The Loneliness of Anne Frank

The book Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl is the diary of a teenager who went into hiding in a Secret Annex at her father's workplace in Amsterdam in 1942. She is living with her mother, sister, and father as well as the Van Daan family and, later on, a dentist named Alfred Dussel. Life in the Annex is cramped and unpleasant. There is little food and little space. Relationships are strained because everyone is arguing all the time. I think that Anne Frank must have been incredibly lonely during her four year stay in the Annex. There were no people her age, she was constantly criticized when she spoke, and she had a distant relationship with her sister and mother.

In the Secret Annex, there were no people Anne's age. Her sister, Margot, was sixteen and shy and bookish. Peter Van Daan was Margot's age, but he was more of a love interest than a friend to Anne. For the most part, Anne didn't have anyone to talk to or hang out with, so she devoted her time to her diary. Her diary, who she called "Kitty", was her only true friend at the Annex. 

It was hard for Anne to socialize because every time she tried to speak, she was criticized (mostly by Petronella Van Daan). This made it hard to have conversations one on one with her father or her sister. On page 137, Anne says "Relationships here in the Annex are getting worse all the time. We don't dare open our mouths at mealtime (except to slip a bite of food), because no matter what we say, someone is bound to resent it or take it the wrong way." Even when she wasn't talking, Anne was criticized for being to immersed in her studies. You can see why this constant criticizing could make a person lonely.

A third reason why Anne was probably very lonely in the Annex is that she had an awkward and detached relationship with her mother. Anne's mother tries to reach out to her, but Anne is always pushing her away. On page 158, Anne says "It's true, she didn't understand me, but I didn't understand her either." Because Anne and her mother do not understand each other, they have an odd, distant relationship instead of the close bond most mothers and children share.

I think that many teenagers can relate to the loneliness that Anne felt. Lots of people think that they have no one to talk to. Some people have friends, but don't have anyone who understands them. Some people are trapped into loneliness by their own self-consciousness. If someone does not want to be lonely, it is important to have people to confide in and to not be afraid to speak.

In conclusion, the Annex was a very lonely environment for Anne Frank. She did not have anyone to confide in and she couldn't speak without everyone being a part of the conversation and putting their two cents in. On the bright side, Anne's loneliness drove her to write a diary which is a great insight into the thoughts of a teenage girl in the 1940s. 

What do you think would be the hardest part about living in a place like the Secret Annex?