Peter Van Daan

I'm just a boy that's on the side,

like if I'm only along for the ride.

But people don't notice that I have feeling for someone,

feelings for Anne and I united as one.

SInce the day I first saw her, my heart lept in joy,

I was now a man, no longer a boy.

When things get back up in the attic,

Anne has my back by being dramatic.

When my dad fights with Anne, I feel so proud,

I love that she's not afraid to scream the truth out loud.

But I do feel some doubt that she might do that to me,

but I don't care, because I love her you see.

We've had many conversations about each other,

we trust each other like if we were brothers.

We can relate to each other because our families won't let us be,

as we will never really disagree.

I love Anne and I don't know how to say it,

I feel that she will dislike me if I will admit it.

For right now I will stay cooped up in my room,

just thinking as I sit in gloom.

Character Analysis

Anne Frank is the main character of the play entitled after her. She is a thirteen year old girl who was born in Germany on June 12, 1929 to Mr. Otto Frank and Mrs. Edith Frank. In addition to her parents, Anne has a sister named Margot Frank. When Adolf Hitler became the ruler of Germany on January 30, 1933, her and her Jewish family emigrated to Amsterdam, Holland where they are located throughout the play. Before going into hiding, she attended school at Jewish Secondary school with her best friend Jopie de Waal and her crush Peter Van Daan. Her and her family actually go into hiding in July of 1942.

In the play, her role is as the main character. Most of the story is centered around her and her emotions of being in hiding. While in hiding, she doesn't feel too bad about it and tries to make the best of her situation. The only time that she is stressed about being there is when she is having a quarrel or argument with someone else, and both people arguing feel stressed about being in the tiny environment.

Throughout the entire play, Anne says a lot of stuff because she likes to talk a lot and speak her mind. I believe that the most significant line that she says is ", Things have changed. People aren't like that anymore. "Yes, mother." "No, mother." "Anything you say, mother."I've got to fight things out for myself! Make something of myself!" I believe that this is the most significant thing that she says because I can really relate it to experiences in my own life. When Anne says this, she has finished arguing with Mr. Van Daan and is wanting to truly express what she thinks about people. I believe that what she means by this quote is that you have to truly express yourself with people, no matter how they feel. That way, both of you know how you truly feel about each other and you settle issues from there. Also, I like the second part of the quote, because she says that nothing or nobody can ever stop you from making what you want of yourself.

I chose to write about Anne because I can really relate to her and her experiences in terms of the arguing and debating. I, like Anne, don't always have the best relationships with other people, and in Anne's case, characters. However, when we express ourselves freely with the other people, they know where we are coming from when we tell them certain things. Overall however, life is good in Anne's case and mine because we know how to have fun and entertain ourselves, as well as others. That's a little bit about Anne Frank and her story at the time of her life when she was in hiding.

Act I, Scenes 1-4

Scene 1

Scene 1 of the Diary of Anne Frank starts off at the top floor of an office building in Amsterdam, Holland on a late afternoon in November of 1945. It has a large room and two, slightly raised rooms on each side. The biggest room in the middle room is like a "family room" where everything happens. A man named Mr. Otto Frank comes into the small room at the top of a building, along with a pregnant girl named Miep. It is revealed that Mr. Frank plans to leave Amsterdam because it holds too many memories. He thanks Miep for helping him and his family during what he calls "the suffering". Miep then finds some of Mr. Frank's papers and he asks her to burn them. Along with the papers, Miep finds a diary and hands it to Mr. Frank. He finds out that his daughter Anne has been writing about her experiences in it. In her diary, Anne talks about how Jewish people such as her family, were being persecuted when Hitler came into power. One thing that the Nazi Germans did, was that they made them wear yellow Star of David to seperate them from everyone else. Soon after, the Frank family went into hiding, along with a family called the Van Daan family.

Scene 2

Scene 2 of the Diary of Anne Frank starts off on an early morning in July of 1942 with the Van Daan family waiting for the Frank family. The Van Daan family includes Mr. Van Daan, a tall, portly man in his late forties who loves to smoke: Mrs. Van Daan, a pretty woman in her early forties, and their son; Peter Van Daan, a shy, awkward sixteen year old boy. Since thay take long, they believe that the Nazi Green Police has caught them. Soon, the Frank family comes in, which includes Mr. Otto Frank, Mrs. Edith Frank, Margot Frank, and Anne Frank. A man named Mr. Kraller and Miep are the ones who help to hide the Frank and Van Daan families at the top of Mr. Kraller's warehouse. Mr. Kraller helps hide tham, while Miep helps to provide for them with food and books. After everyone introduces and meets each other, they lay down rules. The main rule is to keep quiet between eight in the morning and six in the evening, so that the workers below won't hear them. This includes only moving when nessecary, whispering, and not being able to use the restroom. Peter soon reveals that he has a cat named Mouschi, and he and Anne engage in a conversation about their school, Jewish Secondary. When Anne tries to leave, her father stops her and she realizes what "going into hiding" means.

