Anne Frank Obra

Before Reading

The Diary of Anne Frank
VIDEO TRAILER
KEYWORD: HML8-508

Video link at thinkcentral.com

Drama by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett

What will you have on the world?
RL 2 Determine a theme of a text and analyze its development, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot. RL 10 Read and comprehend dramas.

IMPACT

Everyone makes an impact onthe world in some way. National leaders or sports heroes may inspire millions, while the rest of us can influence a smaller circle of friends and family through our actions, our beliefs, or our commitments. Whether you make your mark quietly or boldly, a life well lived can be a guide to others. In the play you’re about to read, a young girl doesn’t realize that the thoughts she expresses in herdiary will later influence readers all over the world. QUICKWRITE People of all ages make important contributions to the world. What impact do you now have on others? What impact do you hope to have later in your life? Write your ideas in a brief journal entry. Think about how education and life experience might affect your goals for the future.

508

text analysis: theme

Meet the AuthorsFrances Goodrich
1890–1984 1900–1995

The play you are about to read is based on a diary written by Anne Frank, a teenager who spent more than two years hiding from the Nazis. When Anne’s diary was published, readers around the world were profoundly touched that, despite all she had been through, she still believed people were good at heart. When the playwrights adapted Anne’s diary, they used herbelief in the essential goodness of people as one of the work’s themes, or messages about life. As you read, notice how Anne’s thoughts and feelings, as well as the characters, setting, and plot, work together to express this theme. In a drama, a playwright must communicate all the information about the characters through dialogue, or words spoken by the actors, and stage directions, ordirections to the crew and actors. This can be challenging when the protagonist (the main character) is going through internal changes, or when an antagonist (a force in opposition to the protagonist) is something other than a character. As you read, notice how Goodrich and Hackett meet this challenge. In a chart like the one shown, note important information you learn about Anne and about the Nazioccupation.
Information About Anne Information About Nazi Occupation

Albert Hackett
From Comedies to Drama Screenwriting team Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett were a married couple known for their upbeat comedies and musicals. In the late 1940s, they began working on a drama that would take eight years to complete. Their play, The Diary of Anne Frank, was based on Anne Frank’s diary entries. Aspart of their research, the couple traveled to Amsterdam to interview Anne’s father and to see the family’s hiding place. Their play adaptation won a Pulitzer Prize in 1956.

reading strategy: reading a drama

background to the play

vocabulary in context

The following words help the playwrights capture Anne’s experiences. To see how many you know, try to match each word from the list withthe word or phrase closest in meaning.

word list

apprehension disgruntled foreboding

fortify indignantly pandemonium

remorse unabashed

Anne Frank’s Diary Anne Frank and her family were Jewish citizens of Germany. When the Nazi party, led by Adolf Hitler, came to power in 1933, the Nazis blamed the country’s problems on the Jews. Jews were stripped of their rights. Many wereeventually sent to concentration camps, where more than 6 million died in what became known as the Holocaust. The Franks moved to the Netherlands to escape persecution, but the Nazis invaded that country in 1940. In order to survive, Anne’s family went into hiding when she was 13 years old. They hid in attic rooms behind Mr. Frank’s office, and several other Jews joined them. In this “Secret Annex,”...