't speak out and was very proper. The Frank's weren't the only ones in this attic, there were other people such as the Van Daans. Mr. Frank let them stay because they needed a place to hide and since they had helped him out so much in the past by actually teaching Mr. Frank German, he felt it was the least he could do. The Van Daans had a son which Anne later became interested in.
Throughout the play The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, Mr. Van Daan is rude, selfish, and greedy. These are all bad traits because Mr. Van Daan was not a very nice person. He thought that he was more important than all of the others. He was always thinking that he should have what he wanted instead of what others would like. Such as when he was going to sell his wife's coat for a pack of cigarettes. This essay will explain all about how Mr. Van Daan will react with the others in the attic.
Yelling, anger, and selfishness. This is what you usually get from Mr. Van Daan. In the Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, Mr. Van Daan is a very ill-tempered man, always yelling at the kids. He is also pretty self centered which leads him to be very hypocritical too. These three traits show strongly throughout the play when times her a little rough and there are a lot of quotes backing these claims up too.
Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition. Comp. Otto Frank. Ed. Mirjam
“Then suddenly Peter grabs her awkwardly in his arms, kissing her on the cheek.” Anne Frank and Peter Van Daan mature as the play The Diary of Anne Frank documents their lives from when they go into hiding to their deaths. Anne (ages 13-15) and Peter (ages 15-18) both experience many changes, physically. mentally, and spiritually, as they grow closer to each other. On this topic Anne says, “There is one great change, however. A change in myself.” (Act II, Scene I, Page 600)
Everyday, their lives are filled with darkness and degeneracy. The whole world’s scared and they decide to swallow the fear. Growing up in a wartime environment isn’t easy at all. All of their lives have been mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood. Yet, Anne Frank still believes that people are good at heart.
Tranquility fills the dull atmosphere. Not knowing how much water the clouds contain before the downpour starts, we innocently set ourselves up for an endless journey; a journey to find the purpose in life. A droplet of rain trickles down onto the top of your head, following a shower of many more droplets. Lightning flashes and booms of thunder take over the sky. Many are hesitant of whether to continue their journey or hide from this storm; an umbrella can only give so much protection against the rapid winds and stinging raindrops. Many describe thunderstorms in a frightening way, but the strong willed individuals who embrace the storm think with positivity - rain is changing the environment and bringing life to the world. Once the rain subsides, the atmosphere, exhausted and worn out, settles down back into the calm tranquil environment that it once was. The sky, once filled with dark and murky clouds, is filled with blue. One may either face the challenge they have been approached with to move on, or decline and stay caught in a storm. An individual’s view of the world has immense power of whether one’s obstacles will result in failure or achievement. It is the mentality that we approach life’s challenges that determine the positive or negative outcomes in our lives.
The autobiography book, “The Diary of a Young Girl”, is a collection of Dutch diary entries authored by Anne Frank, a 13-year-old Jewish girl who lived through the atrocities of the Anti-Semitist German Nazi Regime. Beginning on June 14, 1942, the diary, which Anne named “Kitty”, vividly depicts fear-filled stories of the Franks and other Jews in evading racial annihilation. Besides the stories of war, the world-renown personal account narrates a teenage girl’s blossoming and her search for identity, love, and acceptance. The entries end abruptly on August 1, 1944, signifying the Gestapo’s capture of the Frank family and all the other residents of the Secret Annexe, but despite the impermanence of Anne’s life, her legacy endures