“Kindness” and “hope” are two simple words. One could look them up in a dictionary, define them, write them, and do what they wish with them. However, to know and to act are two different things. Kindness can be define as “the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. ” Kindness is doing your best to make sure that the people around you are happy. It is not being afraid to help others even when there is no way of them paying you back. Kindness is not just doing the right thing, but going above and beyond the call. Hope is another simple word with a loaded meaning.
Hope, according to Google, is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. ” No matter how rough the circumstance, to be hopeful is to remain optimistic that something will happen. Hope is to stay positive even when the world is falling down around you. Hope is instilled in Anne Frank until the very last day. The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett is a play adaption of the famous novel. The play goes through some of the events that happened to the Frank family and the other people hiding in the attic.
Although Anne is young, her ideas of hope and kindness in her diary and play shine through as major themes despite the tragic events going on around her. Despite her spunky personality and a filter that sometimes comes off, Anne’s kindness is infectious. During Hanukkah, Anne finds a way to give everyone living in the attic a gift (1. 5. 1728-1785). She couldn’t go shopping to find gifts but still manages to give something to meaningful to everyone, even people who she has had disagreements with.
Anne erases all of the answers in Margot’s crossword puzzle so she can do them again, makes shampoo out of soap for Mrs. Van Daan, cigarettes for Mr. Van Daan, an “. O. U. ” to her mother, a scarf to her father, ear plugs to Dussel a razor for Peter, and even makes a gift for Mouschi. Anne knows that no one else is able to give gifts. She does this out of the pure kindness of her heart. In addition, one of Anne’s most famous quotes is “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart. ” (2. 5. 1372).
Anne has been hiding in an attic in danger of being murdered simply because of her religion. The fact that she is still able to forgive people for the evil inside of them despite this speaks volumes about her character. She is forgiving, caring, generous, and the epitome of kind. In addition to kindness, Anne also maintains an unwavering sense of hope. In an argument with Mr. Van Daan, Anne says that she is going to Paris to study music and art, sing or dance, or be “something wonderful. ” (1. 3. 968-973) Anne is stuck in the attic without her friends and life she grew up knowing.
At any moment, she could be shoved in a cattle car and shipped off to her death. However, she remains committed to her future. She has hopes and dreams and is determined to get there some day. Even though her circumstance is lonely and desperate, Anne still has hope that one day she will be free and famous. When a thief enters the home, the group is terrified that they will be caught. They know that they are close to being discovered and led to a life of misery. However, Anne does not let this get her down.
She keeps her positive attitude and hope that things will get better by breaking out into a Hanukkah song about the “sweet celebration. ” The whole group joins her in singing the celebratory song (1. 5. 2107). Anne’s hope and faith in the future is contagious and provides a sense of calm to the group after a very scary situation. Instead of letting their fear and panic take over, Anne takes it upon herself to remain calm and see the best in the situation. Of all of the possible outcomes that could come out of her family being in hiding, Anne chooses to focuses on the best.
All of the people hiding in the attic bring different traits to the table, and one of Anne’s is, without a doubt, a beacon of hope for them all. Through these events in the play adapted from Anne’s diary, we can see examples of the kindness and hope that Anne possessed even in the hardest of times. In a desperate situation, Anne has every reason to shut down in fear and give up. But she makes the choice to remain hopeful for herself and for those around here, stating “what’s the good of thinking of misery when you’re already miserable?
That’s stupid! ” (2. 1. 330-331). Anne did her best to live with “good” in mind. Like all people, she had her flaws. She sometimes was rude and some of her words could cut like a blade. However, these traits show that Anne was a real person. She still choose to live the last years of her life with generosity and positivity. Although her life was cut tragically short, Anne Frank’s character has helped her leave her print on the world, truly embodying the “something wonderful” she always dreamed she would be.