The Diary Of a Young Girl Chapter Summary(Anne Frank)

June 14, 1942 - June 15, 1942 Summary

It is Anne's thirteenth birthday. She writes that she woke up at six o'clock because she was excited, but since she couldn't get out of bed so early, she had to wait for about an hour to open her gifts. The first present she received was the diary she is now writing in. She calls this the nicest gift of all. Anne also received flowers, a game, candy, a puzzle, some books, money and a brooch. Later at school, she writes that she gave everyone sweet biscuits. She ends this entry by saying that she and her new diary are going to be great friends.

Two days later, Anne recounts her birthday party, held the day before. She and her guests watched a Rin-Tin-Tin film that everyone greatly enjoyed......

June 20, 1942 - July 5, 1942 Summary

Anne hasn't written for days because she has wanted to think more about keeping a diary. She says it is strange for her to keep a journal because she has nothing interesting to say. Still, she wants to write about things buried deep in her heart. She thinks about the saying "paper is more patient than man." Anne declares that she will not show this diary to anyone, unless she finds a real friend. She has started this diary precisely because she has no real friends.

Even though Anne is surrounded by family and dozens of people who she calls friends, she feels alone in the world. A lot of young boys like her and her extended family are wonderful to her, so it seems that she lacks nothing......

July 8, 1942 - September 2, 1942 Summary

Anne starts her letter to Kitty saying that it seems as if years have passed since she has last written. Her whole world has been turned upside down. However, she says that she is still alive and Daddy says that is the main thing. Last Sunday afternoon, she had just spent some time with Harry. He was planning to come back later. Anne was reading on the veranda, when someone rang the front door bell. She didn't hear it. A little while later, Margot said that the SS has sent a call-up notice for their father. Their mother has gone to see Mr. Van Daan, who is a friend of their father's. Anne is shocked. She knows that call-ups means concentration camps and lonely cells. The girls were.....

September 21, 1942 - October 3, 1942 Summary

Anne writes that Mrs. Van Daan is unbearable. The woman has been yelling at Anne because of her continuous chatter. Anne and her father are working on his family tree. He tells her about his various family members and she finds it all very interesting. She also has started school again. Every day she practices her French while Peter works on his English. She realizes that she only has one dress and three cardigans for the winter. She decides to knit a jumper out of wool.

On Friday, September 25th, Anne writes about going upstairs to see the Van Daans. She says it can sometimes be fun. They eat biscuits and drink lemonade. She tells the adults that Peter often strokes her cheek and that she wishes he would.....

October 9, 1942 - November 28, 1942 Summary

Anne writes that she has depressing news. Many of their Jewish friends are being taken away. She has heard of people being taken to Westerbork, which is a big Jewish camp in Drente. Anne has heard that there are not enough washing facilities and the men, women and children sleep together. Because of that, many of the women and girls are expecting babies. She has also heard that it is impossible to escape and the Gestapo shave the inmates' heads. Miep delivers the terrible accounts. Anne is horrified. She says, "Nice people, the Germans! To think that I was once one of them too!"

A week later, Anne writes that she, Mrs. Frank and Margot are getting along well again. Anne and Margot shared parts of their diaries with.....

December 7, 1942 - April 2, 1943 Summary

The residents of the Secret Annex celebrate Chanuka and St. Nicholas Day. Everyone gets presents and enjoys the small celebration. The residents of the Annexe are thrilled to hear that they are all going to get an extra quarter pound of butter for the holidays. All non-Jews are entitled to a half-pound each. Those living in the Secret Annexe share four cards that they have purchased illegally. Anne sits in the main office, looking outside of the window. She thinks that the people walking outside look dirty and downtrodden. Meanwhile, sharing a room with the old dentist is making life worse for Anne. She is also becoming increasingly distressed to hear about the plight of Jews in the outside world. The next bit of excitement comes when they.....

April 27, 1943 - September 10, 1943 Summary

Everyone in the house continues to fight with each other. The food situation is growing worse. However, Anne realizes that she is comparatively lucky.

"I usually come to the conclusion that it is a paradise compared with how other Jews how are not in hiding must be living. Even so, later on, when everything is normal again, I shall be amazed to think that we, who were so spick and span at home, should have sunk to such a low level."

The entire family is wearing frayed clothing. Anne and Margot have grown out of all of their things. Anne witnesses an air battle between the Germans and British. It is growing warm, but the Annexe residents still have to start a fire to burn their waste. They can't put.....

Anne begins by saying that relations between the inhabitants of the Secret Annexe are getting worse all of the time. Anne is taking Valerian pills to combat depression, but she says just being able to laugh would be better than ten pills. She says she has forgotten how to laugh. They live in constant dread, partially because one of the warehouse workers might be getting suspicious. Anne feels as if they live waiting for the next explosive fight. She wishes in vain that she could somehow get away. The Van Daans are arguing over money. They have run out of cash, but Mrs. Van Daan refuses to sell her clothing. Mr. Frank looks tense all of the time, Margot is getting headaches and Dussel can't sleep. Anne says.....

January 6, 1944 - January 24, 1944 Summary

Anne longs to speak to someone her own age. She is desperate for a friend, so she decides to spend more time with Peter. As they sit and work on his beloved crossword puzzles, she looks into his eyes, silently begging him to talk to her about something important. Later, while lying in bed, she is disgusted that she tried to engage him. She says that she is not in love with him.

One morning, Anne wakes up and realizes she has dreamed about Peter Wessel, the boy she used to care for. She writes that she doesn't need a picture of him because the dream was so vivid she can clearly see his face. The dream makes her think of Granny, who she also loved. She prays for.....

