Diary of Anne Frank Hope Analysis Essay

Throughout history, there have been many tragic events which have put people in situations where they must face conflict. One of these conflicts is the Holocaust, which was the mass genocide of the European Jews Over six million were killed, a couple thousand survived, but they were too sick or weak to survive more than a couple of months, weeks, or even days. Although there were few survivors, there were some who managed to stay alive, and tell their stories. A positive attitude can help tremendously when dealing with conflict. An example of this can be found in the novel The Diary of Anne Frank. Throughout the book, Anne spends most of her time hiding in the Secret Annex on the Prinsengracht. Even so, she also had to deal with terrible life-changing events such as going from being able to play outside, going to school and hanging out with friends, to barely being able to stick her hand out the window. When someone has everything in their life change so drastically in such a short amount of time, it can have awful effects on them, especially in Anne's case; given the reason her life is changing. Despite all of this, Anne almost always found a way to stay hopeful. Always staying positive and seeing the best in everyone. In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer, written by Irene Gut Opdyke, is an autobiographical explanation of Irene, who risks her life to help save Jews. It is a tale of bravery, hope, and commitment. Both stories show how Anne and Irene used hope to give them the will to hammer their way through tragic times. 

The Diary of Anne Frank shows how when times are hard, some people will try to face their conflict by staying hopeful. Although there are many ways of dealing with conflict, if a person does not have hope, they could easily lose their motivation to keep going. ¨But where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with great courage and makes us strong again.” (pg. 292). When Irene was in a situation where everything seemed like it might not work out, she stayed hopeful and overcame her obstacles.

The Holocaust rescuer’s story starts in a small village in East Poland, where she was raised. She was raised as a Polish Catholic with her four younger sisters in a caring family environment. Since she had her heart set on helping people in need, she studied nursing in Radom, Poland. In 1939, the German army invaded her city. She decided to join the Polish army, but they were unable to beat the German forces, so they stayed in the Ukrainian forest. Maintaining hope is an extremely important part of a person’s life. Hope can give people a reason to keep moving forward and see the good in bad situations. In the novel In My Hands, hope is mentioned many times. “For the young people, who can accomplish the impossible and can achieve greatness by finding strength in God and the goodness of the human spirit. I dedicate my life story to encourage them to find hope and strength within themselves.” (pg.3).  Irene Gut’s dedication is one of the many examples of how having hope can help an inordinate amount. Both Irene and Anne did not let go of their hope, even when everything seemed like it would not work out, and that is how they were able to persevere and come out on top.

The Holocaust was horrific and millions died, but some fortunately survived and told their stories. In Anne Frank and In My Hands, both Irene and Anne had to go through traumatizing events and might have felt as though things were not going to work out, but with hope and inspiration, they were able to push through and share their stories with the world. Hope motivates people to persevere, into the darkness, to venture onward, in spite of the limitations blocking the path of life. When dealing with conflict, having, and maintaining a positive attitude can go a long way. Anne Frank and Irene Opdyke’s positive attitude and hope helped them push through their terrible experiences during World War ll. Like Anne's diary, In My Hands is profound proof of how hope can help a person through tough times. Hope is the reason people do not give up; hope is the reason why people stand up instead of lying down, and hope can be the difference between living hard or giving up and dying.