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. 

2. What is prejudice? Where in the world have you seen prejudice? What are the effects of prejudice?

Prejudice is basically when a person or a group of people has unfavorable or unreasonable opinions, feelings, or attitudes towards another group of people regarding racial, religious, national, or other reasons. These opinions, feelings, or attitudes are usually formed without knowledge, thought, or reason of the other group and they often end in damage or injury towards the other group. I have seen prejudice in the world throughout past wars where countries will have prejudice towards other countries and go to war with them. Other areas where prejudice has occurred are in the States where there is sometimes prejudice towards African-Americans or people of different races. Prejudice that has occurred in my home country, Canada, is when people have prejudice towards First Nations peoples. The area of prejudice which relates to the novel study that we're doing of Anne Frank is during the Holocaust when the Germans had prejudice towards other groups such as Jews, Jehovah witnesses, gypsies, people with physical/mental disabilities, and others. Some effects of prejudice are violence, discrimination, human-rights violations, influence over other people's opinions, injuries, death, and much more. These effects are seen in many areas such as the situations that I previously mentioned.

1. What do you already know about the Holocaust?

I already know that the Holocaust was a period of time during world war II when the Germans persecuted people like Jews and other people that they didn't like. I know that they put many people into concentration camps and extermination camps where there were extremely harsh conditions and people were tortured and killed in many unimaginable ways. Many people that were being persecuted had to go into hiding and this was very risky because if you were found out, penalties were so severe that you could die. This period of time was horrible for so many and thousands of people were killed. We get knowledge about the Holocaust through the few survivors that were left and through peoples diaries and journals, such as Anne Frank's. I think that it's really great that we are doing a study of the Holocaust and Anne Frank because it will help me to know and understand more of what times back then were really like, though many things, I'm sure, will be hard for me to understand because of the insane hardships that people had to go through back then.

Theme of "Lost Names"

Now that I have finished the book, I think that it is easier to identify the theme of the story than it was before, with only part of the book read. I think that the theme of "Lost Names" is that if you perservere through hard times and you really set your heart on getting out of them, you will be rewarded eventually, although sometimes you are rewarded in ways that you weren't expecting or wanting. All throughout the book, the main character has to go through many struggles and difficulties with the Japanese occupation and other things and he perserveres through them and makes it to the end of the war. He could have given up and said that he didn't want to go through all of that, but he didn't and he stayed strong and he eventually made it out. I think that this is a good example for everyone who reads the book too because it shows them of a real-life situation where someone made it through hard times by being strong-willed and perservering. They might read it and be inspired to be like that in situations in their own lives.