The topic of this book is a young Jewish girl named Anne Frank writing in her diary in Germany-occupied Holland while hiding from the Nazis.
Anne Frank’s purpose for writing this was to inform the people about her situation, and to have an outlet for her tension, while pursuing her goal to become a famous writer to transcend death by becoming famous.
Speaker: In The Diary Of A Young Girl by Anne Frank, the speaker is clearly identifiable. Throughout the whole story, the speaker is Anne Frank herself. As a speaker, Anne Frank is very trustworthy, as she speaks from the experienced tone of a survivor. Also, she is writing in a diary, a personal account of her life, where she has nothing to hide. When speaking, she is clearly an expert as she writes about how these events in her life shaped out. Anne Frank knows what is going on in her life with the Germans persecuting her, and thus, becomes an expert on the subject of the fearful life of a Jew. Her diction shows her credibility throughout the story. Her naïve tone in the beginning shows her childish nature, but matures towards the end. The story is told as a real life record, not a past memory recall from days past. Therefore, the speaker, Anne Frank, is a credible and trustworthy person.
“So I go on with fresh courage; I think I shall succeed, because I want to write.” (Frank, 198).
Occasion: The occasion for the story of Anne Frank’s life was the fact that she wanted to have a document on the Jewish life. At first, she was only going to write it for herself. After hearing that after the war stories would be broadcasted by Gerrit Bolkestein, she then decided to try to share her story with everyone. When given this diary by her father as a birthday present, she eagerly jumps on and writes personal things as well as descriptions about everyday life. She writes unfettered by other influences, only writing for her own purposes. Sparked by her desire to become famous and being given the diary by her parents helped her on the way to becoming a writer about the life in World War II. As a young girl, it helped relieve some of the tension and stress caused by the time period. She addresses her diary to an imaginary friend called Kitty, which made her feel like she had someone she could confide the troubles of everyday life too. Her occasion for writing her story began with a simple diary, and evolved into so much more.
“Bolkestein…said that they ought to make a collection of diaries and letters after the war. Of course, they all made a rush at my diary immediately.” (Frank, 191).
Audience: The speaker did not want an audience. This was her personal diary and like everybody else, she did not want anybody peeking at what she had to say about her life. However, her imaginary audience was Kitty, the name she gave her diary, sort of like a nickname to support Anne emotionally. If Anne wanted an audience, she would have preferred people that would have comprehended her complex emotions. Her simple diction belied a very complex character, and needs a multi-dimensional person to understand. She also would have loved if her family had read her diary and pondered her for a while. The tension poured out into the book with the careful and quiet observations of the passing days and would have forced her family to look deeper into her and realize that she was not the once silly girl that they had reared, but a more complex character that only specific audiences could understand.
“In order to enhance in my mind’s eye the picture of the friend for whom I have waited so long, I don’t want to set down a series of bald facts in a diary…. But I want this diary itself to be my friend, and I shall call my friend Kitty. “(Frank,3).
Purpose: The purpose of Anne Frank’s The Diary Of A Young Girl is to inform, even though it was not that way at first. When Anne Frank first received her diary, her first thought was to write it for herself as just a
