The Prince and the Pauper

Author: Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper is consisted of 33 chapters that are named shortly named and
announce the theme of the chapter. It is actually an additional comment of the story teller in
which we find out the faith of the characters after the novel is done. The novel has a short
prologue in which Twain speaks of the difference between literature and history in a way it was
stated by a Greek philosopher. It states that history tells what happened and literature tells what
could have happened.

Identity swap is a common theme of literary works. It is how this novel begins. The characters
have difficulties dealing with their new roles and besides their physical similarity they share
some characteristics that help them get through. Identity swap gives the writer endless
opportunities of tangling the plot and getting characters into unbelievable situations. The beauty
of the novel is in its moral that in life moral strength and endless faith in justice is enough to
keep us going on. It’s the only way to get the earned prize in life.

Summary

In the 16th century in London a very poor boy named Tom meets Prince Edward. Edward was
thirsty for adventures and games without keeping in mind that there is a whole new world
outside the palace while Tom wanted to be wealthy. One day the guards acted badly towards Tom
who wanted to see the prince and an interesting story starts there. Edward felt sorry for the poor
boy and invites him to play together. Through they playtime they realize they both want to be the
other one and decide to change their clothes and switch roles.

When Tom was taking of his shirt Edward saw a bruise and went to punish the guard but forgot
that he was wearing Toms clothes. The guard was convinced that he was the boy who tried to get
into the castle and kicks him out while Tom stays in the castle. Edward become a punch line
outside and has to save himself by running while Tom is believed to be the prince who lost his
mind all of the sudden and started acting strange. The servants were very considerate towards
him and did not tell a soul about his madness. Luckily Tom was learning fast and knew how to
behave because he always wanted to be a prince.

When the ill king Edward dies the prince is supposed to be crowned the king of Wales. That
causes Tom trouble, even though he enjoyed being a prince and was looking forward to being a
king. He got himself into the role of the prince so much that he decided to spare the life of two
convicts who were about to be executed. His nobleness causes admiration with the servants who
are convinced that the prince is getting better.

In the meantime Edward was still exposed to the attacks of the world and the worse moment was
when Toms father John gets a hold of him. The only person who suspected that it was not him
was his mother. Father Andrew tried to save him for Johns cruelty but ends up dead. Edward
manages to run away and decides to go to the castle to prove that he is the real prince. On his
way over he runs into a soldier and an adventurer who came back to England after a long period
of slavery.

Hendon was forced to leave his home and he felt sorry for the poor boy so he accepted to play
the role of the servant to the prince and be his protector. Unfortunately John manages to find
them and take Edward outside London into the barns where wanderers gathered. There Edward
was once again exposed to humiliation.

Edward manages to run away because the wanderers wanted him to rob and in his runaway he
finds a man who believed himself to be archangel. He believed the prince but he considered his
father to be the one to blame for everything wrong so he decides to kill Edward. In that moment
Miles Hendon comes along but the ‘’archangel’’ hides Edward and directs Hendon onto a wrong
lead. Edward was found by John who takes him back to the wanderers but the prince manages to
make friends there. Miles Hendon manages to find him in the most important moment when he
was accused of theft. Hendons resourcefulness saved him from death.

After that Miles and Edward went to the crowning where Tom forgets that he is not the real
prince. When his mother bows at his feet during the coronation he denies of her but feel guilty
instantly and because of that the honors of being a king lost their meaning. On the same day of
the coronation the two boys meet and manage to explain the situation but everybody believes in
it after Edward explains where the state seal is placed. Hendon was very surprised that Edward
was really a prince. After the coronation Hugh had to return Hendon his estate. Not much after
he died and finally Hendon was able to be with the women he loves which was Edith. Tom and
Hendon were in the kings mercy and Edward VI. was thought valuable life lessons and was
remembered as a good king.

Genre: novel

Author: Mark Twain biography

The Diary of a Young Girl

The diary of Anna Frank is one of the most shocking testimonies about anti-Semitism during the
II. World War. A little girl Anna Frank received a diary on her 13. birthday and from the twelfth
of June, 1942 until the first of August, 1944 she wrote down all of her experiences. Her diary,
after being published, was used as a base for many plays and movies.

