Hybrid Hues '15-'17 AIIMS, New Delhi | Page 141

A nne begins writing as a 13 year old girl just having had her birthday, who decides to keep a diary to “bring out all kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart”. From the simple life of a school girl, worried about homework, gossiping with her friends and amusing herself thinking about boys who might like her, Anne and her family are forced into hiding to escape capture by the Nazis. Along with another Jewish family, they live for 2 years, cloistered together in the ‘Secret Annexe’ of an old office building. ey face the trials of mundane, everyday survival in a closed space cut off from the world outside amidst the fear of discovery and death. Anne records her life in the ‘Secret Annexe’ from vivid descriptions of their daily meals and inevitable squabbles to poignant discourse into the challenges of growing up. She writes about her dreams and aspirations, her opinions about life and the war brewing around her. She explores the meaning in her various relationships and stumbles upon that all too f a m i l i a r fe e l i n g o f b e i n g misunderstood as an adolescent. It’s striking how relatable her thoughts are and terrible, knowing she never got to live the life she deserved. Reading this book, knowing what happens to Anne Frank and her family is heart breaking. Yet, that is the very reason this simple account of the life of a teenage girl under the Nazi regime is so powerful. Sneha Mohan 2982, Batch 2012 THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL -Anne Frank