“Give” is an essay written March 26, 1944, by Anne Frank while she was hiding from the Nazis who occupied Holland where she was living during World War II.
Give” by Anne Frank
“Give” is an essay written March 26, 1944, by Anne Frank while she was hiding from the Nazis who occupied Holland where she was living during World War II. She was 14 years old when she wrote this and other essays. Frank wrote her diary and essays expecting them to be published after the war. However, she was arrested August 4, 1944, and ultimately died in a concentration camp, along with the rest of her family. Only her father survived the Nazi concentration camp. After the war, he found and published her diary and essays.
Did any of those people in their warm and cozy living rooms have any idea what kind of life a
beggar leads? Did any of those ‘good’ and ‘kind’ people ever wonder about the lives of so many
children and adults around them? Granted, everyone has given a coin to a beggar at some time or
another, though they usually just shove it into his hand and slam the door. And in most cases the
generous donors think it’s disgusting to touch that hand! Am I right or not? Then, afterwards, people
are amazed that beggars are so shameless! Wouldn’t you be shameless too if you were treated more like a dog than a human being?
It’s terrible, really terrible that people treat each other this way in a country like Holland, which
claims to have such a good social system and so many decent, upstanding citizens. In the eyes of
most of the well-to-do, a beggar is an inferior being, somebody who’s scruffy and unwashed, pushy
and rude. But have they ever asked themselves how beggars got to be that way?
You should try comparing one of those beggar children with your own children! What’s the
difference? Yours are pretty and neat, the others are ugly and ragged! Is that all? Yes, that’s all, that’s
the only difference. If you dressed one of those urchins in nice clothes and taught him good manners, there wouldn’t be a whit of difference!
Everyone is born equal; we all come into the world helpless and innocent. We all breathe the
same air, and many of us believe in the same God. And yet, and yet, to many people this one small
difference is a huge one. It’s huge because many people have never realized what the difference is,
for if they had, they would have discovered long ago that there’s actually no difference at all.
Everyone is born equal; we will all die and shed our earthly glory. Riches, power and fame last
for only a few short years. Why do we cling so desperately to these fleeting things? Why can’t people who have more than enough for their own needs give the rest to their fellow human beings? Why should anyone have to have such a hard life for those few short years on earth?
But above all, a gift should never be flung in anyone’s face—every person has a right to
kindness. Why should you be nicer to a rich lady than to a poor one? Has anyone ever studied the
difference in their characters? Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just
people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness. If
we were to start by adding to that goodness instead of stifling it, by giving poor people the feeling that they too are human beings, we wouldn’t necessarily have to give money or material things since not everyone has them to give.
Everything starts in small ways, so in this case you can begin in small ways, too. On trams, for
example, don’t just offer your seat to rich mothers; think of the poor ones, too. And say, “excuse me”
when you step on a poor person’s toe, just as you say it to a rich one. It takes so little effort, yet it
means so much. Why shouldn’t you show a little kindness to those poor urchins who are already so
deprived?
We all know that a good example is more effective than advice. So set a good example, and it
won’t take long for others to follow. More and more people will become kind and generous until finally no one will ever again look down on those without money.
Oh, if only we were there already! If only Holland, then Europe and finally the whole world
realized how unfair it was being; if only the time would come when people treated each other with
genuine good will, in the realization that we’re all equal and worldly things are transitory. How
wonderful it is that no one has to wait, but can start right now to gradually change the world! How
wonderful it is that everyone, great and small, can immediately help bring about justice by giving of
themselves!
As with so many things, most people seek justice in very different quarters, and grumble
because they themselves receive so little of it. Open your eyes, be fair in your own dealings first! Give whatever there is to give! You can always, always give something, even if it’s a simple act of
kindness! If everyone were to give in this way and didn’t scrimp on kindly words, there would be much more love and justice in the world!
Give and you shall receive, much more than you ever thought possible. Give and give again.
Keep hoping, keep trying, keep giving! *People who give will never be poor. If you follow this advice,
within a few generations, people will never have to feel sorry for poor little beggar children again
because there won’t be any! The world has plenty of room, riches, money and beauty. God has
created enough for each and every one of us. Let us begin by dividing it more fairly.
*This was a favorite saying of Anne’s grandmother, which was often quoted by the Frank family:
“People who give will never be poor.”
PLEASE AFTER READING THE “Give” by Anne Frank
ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS: FROM # 1 TO # 4 THANK YOU!!
#1
What is the Context or background (what was happening in Frank’s life when she wrote this story?)
#2
What is the issue or problem she is discussing?
#3
Discuss her arguments and what is the quotes to support those arguments.
#4
What thinks the opinion as to whether Frank’s use of rhetorical strategies is convincing to persuade us of her arguments?
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