The Diary of Anne Frank Essay

The Diary of Anne Frank Play

Act 1 scene 5 is the dramatic climax of act 1 in the drama “The Diary of Anne Frank” written by Goodrich and Hackett. The play is based on the Diary of Anne Frank kept during the two years they were in hiding from the Nazis, 1942-1944. The Franks were hiding in with another family, the Van Daans. Both of these families were hiding in the attic of Mr. Frank’s business in Amsterdam. It is an important scene in the play as it is a major turning point.

The Franks and the Van Daans have been in hiding for 6 months and are performing there ritual Hanukkah, then they hear a noise downstairs everyone slips there shoes off and, Peter goes to switch the light off but in the process trips over a chair and makes a racket ,the person downstairs is scared and rushes off . After this everyone jumps to conclusion “it’s the green police they’ve found us” and “no it’s a thief looking for money”. Mr. Frank tells everyone to calm down. Mr. Frank goes downstairs to check what has happened as he gets downstairs the green police and someone enter the flat. He rushes back upstairs at the first time possible and bolts the door behind him at the end of the scene the two families join in sing a Hanukkah song as this calms everyone down again and all tension has gone. For now

Act 1 scene 5 is a significant scene because it is a major turning point in the play as the families do not have a clue what’s going to happen next. Are they caught? Or are they safe? Who knows at this point? Act 1 scene 5 is a significant scene as the scene tells us a lot about the characters especially Mr. Frank, this scene confirms what we know about Mr. Frank, but also shows us another side of him that we have not seen in previous parts of the play. We find out that he is courageous as he goes to investigate. He has no idea what awaits him obviously he has some fear of what he is going to find as who wouldn’t? But Mr. Frank doesn’t express his fear the same way you or I would he keeps it hid but it is still there. We also find out that he is logical as he bows out the candles to save them for the next day. It also shows he is intelligent as right at the end of the scene he asks Anne to sing knowing it would raise everyone’s spirits. Peter and Anne are also very different in this scene. Peter has become more confident around everyone and has learned to express his self-better and shows some feelings towards Anne. Anne has matured a bit since the start of the play and starts to have feelings for Peter.

Act 1 Scene 5 is important as it is the first time that the groups’ mood changes from content to extremely cautious it is when the burglar breaks into the building and attempts to break into the safe they make a noise upstairs and the burglar runs for his life. The thing is they don’t know it was a burglar for all they knew is that it could have been the green police coming to get them. The families are then unsure whether they’re caught or if they are safe. You could cut the tension in the attic with a butter knife. Mr. Frank decides that it is not safe until he checks, so Mr. Frank being who he is decides he has to check down the stairs. He goes downstairs and notices that the door is wide open he goes towards the door to shut it over then somebody comes in he then quickly jumps in to a hallway and waits until the person isn’t looking goes back upstairs and declares “the danger is over now”. This statement from Mr. Frank is important as it clears any of the uncertainty that anyone has about their safety.

This scene is clearly very important in the development of the play as a whole because from this point onwards the family feels they are safe because of Mr. Frank’s clever statement but even though Mr. Frank has said the dangers is over everyone will still have the little voice in their head saying that they are caught.