7. What do you think this play reveals about our need for freedom? About the power of love? About courage and hope? About good and evil?

I think that this play reveals that our need for freedom is crucial to our lives and that without it, we sort of lose our identities to others and sometimes even to ourselves. Anne and her family and people she lived with constantly struggle with the need for freedom throughout the play and that is evident in the tension and conflicts that arose between them over time. The play reveals that with love, almost anything is possible. It does this by showing that without Mr. Kraler and Miep's help and love towards Anne and the others, they would have been living under harsh conditions for such long times or even been killed. But because Mr. Kraler and Miep had courage to stand up for what they believed in, they provided hope for the few families that they could and made a difference in the lives of others. The play shows that nothing good comes out of evil and wrong-doing towards other people because Hitler and the other discriminators's actions were full of evil and those people are now remembered with bitter thoughts and hatred. But the play also shows that peace and love come out of good towards others in that when Mr. Kraler and Miep helped the Franks, Van Daans, and the others, they were giving love to them and good things came out of it in the end for them because they are now remembered with warm hearts and heroic thoughts. The megatheme of prejudice in this story relates to a large theme of prejudice in the book "Lost Names". In this story, Jews and other people groups such as those are being persecuted by the Germans who have prejudice against them. And in "Lost Names", the Koreans are being persecuted by the Japanese, who have prejudice against them. The main characters from both of the stories both struggle with the prejudice against them and also struggle to find their identities as a result of being persecuted and made to conform with the persecuting group of people.

6. Why are there so many books, movies, documentaries, etc. about the Holocaust? Why do we keep retelling this story?

I think that there are so many books, movies, documentaries, etc. about the Holocaust because this was an event that impacted history so much and was so incredibly terrible that people want to keep it alive and so that people won't forget about all of the horrible things that happened. Another reason for all of the information availible on the Holocaust is so that young people can learn about the Holocaust and really try to understand what hardships so many people had to endure through during this time. There has been information available for the past generation, information available for my generation, and there will be information on this event for generations to come. We keep retelling this story so that it really will stay alive in people's minds and so that they won't not remember this disasterous thing that happened. I'm so glad that people do continue to retell this story and to provide all of the resources that they do on the Holocaust so that I can know more about the times people went through back then and so that I can be even more thankful for how blessed we are to live in a society like we do today.

5. c) Act 1, Scenes 1-3: Do Anne and Peter seem to have typical teenage attitudes towards their families? (Go back to the text for support)

I think that at times Anne and Peter do have typical teenage attitudes towards their families because of their actions, but that also may be because of their need to let out some of their feelings from being couped up for so long with their families. An example of when Anne acted "teenagely" towards the families was when she annoyed Mr. Van Daan by speaking a little bit rudely towards him and by taking his pipe and hiding it from him. Peter doesn't really act very "teenagely" towards the families during the play, but he does kind of act that way towards Anne. An example of this is when Peter teased Anne repeatedly about being called Mrs. Quack Quack at school. He does this by talking about it a lot and then by saying "Quack! Quack! Quack!" over and over again, whenever Anne says something. I think that the way that Anne and Peter acted was a little bit different than the way that teenagers act towards their families nowadays, but still, they did act with some attitude at times.

5. b) Act 1, Scenes 1-3: What do you think would be the hardest part of life in the Secret Annex? Explain.

The fear of discovery, the need to keep silent for hours at a time, the sharing of cramped quarters with strangers, or some other aspect?

I think that the hardest part of life for me in the Secret Annex would be the need to keep silent for hours at a time because I have a hard time not interacting with other people when I am around them and I also have a difficult time staying still for long periods of time. I think that it would have been so hard for the people in hiding like Anne during the Holocaust because they would have to suppress all of their energy all of the time while being in tight quarters with other people. I think that it might help that they have a fear of being discovered though because that might make it more possible to be quiet and still.

5. a) Act 1: Explain what you think this statement means. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?

Statement: "But always remember this, Anneke. There are no walls, there are no bolts, no locks that anyone can put on on your mind." 

I think that this statement means that no matter what anyone does or says to you, they cannot effect your imagination and mind as an individual. Even though they might repress you physically, they cannot control what you think or feel in your head. In Anne's life, she was controlled physically in that she had to live in a small cramped space without much freedom, but she still had opportunities to express herself in her journal and through the few actions that she was allowed to do. I can apply this to my life in ways such as not letting people control what I think about things even when they have the ability to control my actions.

4. a) Foreshadowing: Why does Mr. Frank break down when he sees the glove?

Mr. Frank breaks down when he sees the glove in the secret annex because it reminds him of past times and repressed memories. He thinks about the long hours he spent in the secret annex with Anne and his other family members and friends, and that effects him emotionally. The glove is kind of a symbol of his family, his daughters and wife, because it's a woman's glove and his family members are all women. It serves as a time-machine because it takes him, in his mind, back to the past, during the Holocaust. Therefore, it effects him so much emotionally because of the memories that are tied to the woman's white glove.

3. What do you think the play's theme(s) is/are?

So far, I think the play's theme is prejudice and how Anne, her family, and the others that she is hiding with are effected by the prejudice they received from the Germans. They are effected by the prejudice by being forced to go into hiding and to live the secret lives that they now live. Many people had similar situations to Anne in that they were being effected by prejudice from the Germans and they were forced to go into hiding or live in concentration camps. I think that the theme of the play is prejudice because that idea has reoccurred several times throughout the play so far and the whole reason Anne had to go into hiding was because of prejudice.

From reading the next portion of the play, I think that the play's theme is still mainly prejudice, like I mentioned before, but there is also the theme of fear of being discovered by the Germans. Anne, her family, and the others that she is living with are constantly living in fear of being found by the Germans and being taken to a concentration camp or death camp. This is another minor-theme of the play from my perspective.