According to the Free Dictionary by Farlex, to be misunderstood is to “not be appreciated or given sympathetic understanding. ” Oftentimes teenagers find themselves being really misunderstood as if it is them against the world. In the “Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank, this is only maximized by her ever-changing body and emotions brought along by puberty, a family she feels left out of, and the need for a real friend. In a time in her life when all she needs is an outlet and someone to turn to, Frank is met with disappointment.
Having nobody but herself to confide in, she’s forced to become her own best friend. Puberty is a time in a person’s life when one’s body begins to change and mature, and hormones cause feelings and desires out of one’s control. For Anne Frank, this comes at a time in her life when she has nobody to talk to, depend on, confide in, or look to for clarity. Frank reads an article about this, and she writes, “a girl in the years of puberty becomes quiet within and begins to think about the wonders that are happening to her body” (120).
One might choose to keep quiet about these things, but still want answers as to why, later she writes about having her period and how nobody is aware of it, she explains, “I never discuss myself or any of these things with anybody; that is why I have to talk to myself about them” (120). Frank is forced to deal with her developing body and ever-changing emotions all on her own. Because of this, all of Anne Frank’s changes, questions and developments are forced upon herself, causing her to be very confused and misunderstood.
A family is a group of people, typically related, living in the same household that shares a love and special bond with one another. For Anne Frank, her family is the exact opposite. She deals with a family she isn’t very close to, consisting of a mom that isn’t there for her, a father that has other priorities and a sister that seems to want nothing to do with her. Frank loves her father dearly, though he seems to hardly have time for her. She lacks a mother figure; her “Mummy” (117) would rather be more of a friend to them.
Frank has this idea of what a mother should be like, and her Mummy is anything but this, she explains, “I imagine a mother as a woman who, in the first place, shows great tact, especially towards her children when they reach our age, and who does not laugh at me if I cry about something…like ”Mums” does” (119). Due to her sister’s age, her mother feels closer to her sister Margot, causing Frank to feel secluded, she writes, “I love them; but only because they are Mummy and Margot.
With Daddy it’s different” (118) In a very vulnerable time in her life, she feels like it’s her against her family and possibly the world, with so much going on in her head, and no one to turn to she feels alienated and secluded from the group of people she calls her family. A friend is typically someone you can confide in, hang out with and turn to in a time of need. Anne Frank has none of the above. She explains that she has many people “whom one might call friends” (116), but no true friends.
With a number of things on her mind and nobody there to listen, Frank is forced to keep quiet about the issues she faces. Instead of continuing to keep it all to herself, she decides that she is going to start a diary, which she names “Kitty” (116). Frank explains, “And now I come to the root of the matter, the reason for my starting a diary: it is that have no such real friend” (116), Kitty quickly becomes her best friend, providing an outlet, and an escape from her reality. This helps Frank cope with her ever-changing mind, body and emotions.
Being misunderstood is something nobody deals well with, much less a teenager, Anne Frank is forced to deal with it, in a time in her life when being understood is all one really wants and needs. Sympathetic understanding is all Frank longs for. The stage in life when puberty takes hold of one’s mind, her lack of support from her family, and the need for a real friend all attribute to Frank being misunderstood. The circumstances she is faced with causing her to feel confused, alienated and eventually start her diary Kitty.
Frank finds an outlet, best friend, and confidant in Kitty, helping her overcome the poor predicaments she is faced with in her everyday life. Reflection Topic: Anne Frank being misunderstood due to puberty, her family, and lack of friends. Angle: Analyzing Anne Frank’s surroundings and circumstances, and showing how they played a part in her being misunderstood. Purpose: To inform people of the life Anne Frank lived, and the issues she faced. Readers: People wanting a closer look into the life of Anne Frank.
For my topic, I would say that I did a pretty good job of addressing the issues Anne Frank had to deal with, and how they affected her, mainly trying to show my audience how Frank was misunderstood. I felt that me reading other parts of her diary in the past, had a slight influence on my paper, I almost wish I had not, so that I could have been better at the “close reading” aspect of this paper. But, at the end of the day, I found everything I needed to support my arguments, in the essay we read as a class.
