Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank – Shmoop
Posted By admin on August 12, 2015
Character Analysis
Anne Frank was extraordinary in her vitality, optimism, hunger for knowledge, and creativity. She was also a moody, sensitive young woman who could, by her own admission, occasionally be mean to those around her, though she struggled not to be.
Anne changed in many ways over the two years she was writing her diary. Some of these changes can be described as growth. She became an astute observer of politics, and of human nature, and she became a very practiced and well-educated writer. Many of her diary entries suggest a mind mature past her years, and we forget we are reading the work of a teenager.
We should also consider that some of Annes changes were because her so-called growth was being stunted. By the end of the diary, we barely recognize the Anne we knew from the first diary entries and she barely recognizes herself. We see a shell-shocked, alienated, half-starved young woman. Her final diary entry is a cry of despair from someone who just cant take anymore. Annes changes are complicated, and cover many elements of her personality. Well give you an in depth view of a few of those elements.
When Anne starts talking about her love life, things can get a little confusing, especially when it comes to the multiple Peters. Anne has just turned thirteen when we meet her. She has boys on the brain. She tells us, Youre probably a little surprised to hear me talking about admirers at such a young age (6/20/1942). There might be a little bragging going on, but Anne does seem to be a guy magnet.
Before she goes into hiding, she has a time-consuming relationship going on with sixteen-year-old Hello (and several handfuls of other guys desiring her company), but is in love, as we find out later, with Peter Schiff (whom Anne also calls Petel).
We also find out later that she asked her female friend Jacque if as proof of [their] friendship [they] could touch each others breasts (1/6/1944 1st entry). Anne is an innocent girl, excited by life and her sexuality.
In the space of a month, her choice of possible love interests goes from unlimited, to one: Peter van Daan, the kind, shy boy also hiding in the Secret Annex. She has no taste for Peter at first. After about seven months in hiding, Anne begins having dreams of the other Peter, Peter Schiff. The first dream (see the 1/6/1944 entry) coincides (confusingly, but naturally) with the start of her visits to Peter van Daans little room in the Annex.
That first dream also marks what Anne considers to be a significant change in herself. The first sentence of her Wednesday Evening, January 19, 1944 entry: "I (there I go again) dont know whats happened, but since the dream I keep noticing how Ive changed."
As you probably noticed, the change (most notably) is an increased interest in romantic love and sex. A few entries later, Anne begins talking with Peter van Daan about the birds and the bees. She says he wasnt ever as obnoxious about this subject as the boys at school (1/24/1944).
Read more from the original source:
Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank - Shmoop
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