The Diary of a Young Girl

Frank, A. (1997). The diary of a young girl.  New York:  Bantam.

Anne Frank is a name known throughout the world.  She was not an extraordinary girl, nor did she really live an extraordinary life.  Yet, her diary has been published in countless languages and been read by a large audience.



Anne kept a diary from 1942-1944 when she lived in Amsterdam in hiding from Nazi officers.  Her diary, which was later published by her father, is the story through her eyes.  Many Jews went into hiding with help form others once they learned of the exiles of thousands of Jews.  It was one of the very few ways that a family could attempt to save themselves from becoming prisoners at a concentration camp.

The diary is full of conflict:  conflict among the residents of the secret annex, societal conflict against the Nazis, and internal conflict of Anne--a normal teenage girl.  The diary is written in first-person, like most diaries; however, it is written in the form of letters to Kitty.  "Kitty" is the fictional name that Anne gives to her diary.  Because the book is a diary and not a biography or autobiography, the question of narrator reliability comes to the surface.  Do all of the things that Anne writes about happen exactly as she writes them, or are some events that Anne describes exaggerated or understated?  One theme that is addressed in the book is the loneliness of isolation.  Anne and the others in hiding must deal with being cut off from society.

Sadly, Anne and the others in the annex were taken away to the concentration camp.  We will never see Anne's thoughts after the exposure.  Anne died of starvation in a concentration camp.  Her father, Otto, was the only surviving member of the annex and later published her diary as a tribute to his daughter.  The Diary of Anne Frank is a book that all young adults should read.  It is a way for young people to understand the conditions during WWII from the perspective of one of their own.

Questions:  Could I be cut off from society in order to survive?  What would I write about in my own diary if my life became so repetitive like Anne's?  How would Anne's life have been different if she hadn't entered into hiding?

Related Readings:
Night