Scene 3

Scene 3 of the Diary of Anne Frank starts off two months later at around six in the

evening. When the last person has left the warehouse, everyone gets excited and starts to act normal again. Anne asks Peter to dance, but he refuses because he isn't used to girls. When Mrs. Van Daan calls Peter out for arguing with Anne, she calls Anne Peter's girlfriend. Peter blushes and it is revealed that even though Peter doesn't really appear to like Anne, inside, he is in love with her. In turn, Anne asks Mrs. Van Daan about her boyfriends and she talks about a lot of boys liking her. She even tries to flirt with Mr. Frank. Soon after, Mrs. Van Daan has an argument with Mr. Van Daan over cigarettes and his smoking habits. Anne comments over the situation and Mr. Van Daan gets ticked off at her for being rude and talking so much. He tells Anne to be more like her sister Margot, more calm and respecting. Anne takes offense to this, saying that she will stand up for herself and what she believes in and will "fight" so that people won't "walk all over her." Soon, Mr. Kraller comes in and introduces a man named Mr. Dussel who comes into hiding with them. Mr. Dussel is a dentist who is also being persicuted and moves in with the Franks and Van Daans.

Scene 4

This is NOT the Nazi Green Police that caught Jewish people, rather it is the modern day Green Police that catches you for not being environmentally friendly, or "green".

Scene 4 of the Diary of Anne Frank starts off in the middle of the night a few months later. Anne has a nightmare about the Green Police catching her and her family. She lets out loud cries as everyone in the room tries to calm her down, and make sure that she didn't make enough noise for anyone to notice the families in hiding. Mrs. Frank comes in to comfort Anne, but Anne neglects her mother and refuses to talk to her. She asks her mother to leave her alone and to ask her father to come instead. Mrs. Frank feels hurt and Margot tries to comfort her by saying that it's just a phase of Anne growing up. When Mr. Frank comes in with Anne, he gives her a sleeping pill and talks with her. Anne explains that she prefers Mr. Frank over Mrs. Frank because Mr. Frank listens to her. In turn, when Anne tries to talk with Mrs. Frank, Mrs. Frank tries to change the subject of the conversation. While Mr. Frank understands Anne, he tells her that Mrs. Frank is hurt and crying. Anne tries to explain that she is trying to be good and have a nicer side, but before she can finish her statement, she falls asleep.

What is Drama?

I beieve that when most people think of Drama, they think of problems. The types of problems are usually very loud and very violent. This can include arguments, fights, quarrels, and just everyday issues that stress people out. At school one day, one of my friends told me that they had Drama in their lives. This person was talking about the stressful situations that his sister created for him, and about how their fights and arguments have been stressing him out. This is an example of how Drama is a huge problem sometimes.

However, I am here to talk about the literary genre of Drama. A Drama is a narrative that contains eight major components. These are a Play, Stage Direction, Dialouge, the Set/Stage, Plot, Theme, Costumes, and Music/Lighting. Each of these components play an important role in making Drama a very special type of problem and/or situation of a story that is meant to be acted out. Here is a breakdown of these major components.

Play
A play is a visual action of a drama scene. It is a narrative that is meant to be acted out. It has a very special format (in terms of the writing style), that shows each person how to act out a certain character's role.

Stage Direction
Stage Direction shows the actors what to do. It shows in parentheses or italics what the character is supposed to sound like or what the character is supposed to de when saying their lines. It is important so that the audience knows about the character's expression and personality, while the actor is acting out the character's role.

Dialogue
Dialogue is the actor's lines. It tells the actors what the characters say and how they say it. The dialouge is the basis of the play, because it is most of the story itself, and the conversations between the characters.

Set/Stage
The set/stage is the area where the actors perform. It is usually a raised platform with the audience being able to see some part of the stage. It is usually a wide open area so that actors can perform.

Plot
The plot is the blueprint for the story. It shows how the story is going to go from beginning to end, and outlines the major events that happen in a story. It usually follows the plot diagram, which has an Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.

Theme
The theme is the subject of the play. In drama, there are seven major types of themes. They are tragedy, revenge, family, love, war, bravery, and redemption.

Costumes
The costumes are the part of the play that are the most revealing. They tell about the play's time period, the personality of the character, their fashion, and their social status. They also tell about the area that people live in, such as the climate of their area, the type of area (urban, suburban, rural, etc.), and more.

Music/Lighting
The music provides the tone for the play, and the melody shows the mood. For example, a slow tune might lead the audience to believe that the scene of the play is about to be sad.The lighting helps to reveal the characters, while colored lighting shows the mood. A variety of bright lights can be portrayed as a happy scene, while a dim, blue light can be portrayed as a sad scene.

That's what drama is in literature. A play with a situation meant to be acted out. I hope that this information was helpful.