Comparison Of Manzanar And Anne From The Diary Of Anne Frank

Despite being thousands of miles apart many experiences these two characters shared were shared were similar. Anne from the Diary of Anne Frank written as a play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett is a teenage girl who had to go into hiding when Jews were being persecuted. She seeks and sees the good in everything and enjoys having fun. Jeanne from Farewell to Manzanar was seven years old when she and her family had to leave their homes leaving many possessions. She, like Anne sees the good in everything and the best in every bad situations. These two, living on the other side of the ocean from each other not knowing of each other's existence still share many traits.

Anne, a thirteen years old girl from Holland when she first went into

hiding had received a diary for her birthday. She wrote down her experiences and thoughts while hiding in the annex which later turns into a book. The main problem faced by Anne is living under the rule of Hitler and the Nazi party while being excluded and neglected by many people for being Jewish. This caused her and her family to hide in the Annex for the remainder of the war which came in 1945. During this they face fear, starvation, and lack of communication with the outside.This story began in 1942 which meant she would be indoors for over a year. Events that affected Anne include having to live with the thought of being caught and the war in the back of her mind. She wrote in her diary that she had nightmares of being caught by the Germans. A second problem would have been the amount of people in the crowded annex. With a total of eight people living there, two families and Mr.Dussel, food was in short supply. A third thing that could affect Anne would be the workers downstairs. They could not move or make a sound throughout most of the day. This meant no talking, no walking, or running the water. Lastly, there were many disputes and arguments amongst the people hiding in the annex. This caused person v.s. Person conflicts within the annex.Not only did they have arguments with Anne they had them with each other. Throughout the story Anne matures into a young adult. She becomes sassy and somewhat rude all the while being polite and respectful. She believes nobody in the annex aside from her father understands her problems. On some days she may act mature and help around the annex as to others she may act childish and run around the annex. The problem of having to hide in the annex was resolved to some extent. The people in hiding were all caught by the Germans and sent to concentration camps. For all others except Anne this was the worst experience in their life. After hiding in the annex for over a year being outside may have been the one thing she wanted. However the nazi regime was out to capture all those who opposed or were considered racially inferior. Unfortunately, like millions of others Anne and her family, excluding Mr.Frank perished due to the Germans.
Jeanne, from the story Farewell to Manzanar is a young Japanese-American girl who was born in the United States.

She lived in Ocean Park, California before being relocated to Manzanar. Jeanne did not fully understand why she was being relocate until later in the story. Until this moment she was like any other American citizen and believed so herself. In this story Jeanne and her family were uprooted from their homes. She had to leave behind her friends and her home when she was relocated to Manzanar. When she arrives and when she leaves Jeanne and her family must rebuild their life. Some events affecting this character during the story is the climate and housing at Manzanar. In the summer the winds were hot carrying sand with risks of sandstorms. In the winters temperatures plummeted compared to those in the summer. The housing was first a small home made of simply planks of wood nailed together. There were holes and crevices where sand would be able to get through. Another event would be her father who had been sent to prison. When the moment the family waited months for had come Jeanne’s father was a beatdown old man who did not look the same. Her father would always drink alcohol and yell. He was not the same man he was before he left which was very confusing and troublesome for the family. During the course of the story Jeanne learns new skills and joins groups within the camp. One was a batton tossing group and the other, a catholic church. While in the camp she

learns about what is happening outside with the violence and hatred among Japanese people. She went from wanting to go out to having second thoughts about it. Along with this when Jeanne came into Manzanar she was a naive seven year old girl. As the story progressed she became much more aware of the true meaning of Manzanar and all that is going on around her. The main problem is not resolved as soon as she left Manzanar. When Jeanne moved from Ocean Park to San Jose during her senior year of highschool she was elected carnival queen she felt much more accepted by her peers.

Both characters in these stories always see something good in a situation or a problem.

In The Diary of Anne Frank one of the last lines written on page 778 state “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” This “everything” she wrote in her diary may have been the persecution of the Jews. Anne believes it was not the soldiers’ fault for this. In Farewell to Manzanar it Jeanne writes “I would absorb such rejections and keep on looking, because for some reason the scholarship society and the athletic league and the yearbook staff didn't satisfy me, were never quite enough.” Although she was rejected for simply being foreign she continued to look on. Even though this was a bad situation Jeanne like many others wanted to be popular. Even in an anti Japanese time she continued pursuing seeing that there was something better. Secondly, both characters were affected by a character v.s. Society conflict. With this they, and other people they knew were taken or give limitaions.It states in The Diary of Anne Frank “They forced father out of his business. We had to wear yellow stars. Had to turn in my bike. I couldn’t go to a Dutch school anmore. I couldn't go to the movies, or ride an automobile, or even go on a steer car, and a million other things.” As you can see the society affected Anne and the other Jews heavily. Jeanne did face a problem somewhat like this. Jeanne writes in her book Farewell to Manzanar “He was not only an alien; he held a

commercial fishing license, and in the early days of the war the FBI was picking up all such men, for fear they were somehow making contact with enemy ships off the coast.” Jeanne and her family all struggled as the government took away their father. Both characters have experienced a right, person, or possessions being taken from them. Although sharing many similarities these characters do have differences. One would include the seriousness of their situation. On page 730 of The Diary of Anne Frank Anne screams in her dream “No!No! Don’t...don’t take me!” This shows Anne’s situation is much like a life or death situation. However in Jeanne’s case she is simply being relocated from her previous home. In Farewell to Manzanar it states “The fact that America had accused us, or excluded us, or imprisoned us, or whatever it might be called, did not change the kind of world we wanted. Most of us were born in this country; we had no other models. Those parks and gardens lent it an oriental character, but in most ways it was a totally equipped American small town…” Unlike Anne’s situation Jeanne and her family were able to go outside with parks and activities instead of being locked indoors. A second thing Anne and Jeanne do not have in common was their living environment. Anne, from The Diary of Anne Frank has a very uncomfortable living situation compared to Jeanne. On page 706 it states “While the men are in the building below, we must have complete quiet.” These hours are between eight-thirty in the morning to five-thirty in the afternoon. There must be complete silence throughout the building. However Jeanne from Farewell to Manzanar stated this “Camp authorities frowned on mess hall hopping and tried to stop it, but the good cooks liked it. They liked to see long lines outside their kitchens and would work overtime to attract a crowd.” Unlike Anne, who got her meals in rations weekly, Jeanne got a cooked meal everyday and was allowed to get seconds. This shows how both characters were placed into difficult situations due to something they cannot change. But, with their similarities and their difference treated the situation similarly despite being given different odds.

Although these characters were placed in different situations in differents of the world, many experiences and struggles shared between them were similar. Anne was treated differently from the other citizens simply for being Jewish. However, Anne still managed to stay happy and spread joy across the annex. Jeanne was also treated differently for being a Japanese-American. Like Anne she spread happiness and a would stay happy even in tough times. Throughout the story both may have matured and had problems of their own, but they overcame it understandings their own strengths. Despite being treated awfully and undergoing difficult times both characters still managed to pull through.