Life for Anne, as for everyone in the annex, was stifling, claustrophobic, and scary. Everyone knew that, at any moment, their hiding place could be discovered. This was literally a matter of life and death; if the secret annex was found by the authorities, then Anne, her family, and her neighbors, could end up being killed. Sadly for Anne and most of her family, this is exactly what did happen.
Most families have more than their fair share of tensions, but when you're forced to share close, confined spaces, they can become unbearable. Anne was never particularly close to her mother, but life in the annex made their already fraught relationship even more difficult. At least in a normal house you can, to some extent, avoid other people if you have a problem with them. But you can't do that in such a claustrophobic environment. It's inevitable, then, that Anne...
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and her mother often get on each other's nerves. Anne's frustrations spill over into her diary, and the lack of love and respect from her mother is a constant theme.
Yet despite all this, Anne still displays a remarkable degree of maturity for her age. Her fundamental humanity shines through on every page of her diary, even amidst all the inevitable difficulties, frustrations, and fears relating to such a cramped existence. Although the experience of being forced to live in the annex may have shaped the diary, it didn't completely shape Anne, or define her character. Despite all her various travails, she still comes through in the diary as, in many respects, a normal young adult with the same loves, hopes, fears, and aspirations of countless others of her age.
Describe Anne Frank's family's life in the secret annex.