I wrote about how puberty and her age caused her to feel confused, her family wasn’t there for her and her lack of friends caused her to feel alone and misunderstood. Ex. “The stage in life when puberty takes hold of one’s mind, her lack of support from her family, and the need for a real friend all attribute to Frank being misunderstood”. The angle I chose was one that would examine Anne Frank’s circumstances, and help me prove that her being misunderstood came as a result of her surroundings.
As I mentioned in the earlier paragraph, I’ve previously read some of Frank’s diary entries that were not included in the essay we read; I feel like this had a slight effect on my topic and angle. Though I had an idea of Anne Frank’s life due to my earlier readings, I definitely feel like I made good use of the information I received from her entries in the essay we read. I examined her confusion that came as a result of puberty, her alienation from her family, and her need for a real friend through all of this.
I chose specific quotes that helped get these points across, and how they eventually lead to her starting her diary that she named Kitty. Ex. “Frank explains, “And now I come to the root of the matter, the reason for my starting a diary: it is that have no such real friend” The purpose of my essay was to inform people of the life Anne Frank lived and the issues she dealt with. In explaining how Frank was misunderstood and how this came about, I gave a unique look into her life. I went into detail about her age, and the thoughts, feelings and changes she went through.
I explained how her mom wanted to be more of her friend, her father didn’t love her how she wanted to be loved, and her sister was a teen that didn’t want anything to do with her. Finally, I showed a part of her social life, or lack thereof. In the essay, Frank talks about how she had many friends that were more like acquaintances. In explaining this I showed how she lacked a true outlet, and someone to confide in, until she started her diary Kitty. In writing about all of this I feel like I did a good job of informing people about Frank’s life, in my paper I wrote, “The circumstances she is faced with causing her to feel confused, alienated and eventually start her diary Kitty. Frank finds an outlet, best friend, and confidant in Kitty, helping her overcome the poor predicaments she is faced with in her everyday life” I would say this pretty much summed up my purpose; my only complaint would be that I could have gone into further detail about her relationship with her family, which played a huge role in her feeling misunderstood. The audience I reached out to would be one that is looking for a closer look into the life of Anne Frank.
I feel like for the most part, I did a pretty good job of doing this. In explaining how she felt misunderstood I gave the reader a closer look into the life she lived, and the circumstances she was faced with. My main goal was to go beyond the reading of her entries; actually examine them, to not only understand what Frank felt, but to show why and how she felt the way she did. I wanted the reader to have an understanding of Franks misunderstanding. When talking about puberty, Frank explains how she kept her period a secret.
She seemed to have dealt well with it, but I couldn’t help but feel that the only reason she kept it a secret was because she had nobody to tell or that would listen and explain to her exactly what was going on; in my paper I wrote about this, Frank reads an article about puberty, it reads, “a girl in the years of puberty becomes quiet within and begins to think about the wonders that are happening to her body” I wrote, “One might choose to keep quiet about these things, but still want answers as to why, later she writes about having her period and how nobody is aware of it, she explains, “I never discuss myself or any of these things with anybody; that is why I have to talk to myself about them”. I would say I accomplished my goals for the most part, my only complaint would be that I couldn’t help but give a little more of my opinion then was needed. When I first heard you say, that we were writing a cause and effect paper my first thought was, “uh oh”. Going into it, I was pretty worried that the first paper we wrote was going to be the only kind of paper I could write, successfully at least.
After your examples and practice I began to see that it wasn’t going to be as hard as I thought. I took many notes and at this point, feel like I did a pretty good job on this one. I now have a pretty good understanding and believe I would be able to write my next cause and effect paper successfully. As far as analyzing cause and effect papers, I would definitely like to, after writing this one I feel like I have a much better understanding and would really like to take a look at others, and the way those papers are set up in contrast to mine. I also feel like analyzing would only further educate me on the genre, leading to my next paper being a better one.
