1. “The Diary of Anne Frank”
Act II Essay Questions
1) In the beginning of Anne Frank’s diary, she wrote these words:“I hope I
shall be able to confide in you completely, as I have never been able to do in
anyone before, and I hope that you will be a great supportand comfort to
me.” In an essay, explain how her diary was a great source of comfort to
Anne Frank. As you write, consider these questions: In whom would a
fourteen-year-old girl usually confide? Under what circumstances would a
young girl share her confidences? How do Anne’s circumstances in the attic
rooms affect her ability to confide in someone else?
2) The Nazis who came for Anne Frank were ordered to leave no record or
documentation of what they were doing. When they left Anne Frank’s diary
behind, they failed to follow that order. In an essay, explain why Anne
Frank’s diary is an important historical document.
3) In her introduction to the published version of Anne Frank’s diary, Eleanor
Roosevelt said that Anne Frank’s story made her “intimately and shockingly
aware of war’s greatest evil—the degradation of the human spirit. At the
same time, Anne’s diary makes poignantly clear the ultimate shining nobility
of that spirit.” In an essay, comment on the ways in which Anne Frank’s
diary shows both the degradation and the nobility of the human spirit.