The Diary of Anne Frank is the diary of a young Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis. The diary is written, and set in the 1940s. Most of the story takes place in Holland, where Anne and her family are hiding. They are hiding with the Van Daan family in an office building in Amsterdam. The building, which Anne refers to as the secret annex, consists of three rooms, and has only one window.
The main character, Anne Frank, is a young Jewish girl who writes a diary of her experiences during World War two. While hiding from the Nazis, Anne records her experiences, fears, and emotions. Anne is a lively, upbeat young girl. She has a special relationship with her father, who gives her the diary for a birthday gift. She resents her mother, who she feels is over-protective.
Anne initially views the move to the secret annex as an adventure.
This shows that she is too immature to comprehend her families situation. Soon she becomes disturbed by the lack of privacy, constant need for silence, and the underlying fear of being discovered. She has many quarrels with her older sister, Margot. Things become worse for her when the Van Daans arrive. She finds Mrs. Van Daan to be quite irritating.
She is then forced to share her room with Mr. Dussel, who is accepted into the annex to hide.
Anne, being an innovative, and intelligent girl, finds ways to deal with the monotonous routine of daily life in the annex. She reads books, and studies. She learns shorthand though a correspondence course. She also talks about her childhood, practices her dancing, and writes in her diary, which she calls Kitty.
All the occupants of the annex listen to the radio almost religiously, hoping to here good news for their cause. Anne becomes quite close to Peter Van Daan, who resides with them. She is quite pleased when he kisses her. Although her life may be cramped and routine, Anne tries to maintain a positive outlook.
The diary has three main conflicts, the struggle between the Franks, and the Nazis, the struggle to live in the cramped quarters of the secret annex, and lastly, the conflict of the normal aging process of a teen-aged girl. The climax of the diary comes when the occupants of the annex are discovered by the Nazis.
The story comes to an end when Anne is shipped to a prison camp, where she dies of Typhoid fever. .
