The ability to write down one's emotions and thoughts enables individuals to undergo a catharsis of sorts when under duress. Fundamentally, a diary, or Journal, is a permanent personal record that is kept of events, thoughts, and ideas associated with an individual. They retain great significance in an individual's life, and hold a great deal of sentimental value. The Diary of a Young girl (1952) written by Anne Frank and the film, Freedom Writers (2007) directed by Richard Laggardness, explore this cleansing of the psyche as individuals undergo an introspective, reflective process.
Diaries hold a great deal of sentimental value, especially to those in society who are in need of a confidant, whilst also providing a significant backdrop to withhold such sentimentality from the external environment. Diaries retain great significance in an individua
...l's life. Communicating one's thoughts and feelings on paper can essentially preserve external relationships. Diaries allow the notion of self- discovery through the process of reflection and lastly, personal writing brings an individual's subconscious emotions to the fore, allowing one to express himself rather than to suppress his emotions.
Diaries hold a great deal of sentimental value, especially to those in society who are in need of a confidant, whilst also providing a significant backdrop to withhold such sentimentality from the external environment. When Anne Frank first begins writing in her diary as a 13 year-old girl, she feels that her friends and family all misunderstand her. She thinks her mother is cold and callous, and feels that the other adults in the annex consider her a nuisance. Thus, she first turns to the diary as a new friend, counting on th
diary to be a sympathetic, nonjudgmental adherent. Hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support" Through the use of 2nd person and the personification of her diary, Anne effectively places her diary in the same esteem as that of a person. Diaries retain great significance in an individual's life. Expressing one's thoughts and feelings on paper can essentially preserve external relationships. Writing diligently in her diary helps Anne Frank redirect her strong feelings instead of expressing them outright and causing damage to the fragile relationships within the annex.
When everyone around her is feeling anxious and tense, Anne turns to her diary because she does not want to burden the already overtaxed adults with her own concerns. In this way, Anne becomes very independent at a young age. "l can shake off everything as I write, my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. " Through the multiple metaphors, Anne meritoriously expresses the importance of her diary. In a further exploration of personal writing, diaries allow the notion of self-discovery wrought the process of reflection.
In her final diary entries, Anne is particularly lucid about the changes she has undergone, her ambitions, and how her experience is changing her. Anne writes eloquently about her confusion over her identity, raising the question of whether she will consider herself Dutch, as she hears that the Dutch have become anti-Semitic. Consequently, Anne thinks philosophically about the nature of war and humanity and about her role as a young Jewish girl in a challenging world.
"Fine specimens of humanity, those Germans, and to think I'm actually one of them!
No, that's not true, Hitler took away our nationality long ago'. The negation of that's not true' indicates that Ann.'s stream-of-consciousness had led her to conclude that her identity was "stripped" long ago, and in doing so discovers her true identity. Thus, the reflective process allows self-discovery to manifest. Furthermore, introspective, reflective writing brings an individual's subconscious emotions to the fore. In the film Freedom writers Erin Gruel gives her students diaries in which to make daily entries on anything at all that come to mind.
Much like Anne Franks, their diaries essentially become a sort of refuge for them; a haven in which they can express the tension, mindless violence and sadness that dominates their lives, rather than suppressing it. "In every war, there is an enemy. I watched my mother being half beaten to death and watched as blood and tears streamed down her face. I felt useless and scared and furious at the same time". The repetition of 'and' in 'useless and scared and furious' signifies Brandy's mind state, in which she has not yet come to terms with the events involved in his mother's death
