Thematic Essay Example on Diary of Anne Frank

The Diary of A Young Girl, written over a two-year period, tells about the life of a young girl named Anne Frank who is also the author, while she and her family are in hiding in Holland. They are staying in a secret attic of the office building where Mr. Frank used to work in order to escape from the Nazis during World War II. During their stay in the annex, they are supported by several people in the office building, who risk their own lives to insure the secrecy of the Jewish hideout and to provide them with food and basic supplies. Throughout the time Anne spends hiding in the annex she develops maturity and gains respect from the people around her. I would say that the theme of this book is adolescence. I think the theme of this book is adolescence because Anne writes in her diary about how she has become more of a women since moving into the annex. She also develops adolescence by being able to see what she did not see in a person before. For example she is asked by Mrs. Van Daan if she could ever picture Peter as a brother, instantly she reacts with disgust like a child. Later on in the book though she begins to develop feelings for Peter, stronger than a brother. She begins to confide in him, and ask him questions about sex. She also writes her father a letter describing her feelings for Peter. Throughout the 2 years Anne spends hiding in the Annex her child self, develops into a mature being, but not yet an adult making the theme of this story adolescence. In The Diary of A Young Girl, Anne Frank, who is our author of the diary writes many entries describing the relationship between her and her Mother. She feels that she does not fit in with her mother, who she thinks is very sentimental. On a diary entry dated October 3, 1942 (page 51) Anne writes “I simply can’t stand mother, and I have to force myself not to snap at her all the time, and to stay calm, when I’d rather slap her across the face, I don’t love her, I can imagine mother dying some day.”