The book begins in a happy manner, Anne had just started a journal because she had nobody to confide in. She talked about her life, her likes, dislikes, and other common, everyday issues in her life. Then, suddenly she had to move into hiding because there was a call up for her family by the Germans. During Anne's first year at the "secret annex" many people seem to dislike Anne because she seems to have an opinion of everything, along with the fact that they see her as a brat, brought up wrong by her parents. But is Anne really a spoiled brat of just a young girl going through a really hard time of war?
As you read about Anne's first year at the "secret annex" you might fall under the impression that she is a spoiled girl who is very self centered. She seems to annoy everyone, get in their way, and always ask for more. She appears to have very little respect for her mother, sister, Mrs. van Daan, and Dussel. She even says at one point in the book that she could see her mothers death, but the concept of her fathers death was inconceivable. She also seems to get very mad at everyone. In fact she said that Mrs. van Daan "has so many bad traits, why should I single out just one of them". She did not get along well with anyone except for her father and at times, even that relationship was strained.
By now you might say that she is a real brat. But are these behaviors just a effect of the stress of constant war on a 13 year old? Try to imagine yourself, in a building, sharing a room with a stranger, there is hardly any food to eat, there is the constant sound of gunshots and bombs and any one of them could hit you, not to mention the fact that you don't even know if many of your friends and family members are alive. That is a lot for a 13 year old girl to handle. I believe that she was under a lot of stress and had many personal conflicts. I believe that she did the best she could to cope with the war and I believe that the other members of the "secret annex" should be more understanding of her situation.
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Even after reading this post and placing myself in this young girls position,I still think of her as being a 'brat'.I have read and watched so many stories of young women and girls who were placing their lives on the line,when they didn't 'have to',for others.If I were in Anne Franks shoes,I hope that I would be so full of gratitude that I would help in any way I could,even if it was by having a good attitude for everyone else's sake around me.Anyone who hid Jewish people,knew well,what would be their demise,if they were caught.I am glad for this post,however,because I thought I was the only one who felt this way about Anne Frank.My 3 daughters were NOT interested in her story because of her bad attitude.My daughters instead love to read the stories about Irena Sendler,Stephania Podgorska and Corrie Ten Boon.These were all women who were'sacrificing'their lives for others.I think Anne Frank was self centered.She wasn't the only one going through the war.
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