“The Diary of a Young Girl:" Religious Identity

The notion of secrecy is central within the autobiographical novel, “The Diary of a Young Girl.” Just as the Frank family’s secretively resides within the Annex, Anne deems it necessary to conceal a portion of her personal identity because of her Jewish heritage in a society with anti-Semitic beliefs. Although Anne doesn’t express great consideration towards her Jewish heritage, how it largely influences and hiders her is unavoidable. Its hindrance is unavoidable as her status in the Jewish community results in her being forced to experience and act upon an identity that was forced upon her, along many others, as if they were “cattle” (84). Anne is aware of the injustices of Jewish dehumanization and is from that point, she is prompted to ask questions, regarding why people “try so hard to hide their own feelings,” why she “behaves quite differently” from what she “should in other people’s company,” and why everyone trusts “one other so little” (155). It is also over the course of her self-reflecting, diary writing in which she becomes aware of the dichotomy in her identity, which she refers to as “two Annes.” The two sides of her are created out of her feelings of isolation, not only out of the deprived circumstances she has to deal with as a Jew in an anti-Semitic society, but simultaneously because of her adolescence which leads her to fear others misunderstanding her. This is also partially caused because of the lack of people who are able to be there for emotional support within her life, such as her own mother who she feels doesn’t understand her, nor does she take her seriously (138). Anne then wonders if she would ever be able to escape these negative perspectives upon her and her community that identifies her and re-establish herself within her “entire little world of bygone days” (61).