The Diary of Anne Frank and Mother Night Essay illustrate a period of time when Eastern Europe faced several issues. Some of the issues encountered in The Diary of Anne Frank and Mother Night are discrimination, persecution, and war. Moreover, both of the main characters share the ideology that people are really good at heart. In The Dairy of Anne Frank, Anne Frank experiences stronger discrimination and persecution than Howard, the main character of Mother Night.
Furthermore, Anne Franks method of coping with war was better than Howard’s. In addition, Anne Frank actually lived out her ideology rather than just believing it. In The Diary of Anne Frank, Annes family was forced into hiding for two years because of the fierce discrimination against Jews. Throughout her diary, Anne provides insight into a period of time when things were not so good for Jews. For example, in her diary she talks about the yellow star they had to wear, restricted hours they had to shop, places they couldnt attend, the time they had to be in their houses, and several other humiliations that they had to suffer for being Jewish. While in hiding, Anne also writes about the treatment that Jews received throughout Europe.
In addition to the strong discrimination that Jews had to encounter, they also faced a much stronger form of persecution. This form of persecution is clearly illustrated within her diary. For example, many Jews were forced to go into hiding, thrown out of their homes, placed in concentration camps, and killed in large numbers and in prison camps, gas chambers, etc. The characters diary indicates that she directly felt both discrimination and persecution in her life.
In Mother Night, Howard didn’t face much discrimination. While assuming his role of being an American spy along with being a Nazi, throughout his radio broadcasts he sends strong messages of hatred against the Jews. Moreover, his words encouraged many people to believe that the Aryan race was the strongest and therefore superior to any other race. In addition to that, Howard actively promotes discrimination. And as a result of Howards words, discrimination is to a greater extent being influenced and carried out throughout the story.
Even though Howard faces some sort of persecution, his persecution was not so devastating, for his persecution was in great part due to his actions during war. Unlike Anne, Howard wasnt forced to go into to hiding since he wasnt persecuted because of his beliefs. However, Howard goes into to hiding because he chooses to and not because he was going to be killed but trailed for promoting the Nazism. Throughout the war, both characters took different approaches when dealing with their situations. While in hiding, Anne tries to carryout a normal life despite the circumstances.
Furthermore, she turns to writing as method of coping and companionship. And as she tries to avoid war issues, she maintains her faith through Peters friendship. Therefore, Anne seems to deal with her situation in a more positive and yet effective way. Howard, on the other hand, copes with war in a selfish way. He assumes the identity of both an American spy and Nazi without thinking about the consequences. Moreover, he believes it to be an opportunity to perform the role of a character form one of his plays.
In addition to that, he didnt tell his love of two nations, wife, about his role because he believed that his love for her would conquer it all. Howard may have not intentionally meant to be involved in the war issues but fail to do so, for his wife was killed by the Russians and because he was perceived to be active promoter of the anti-Semitic movement. Therefore, Howards way of coping with war seems ineffective. The main characters of The Diary of Anne Frank and Mother Night both share the same ideology, the ideological belief that people are really good at heart.
Anne Franks ideology comes when she realizes that she may not be able to carry out her ideals due to the terrible circumstances.In spite of her situation, Anne believes that no matter how bad people seem to be, including the Nazis, deep down .
