-
"Fine specimens of humanity, those Germans, and to think I'm actually one of them!"
October 9, 1942
Anne expresses her contempt for Germans, after writing about how the Nazis take hostages and kill them if they are unable to capture a saboteur. -
"Who else but me is ever going to read these letters? Who else but me can I turn to for comfort? I'm frequently in need of consolation, I often feel weak, and more often than not, I fail to meet expectations. I know this, and every day I resolved to do better."
November 7, 1942
Anne reveals the determination and desire to improve herself that marks her character as revealed in the diary. -
"I wander from room to room, climb up and down the stairs and feel like a songbird whose wings have been ripped off and who keeps hurling itself against the bars of its dark cage. 'Let me out, where there's fresh air and laughter!' a voice within me cries."
October 29, 1943
Anne feels the stifling atmosphere, cooped up for over a year inside, with no opportunity to go out. -
"Jesus and Hanukkah don't exactly go together."
November 3, 1943
Anne reacts to her father's idea to give her a Bible for Hanukkah, so she can learn something of the New Testament. -
"I long to ride a bike, dance, whistle, look at the world, feel young and know that I'm free, and yet I can't let it show."
December 24, 1943
Anne reflects on having been in hiding for a year and a half. -
"Why do people have so little trust in one another? I know there must be a reason, but sometimes I think it's horrible that you can't ever confide in anyone, not even those closest to you."
January 22, 1944
Anne shows her growing maturity as she considers questions about human behavior. -
"The best remedy for those who are frightened, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere they can be alone, alone with the sky, nature and God. For then and only then can you feel that everything is as it should be and that God wants people to be happy amid nature's beauty and simplicity."
February 23, 1944
Anne's thoughts after she looks out of the attic window one winter's day and sees the cloudless sky, the trees and the birds. -
"I don't want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I've never met. I want to go on living even after my death!"
April 5, 1944
Anne writes about her ambition to be a writer. -
"There's a destructive urge in people, the urge to rage, murder and kill. And until all of humanity, without exception, undergoes a metamorphosis, wars will continue to be waged, and everything that has been carefully built up, cultivated and grown will be cut down and destroyed, only to start all over again!"
May 3, 1944
Anne's thoughts on war and human nature. -
"It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart."
July 15, 1944
Anne's thoughts less than three weeks before she and the others are discovered and arrested.
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