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The Living Condition In Frances Goodrich's The Diary Of Anne Frank

Decent Essays

“For the past two years we have lived in fear. Now we can live in hope.” Those were some of the last words Anne would hear from her father before she would pass away in the Belsen concentration camp. Anne Frank was a young thirteen year old girl who was forced into hiding with her family, Dr. Dussel, and the Van Daan’s. Because she was Jewish, she would live the next two years of her life in a small secret annex, in constant fear of being found and taken. In the Drama, The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, the audience examines the awful living conditions in the annex from Anne’s point of view. Life in the annex was described as restricting, terrifying, and the members were dependent. The members in the annex were given very strict rules, making the living atmosphere very restricting. …show more content…

In act 1, scene 2 of the play Anne receives a diary from her father. She starts to go downstairs to get a pencil, but her father holds her back and tells her no. Anne is confused why she cannot go down because there is no one else in the building at that moment. Her father, Otto Frank, responds with, “It doesn’t matter. I don’t want you ever to go beyond that door.” The stage directions then state, “For the first time Anne realizes what ‘going into hiding’ means”. Not only does Anne realize what going into hiding really means, but the other members realize how strict the living atmosphere in the annex will be when Mr. Frank explains the daily conduct from eight in the morning until six in the evening. He states, “We must not speak above a whisper. We must not run any water. We cannot use the sink, or even, forgive me, the w.c.” Sadly, the members of the annex then realize how from eight to six they will be restricted to do basically nothing. Not only will the members of the annex have to live under strict rules, but they will also live in constant

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