dagblog - Comments for "Anne Frank as Literature"

As king o' crank guess i

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 14:09:29 +0000

In reply to Don't have to get snippy, PP.

As king o' crank guess i can't throw crank stones - glad u njoyed

Don't have to get snippy, PP.

Ramona — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:00:46 +0000

Don't have to get snippy, PP. It was just a simple comment. It's just that I've seen so much explanatory stuff about Anne Frank and what made her tick, I wrote that little jab even before I listened to Prose's talk--which was actually pretty interesting.

I really have no complaints about dissecting and analyzing works or looking at them from a historical POV as long as they don't try to get into the authors' minds. That seems to be inevitable, though, and it makes me cranky.

So I apologize for jumping the gun and I'm glad you brought that conversation here.

Occasionally someone

PeraclesPlease — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 05:08:25 +0000

In reply to What I meant, O Peracles.

Occasionally someone discovers something new, sees it in a new light - but will make sure not to irritate you with invitation to the next lecture ;-)

What I meant, O Peracles.

Ramona — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 02:31:09 +0000

In reply to So what do you think

What I meant, O Peracles. Please. Is that I hate analysts who decide they have to tell us what the author meant. They can't know what the author meant. I listened to most of Francine Prose's talk and the historical aspects were very interesting. But in "The Diary of Anne Frank", the words are those of an intelligent young girl. She writes clearly enough so that everything we need to know about her is in there.

What I thought I made clear was that this book was important to me as a young teen just as it was. Given that we know what happened to her and her family, how much more powerful can it be, now that Francine Prose has thrown out the revelation that is wasn't a diary but was, in fact, a memoir? Prose has written an entire book explaining why she came to that, and, while I found most of her talk outstanding, my very, very own opinion is that Anne Frank's words are all that ever mattered.

The book is a classic because Anne Frank wrote it in a way that resonated with millions of readers. We got it. We don't need, every few years, another lecture on what it was we got and why.

So what do you think

PeraclesPlease — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:15:02 +0000

In reply to No kidding. And what should

So what do you think "revisionist" in terms of Anne Frank means instead of "holocaust deniers"?

And I write a post describing and linking to a presentation by a literary analyst, and you respond by saying literary analysts suck almost as much as revisionists.

Great going - did you read your own comment? Basically "let readers figure it out for themselves, quit trying to discuss it as literature". Uh, otay. Sorry.

No kidding. And what should

Ramona — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 16:50:03 +0000

In reply to Your comment.

No kidding. And what should I take from it? That your opinion of one portion of a sentence in my short comment is so important it requires hundreds of words, ending for good measure in a mention of holocaust deniers?

I thought when you posted your piece about Anne Frank you might actually want comments that were actually opinions.

So, again--what in the HELL are you talking about?

Your comment.

PeraclesPlease — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 16:33:16 +0000

In reply to What in the HELL are you

Your comment.

What in the HELL are you

Ramona — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 16:14:44 +0000

In reply to "Surely" nothing. Different

What in the HELL are you talking about?

"Surely" nothing. Different

PeraclesPlease — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:56:33 +0000

In reply to I read it soon after it first

"Surely" nothing.

Different people like different things.

Some watch baseball on TV with sound off, some like the play-by-play, some only appreciate it in a stadium.

Some people like reading Moby Dick as an adventure story, some like wading into all the hidden significance of Ishmael and Queequeg and the path of the boat, etc. etc.

Your point of view is just one personal preference. You're welcome to it as others are welcome to theirs.

Some people might like reading the story and then getting more information on the times she lived in, specific current events, what her family situation was, real-life hopes and dreams and sadnesses.

Knowing she extensively re-edited the book at 15 might change it for some (for better or worse), might mean nothing for others. Your mileage may vary.

"Unadulterated and undisturbed"- well her father had 2 versions to work from (original & Anne's edited text) and created a 3rd for his family in Switzerland, a 4th for first publication and a 5th edited to be more restrained for general publication in 1947, which was translated in 1952. It wasn't until 1987 that the original texts made it to the public, and in 1995 a translation based on these was released.

Some people might be interested in understanding which versions they're reading and how that affects the language and censored bits for a prudish public that couldn't deal with teenage sexuality. (Ironically, the newer more authentic version was banned in Virginia and replaced with the old version for classes to avoid any hint of lesbian activity).

Some people might like knowing that she'd re-edited it for mass publication, based on an encouraging radio broadcast, and not just as a private journal thought to stay private.

But good to know literary critics are right down there with holocaust deniers. A comment to cherish.

I read it soon after it first

Ramona — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:04:48 +0000

In reply to Anne Frank as Literature

I read it soon after it first came out in 1952. I was 16 years old, and all of my friends were reading it. We weren't reading it as critics but as Anne's peers, and it was stunning to us that a girl that young (and in such a predicament) could write like that. I cried for days over it, and there's no doubt that it planted the writing seed in whatever part of me needed to grow it.

I hate literature analysts almost as much as I hate revisionists. There are some works that are best left to the readers unadulterated and undisturbed. This is surely one of them.