Diary Of A Young Girl by Anne Frank Book Review

“Only in darkness you can see the stars.” (Martin Luther King Jr). In the diary “Diary Of A Young Girl'' written by Anne Frank, one reads the entries and learns the life of Anne Frank, her family, and other secret annex members, as they are hiding during the Holocaust. Anne is a young Jewish girl living in the time of the Holocaust, she starts documenting her life and experience through the usage of a diary. Early in Anne’s diary, she, her family, and other jews move into a secret annex, in which they will spend their years hiding from the outside world and trying to avoid being found by Nazis or the Gestapo. During hiding from the years of 1942-1944, Anne writes about her journey and feelings with and through her family, annexed members such as the Van Daan family, and most importantly herself. Throughout Anne’s diary, there is darkness, a fear that each annex member faces, however, the members utilize their darkness to see stars, find beauty, keep optimism, and be brave. Mr. Frank, Miep, and Elli, and most importantly Anne are met with darkness, however, their acts of bravery and optimism help cope with their darkness through acts of leadership, guiding, hope and positivity. 

As seen throughout Anne’s diary, Mr. Frank, Anne’s dad, has always been portrayed and shown as a leader. In times where food was scarce Mr. Frank was the one to give up his food to feed others. In times where burglars were robbing the annex, Mr. Frank was the one to comfort and control all that was going on, whenever Anne was having a hard time Mr. Frank was the one to make her feel better. After all, Mr. Frank was the one Anne confided in, and later the one who published Anne’s diary for many to read. Without the leadership that Mr. Frank took accountability for, the members in the annex would not have been able to see the stars in the darkness. Meaning that they would feel scared, alone, and without a guide without Mr. Frank’s contribution. As shown early in Anne’s diary, Mr. Frank was a leader because of his qualities and capabilities. He was honest and knew how to make difficult decisions. And on top of that, he helped the Van Daan family and Mr. Dussel are welcomed and have a spot in their annex, so they would not have to risk being put in concentration camps. Anne writes this, as she is describing everyone in the annex and their roles, “The former is the most modest person at the table. He always looks to see whether the others have been served first. He needs nothing for himself; the best things are for the children” (Frank 101). This quote is a very ideal portrayal of Mr. Frank. As the quote says, he puts the needs of others before himself. He is constantly making sure others have enough to eat and he is very modest while helping. This quote resembles the leadership shown in Mr. Frank because, only a leader would put the needs of others before themselves, as Mr. Frank is the logical choice for the annex leader, he portrays leadership in his actions. For instance, as described in the quote, Mr. Frank always looks to see whether other people have been served and taken care of before he decided to help himself. Thus concluding, Mr. Frank is a leader because his actions are used to guide and help others. As many other people are living and hiding in the annex, one does need to step up and provide others as a role model and as a leader, Mr. Frank is the one to step up, guide, and lead the annex members through the darkness surrounding them. 

Although everybody living inside the secret annex was highly important and remembered people, the outside helpers such as Miep and Elli also played a crucial role. Miep and Elli, are outsiders, they are the ones contributing brave work by getting food, supplies, and other necessities and bringing them to the annex. Throughout Anne’s diary, she writes about Miep and Elli bringing their rations and even new clothes to the annex. Miep and Elli both know what horrors are going on outside of the annex, they are risking their own lives to provide for the Franks, Van Daan’s, and Mr. Dussel. Their works are outstanding contributions. Because of the World War going on, and the mass amounts of concentration camps, nobody is safe, and Miep and Elli know this, for they still collect rations and provide the inside annex members with what they need. The experience of the annex would not have been safe nor possible without the help and guidance of Miep and Elli. Shortly after Anne writes about the unselfish people doing work that risks their own life, but helps others during the war, she writes this per Miep and Elli, “Our helpers are a very good example. They have pulled us through up till now and we hope they will bring us safely to dry land. Otherwise, they will have to share the same fate as the many others who are being searched for. Never have we heard one word of the burden which we certainly must be to them, never has one of them complained of all the trouble we give” (Frank 146). This quote shows not only how much Anne and other annex members appreciate the works of Miep and Elli, but also how noble and brave they are. The quote shows how these helpers never complain or argue about the work being done. Without the help of Miep and Elli, the annex would not have necessities nor a guiding light to outside information, help, and guidance. Despite all the darkness going on, in the war, with jews, and the vulgar fear of being captured, Miep and Elli have been brave to supply the annex with its needs and provide the Franks, Van Daans, and Mr. Dussel with help and guidance. 

Lastly, Anne, in each of Anne’s thoughts, words, and actions Anne portrays positivity, hope, and cheer. Throughout the entirety of the dairy, Anne mentioned how grateful, hopeful, and fortunate she is. Although she is faced with the darkness of being lonely and feeling like she does not quite fit in, she copes with this by writing in her diary and keeping a consistently positive attitude and mindset. There is much time in which Anne could give up her optimism when she gets picked on by Mrs. Van Daan when she and her mother get into arguments, and even when she generally just feels lonely, she always remains positive, hopeful, and cheery in the sense that things will soon be better for her. After being in the annex for about a year, many other annex members such as Mrs. Van Daan are getting very cranky, upset, and feeling lost. Anne however looks the other way, she writes, "I could go on for hours about all the suffering the war has brought, but then I would only make myself more dejected. There is nothing we can do but wait as calmly as we can till the misery comes to an end” (Frank 64). This quote shows just one example of Anne’s optimum throughout the dairy, as she writes how she could go on about all the suffering and discomfort she is facing while living in the annex, she chooses to write a more hopeful and mind nourishing piece about, how she can calmly wait until she can leave the annex. This shows Anne’s positivity because, when she is presented with the opportunity to be sad and angry, she chooses another path. Because Anne remains positive and hopeful throughout her time in hiding she can cope with the darkness among her. Without Anne’s positivity and hope throughout her diary, the experience in the annex would have been much darker, however, Anne remained positive and hopeful in a way that utilized the darkness to see the stars. 

Throughout the whole dairy, there is a surrender of darkness, however, the highly impactful Mr. Frank, Miep, Elli, and Anne cope with the darkness and fear through leadership, guidance, hope, and positivity. Mr. Frank takes the role of a leader through his modest, kind, and helpful actions. Without Mr. Frank stepping up as a leader and putting the needs of others before himself, the annex would not have been able to maintain themselves and Anne’s diary would not have even been published, as he gave and provided others with a leader. Miep and Elli were a significant contribution to maintaining the annex and providing inside annex members with necessities. When times outside with the war were getting harsh and more severe, they would not complain nor stop their work, for they continued to help and provide to people inside the annex. Lastly, Anne, as times got dark and more severe, she looked the other way. Through Anne’s words that she writes, she remains hopeful and positive. She looks the other way when things get dark, for she keeps a consistent optimism throughout her diary. Overall, Mr. Frank, Miep, Elli, and Anne sought to see stars in their given darkness, their work and actions were grandly implemented through the courage, hope, leadership, guidance, and positivity they all carried.