Essay Sample about Anne Frank: A Positive Attitude

The holocaust was a tragic genocide that took the lives of 6 million Jews. Anne Frank was an unfortunate victim of this matter. She kept track of everything going on in hiding during the Nazi invasion in her diary which was later modified into a play called The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hacket. In the story, Anne’s family went into hiding along with another family and a man named Mr. Dussel. She was only a young girl and there was a great deal of development in her character during the time spent in hiding. Anne changes by becoming more considerate, responsible, and hopeful which proves that difficult times can positively affect someone’s growth. 

To begin, Anne grows more considerate over the years. She started being rude and careless about others. One day, Anne was unaware of her surroundings and spills milk.  “She makes a wide gesture spilling the glass of milk on the fur coat in Mrs. Van Daans lap” (38). Anne was being inattentive and made a mistake which resulted in Mrs. VanDaan’s coat that her father gave to her being ruined. The VanDaans became very angry with her. Instead of feeling guilty and dismissing it, Anne chose to make it right.  So, on Hanukkah in the Secret Annex, Anne made the other members gifts. 

“ANNE: …I’ve got something.. She rushes into her room, hurriedly puts on a little hate improvised from the lampshade, grabs a satchel bulging with parcels and comes running back.

MRS. FRANK: What is it?

ANNE: Presents!” (62).

 Everyone was so happy that Anne had thought about all of them and made them feel special during the Holiday. This demonstrates that Anne was being mindful of other people during the horrid times and tried to make them feel better. 

To add on, Anne transforms into a more responsible person during her time in isolation. Anne’s maturity over the years grew rapidly when she realized what her role was in life. In her first days in insolation, she was being immature and played pranks on people. 

“PETER: Have you seen my shoes?

ANNE: innocently Your shoes?

PETER: You’ve taken them haven’t you” (26)

Anne took Peter's shoes and ran around the Annex with them, angering Peter. This created more stress, anger, and suffering. Eventually, Anne started thinking about her future. She grew from being a little girl and wanting just to have fun and play around. She decided she wanted to use her skills and happiness with writing and become a journalist. Anne states, “I think more seriously about life now. I want to be a journalist” (98).  Playing around didn’t get her anywhere and she started thinking about what might happen if she got out of there. This shows that everyone can overcome hardship and focus on their aspirations for the future. 

Finally, Anne learned to be hopeful in hiding. By becoming responsible and considerate, Anne transformed into a very optimistic person. At first, everyone was down about what was going on, especially when Anne figured out what being in hiding meant. In the annex, Anne was excited to write in her new diary but she realized that she couldn’t grab a pen from downstairs. 

“ANNE: (sobered ). Never . . . ? Not even at nighttime, when everyone is gone? Or on

Sundays? Can’t I go down to listen to the radio?” (

This caused her to feel discouraged towards her new “home”.  She lost happiness towards hiding but she stayed hopeful. Even though was in hiding for many years she didn’t feel resentment towards anyone. Later on, she became hopeful towards people changing and growing. Anne was telling Peter “In spite of everything I still believe people are really good at heart” (122). Anne Frank showed that even through the darkest moments of life, you can still have hope for a change. 

In conclusion, the challenges that Anne faced resulted in her evolving into a more considerate, responsible, and hopeful person, which shows that people can positively grow in a harsh environment. Anne’s words have impacted the lives of many people and will continue to do so.  She showed that during the worst moment of life you can still retain a positive outlook.