The document discusses elements of drama found in The Diary of Anne Frank, including dramatic irony, flashbacks, and characterization. It notes that dramatic irony exists because the audience knows Anne and the others will not survive, while they do not. Flashbacks interrupt the present action to show earlier events. The characters both change and remain the same in their relationships and as they deal with conflicts while in hiding during the Holocaust.

1. How do you keep from
giving up?
“The Diary of Anne Frank”

2. Agree? Somewhat…? Disagree?
After reading each statement,
decide whether you:
 Agree
 Somewhat agree/disagree
 Disagree
Be ready to discuss your decision.

3. Agree? Somewhat…? Disagree?
I treat all groups of
people the same
way.

4. Agree? Somewhat…? Disagree?
I don’t hate anyone.

5. Agree? Somewhat…? Disagree?
I would risk my life
for my family.

6. Agree? Somewhat…? Disagree?
I would risk my life
for my friends

7. Agree? Somewhat…? Disagree?
I would risk my life
for a stranger.

8. Agree? Somewhat…? Disagree?
I get angry when I
am not treated
fairly.

9. Agree? Somewhat…? Disagree?
If it hadn’t been for
Hitler, the Holocaust
would never have
happened.

10. Agree? Somewhat…? Disagree?
What is done cannot be
undone, but one can
prevent it from
happening again.

11. Agree? Somewhat…? Disagree?
It is okay to ignore
things that are
wrong if they don’t
affect you directly.

12. Agree? Somewhat…? Disagree?
In spite of
everything, people
are really good at
heart.

13. What are the consequences of silence?
“In Germany, they came first for the communists, and I didn’t
speak up because I was not a communist.
Then, they came for the Jews and I didn’t speak up because I
was not a Jew.
Then, they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then, they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up
because I was a Protestant.
Then, they came for me and by that time, no one was left of
speak up.”
-Pastor Martin Niemoller

14. Holocaust Pre-reading
Imagine that you and your family had to go
into hiding in order to survive and avoid being
separated from each other.
Express how you feel about leaving your home
and friends.

15. Holocaust Pre-reading
During hiding, your very survival is dependant
on the goodness and charity of others.
Would you be willing to risk your life for
someone you hardly know, understanding that
if you are caught, you will be put to death?

16. Elements of Drama:
Basic Dramatic Principles
Exposition (Background Information)
 introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation
Initial Conflict
 struggle, main problem
Complications (Rising Action)
 disagreements, additional problems
Climax
 moment of greatest interest or suspense; the turning point
Denouement (Resolution)
 how the play ends (final act)

17. Elements of Drama
 Act and Scene:
 Dramas are divided into acts and scenes. Acts and scenes
are important because they organize and add dramatic
emphasis to a story. In live performance you can identify a
scene by a brief break in the story or blackout on the stage.
Breaks between acts are much longer and often present
major changes when the story resumes.
 Act
 A major division of a drama that usually focuses on one
piece of the plot or theme of the play.
 Acts are divided into scenes (similar to chapters in a book).
 Scene
 Presents action in one place or situation.

18. Elements of Drama
 Stage Directions:
 Stage directions are the instructions written into
the script of a play that describe the characters,
sets, costumes, and lighting.
 They give the readers insight into what the author
intends for the visual aspects of settings and
specific actions.
 Stage directions appear in italics offset by
brackets.

19. Elements of Drama
 Irony: occurs when there is a difference between
what is expected and what actually happens in a short
story, poem, or play.
 Situational irony
 An author creates situational irony when a character expects a
particular outcome, but the opposite occurs.
 Dramatic irony
 An author creates dramatic irony when the reader or audience has
important information that the character or characters do not have.
 For example, dramatic irony may result when a character lacks self-
awareness and acts according to false ideas.
 How is the play, “The Diary of Anne Frank” an
example of dramatic irony?
 We (audience/readers) know that Anne and the others will not
survive.

20. Elements of Drama
 Flashback:
 An interruption in the present action to show
events that happened at an earlier time.

21. Characters in Crisis (Conflict):
 Every play centers on a crisis, a situation of danger or
difficulty that places something of great value at risk: life,
love, family, and pride, anything that is precious to them.
 The crisis may arise because the characters want something
for which they must struggle with someone else (external
conflict) or with themselves (internal conflict).
 The crisis may also arise because the characters want to
remove a threat to their safety or happiness.
 Character cannot avoid the situation and must stay and face the threat =
external conflict
 Character chooses to avoid the threat = internal conflict

22. Making a Change (Characterization):
 Most plays are about change, both in characters and
in their relationships.
 In The Diary of Anne Frank both dynamic and static
characters exist.
 These changes come about as the characters work out
their conflicts.
 In The Diary of Anne Frank, we see several of the
characters change as a result, some becoming wiser and
more generous, others pettier and more self-centered.