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I get cross, then sad, and finally end up turning my heart inside out, the bad part on the outside and the good part on the inside, and keep trying to find a way to become what I’d like to be and what I could be if . . . if only there were no other people in the world.

This statement ends Anne Frank’s last diary entry, written on August 1, 1944. Anne does not intend to end her diary at this point: to her, it is just the end of a regular day of hiding in the annex. However, this turns out to be her last entry because the Nazis arrest her and her family just three days later. It serves as a fitting conclusion to Anne’s development and personal growth during her time in the annex. Since her time in hiding coincides with puberty, Anne constantly struggles with her identity and her evolving sense of self. She tries to figure out her role within the annex and how she fits into the war and suffering in the outside world. Anne believes that she is a good person, but she also realizes that because of her confinement, she is unable to reach her true potential until she is released back to her normal life after the war. Anne’s words resonate even more profoundly because we know that within months these “other people” kill her in the concentration camp. Anne is never allowed to reach her full potential and never gets the chance to become the good person she has in mind.

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