January 27, 1944 - February 12, 1944 Summary

Anne loves getting weekly film magazines. She knows all of the movie stars, reviews and plots of the most recent films by heart, even though she cannot go to the theater. She says some members of the household think the magazines are a waste of money, but she loves them. Sometimes she creates a new hairstyle for herself, but she usually only keeps it for about a half hour because her family asks her what movie star she is supposed to be and the comments annoy her.

Anne says that "Kitty" must be tired of hearing the same old stories because she is sick of telling them. Everyone in the Annexe knows everyone else's stories by now and she says their conversations are repetitive and boring. She says the....

February 13, 1944 - March 6, 1944 Summary

Just one day after she wrote about being sad, Anne suddenly has reason to be excited. She notices that Peter Van Daan is looking at her a lot. She used to think that Peter was in love with Margot, but now she thinks she might have been mistaken. Whenever Anne looks at Peter, she sees him staring at her, so she tries not to look at him too often. Peter seeks her out to tell her about an argument he had with Dussel. He says he wishes he could speak his mind as clearly as Anne does. Peter also helps her carry potatoes and smiles at her warmly. Anne is very pleased.

Peter and Anne discuss his plans for after the war. He wants to move to the Dutch.....

March 7, 1944 - March 23, 1944 Summary

Anne reflects on her life in 1942. She writes that she was a flirt and always had many male admirers and girlfriends. At school, she was known for being fun and the center of attention. Even Peter remarks that whenever he saw Anne back in those days, she was surrounded by laughing girls and boys. Anne ponders the ways she has changed. She still likes to laugh, but now she prefers more serious conversations. She thinks that she no longer wants admirers. She wants true friends who know her character. Even though she appeared happy in 1942, she secretly felt empty and does not long for those days. When she arrived in the Annexe, she remembers the fits of crying and depression she went through. Now, she realizes.....

March 27, 1944 - April 11, 1944 Summary

Anne discusses politics. The members of the Secret Annexe spend a great deal of time listening to the radio. Anne thinks that she would prefer just a few bulletins a day. The next entry's topic returns to the subject of her relationship with Peter. Mrs. Frank has forbidden her to spend so much time in the attic with him. There is tension between Mrs. Frank and Anne. According to Anne, Mr. Frank refuses to see the battle between them. Still, despite all of the journal entries about Peter and the tension the relationship has caused in the Annexe, Anne still doesn't know how he feels about her. She longs to kiss him.

A man speaking on the radio says that they ought to make a collection of diaries and.....

April 14, 1944 - May 16, 1944 Summary

The adults in the Secret Annexe are going through a period of great dissatisfaction with their living arrangement. However, Anne writes that she thinks that things are only as bad as one cares to make them. She, on the other hand, is enjoying her time with Peter and the times they spend with their arms wrapped around each other. The next day, the Annexe is once again in an uproar. Peter forgot to unbolt the front door, which is locked from the inside at night. The workers could not get in and Kraler had to enter through a back window. Kraler was angry and Peter was very upset.

On April 16th, Anne writes that she received her first kiss the day before. Peter kissed her on her cheek, which.....

May 19, 1944 - June 23, 1944 Summary

Anne says that Peter loves her even more than she loves him. She thinks that she still cares for him, but she has locked up her inner self and wants Peter to have to work harder for her affections. She turns her attention to politics, saying that the Dutch are angry that the English have not saved them yet. Anne wonders why people think the English owe them so much. She believes that the invasion and liberation will eventually come, but not until England and America decide it should happen. She doesn't blame the two countries for not sacrificing their men for the interest of another county.

The residents of the Annexe are also very upset to hear that more people are turning against the Jews. Their vegetable man.....

June 27, 1944 - August 1, 1944 Summary

Anne writes that the mood has changed for the better. The English are making great progress. German women and their children are being evacuated. Anne says that everyone's temper has improved. She is excited to be learning English. Anne says that Peter is weak and she is disturbed by his talk of getting easy money after the war. She says that he has no goals. Mr. B., who represents the business, acquires 24 trays of strawberries. The families spend the day preserving the berries. For a few days, they eat strawberries at every meal. Next, they receive some peas. Anne hates shelling them. They also take out the skins from the pod in order to make the pod edible. She complains about the work.

Anne has been reading a.....

Key Figures

Albert Dussel

Mr. Dussel is a dentist who joins the group five months after the rest go into hiding and shares a room with Anne. He is an older man who has never married, although he has a longstanding relationship with a Catholic woman whom he misses a great deal. When Mr. Dussel goes into hiding, the woman is informed that he has fled the country, so she doesn't realize that he is still in Amsterdam until the raid on the hiding place. Mr. Dussel is described by Frank as a demanding, unsympathetic, inconsiderate, and fussy person who prefers to be left alone.

Mr. Dussel accompanied the other hideaways to Westerbork and then to Auschwitz. He was later sent back to Germany, where he died at the Neuengamme camp. The cause and date are uncertain.

Themes

Coming-of-Age

Frank was in hiding with her family from age thirteen to age fifteen. Readers find many of her feelings and experiences familiar, indicating that the process of growing up, with all of its pain, joy, and uncertainty, is generally the same regardless of time, place, or situation. Even in normal circumstances, adolescence is an awkward and introspective time, but Frank's extraordinary circumstances add intensity to her maturation. Frank is like most teens in that she struggles with her family, especially her parents. She is at odds with her mother, which is common in adolescence, as girls begin to assert their independence from their mothers. Unlike most teens, however, Frank has no way to distance herself physically from her mother, so the emotional distance widens. Further, Frank's preference for her father is made more obvious.....