Anna Frank was a happy and chatty girl that celebrated her thirteenth birthday on June the
twelfth, 1942. As a gift she got a diary and there begins the story that shocked the world. She
decided to write down her thoughts and feeling in the diary because she did not have a true friend
to share them with.
Even though she has a 3 years older sister, parents and relatives, she sometimes feels lonely
because nobody understands her and also her mother behaves as if she were her and her sisters
Margot friend. Despite the fact that people constantly surrounded her, she never managed to
make a deeper connection with anyone. In 1933 they moved to Netherlands where her father got
a job.

All of the relatives who left Germany behind felt the rage of anti-Semitism. After 1940 the war
gets to the family Frank and all of the other Jews who were standing on Hitlers way. The Jews
became second-class citizens by virtue of many laws that stripped them off their rights. They
were allowed to shop in specific shops in a specific time and they could not visit public places
like cinemas and theatres. They were ordered to be home at 8 and they had to wear The Star of
David on their clothes.

The ninth of July, 1942 was the day when Annas family had to hide in order to protect
themselves from being taken to the camps were Jews ended up during the World War II. The
people who worked with her father helped them find a shelter in a building where they worked
and since that day on Anna named her new home ‘’The secret shelter’’.

That same year on 13 August, the family van Daan joined the Franks because they also had no
place to go and was in need of a shelter for a while. Their only son Peter came with them and at
the beginning Anna did not have a particularly high opinion about him.

The arrival of the new family seemed like a good idea for a while. They spent time together and
ate together like a big happy family. However, the life of many people in a small place led to
conflicts and tension. Everything got worse with time and caused irritability between people who
couldn’t afford the luxury of getting away from each other for a moment. The tension grew
between Anna and mister van Daana, Anna and her mom, Miss van Daan and Annas mom.

There was a lot of time and little space. Anna and Peter kept on educating themselves and spent
time learning English and French. Mister Koophius who was an associate of her father, secretly
brought them book from the library. He did not only get them books for children so Peter got into
a fight with his father over an inappropriate book. Anna loved history and mythology so her
father started making a family tree with her and she enjoyed it thoroughly.

While the Franks and van Daans are hidden in the shelter terrible things happen on the streets.
Trucks come and take a significant amount of people to camps. The streets are dangerous for the
Jews and camps are terrible places from where they might never come back.

The 17 of November brings the eight tenant. It was Mister Albert Dussel and he was a dentist. He
seemed like a nice, older gentleman and it was decided that he will be sleeping in Annas room.
As time passed by Anna started noticing that he wasn’t as nice as he seemed and he was annoyed
by Anna who always spoke her mind. They got into a fight over a desk in the room that Anna
wanted to use two times a week for a few hours. At the end, she had to ask her father for help and
he took her side.
The space was limited and there were many people so they had to set up some rules before things
get out of hand. Bedtime was at 10, and waking up was at 7:30 except during the holidays and on
Sunday when they woke up at 10:30. Silence was crucial because any noise could expose them
to the outer world so they had to talk quietly.

The radio was available for listening only after 6 p.m. and they listened to everything except
German radio stations. They didn’t have a specified dinner time because it all depended on the
news. Bathing was also restricted and they only showered on Sunday morning. Life was hard and
determined strictly by rules.

The situation got worse and worse, people got restless and disorders broke out. Robberies
became a part of the everyday life and there was even an attempt of a break-into the building
where they were hiding. Everyone was terrified. If the police came into the building, there was a
great chance that they’ll discover them and take them to camps.

Anna stopped talking around the table because it was better for her but she still felt the need to
have a real friend to share her secrets with. She found that person in Peter. The more time they
spent together the bigger her opinion about him got. She wrote down in her diary that she was
afraid of boring him out but what was really happening was the exact opposite. Peter loved her
and a young love was born. Neither of them was sure of his emotions but they were sure it
wasn’t friendship anymore.

Annas diary ends with the first of August, 1944 when she sends a letter to Kitty. She writes about
her contradictory nature and a happy, chatty and cheerful girl. She emphasise that there is a
different and better Anna that almost nobody knows and that is why everyone finds her way
more unbearable than she really is.

The fourth of August was the day the police arrested the inhabitants of the shelter, including
some of her fathers co-workers who helped, them and took them to concentration camps. Anna
died in one of them of typhus in 1945.

Genre: diary

Time and place: Netherlands, Twelfth of June, 1942. – First of August, 1944

Characters: Anna, Peter, Annas parents, Mister and Miss van Daane, Albert Dussel

Author: Anne Frank biography