STORIES
Writers
DONATE

Anne Frank vs. Vincent Van Gogh

by Karess from San Mateo

Anne Frank. (http://ngadventure.typepad.com/.a/6a00e55031d3a3883401156fe8d84e970c-500wi)
Anne Frank. (http://ngadventure.typepad.com/.a/6a00e55031d3a3883401156fe8d84e970c-500wi)

Rejection. Everyone experiences or faces it at one point in their lives and everyone has their own way of dealing with the stress of it. Anne Frank dealt with it by pouring her heart out into her diary. Vincent Van Gogh dealt with it by putting his emotions into his paintings. Rejection comes out most at times of experiencing life-altering events. Because people don't know how to deal with it, they reject others' silent pleads for comfort. They can hardly control themselves, so they think, "Why should I help them?"

First, when Anne Frank and her family had to go into hiding with the Van Daans, Anne was verbally attacked various times by Mrs. Van Daan. No one in her family stood up for her, because they felt that they already had enough to take care of. She felt hurt that they ignored her every time she was in need of someone to stand up for her. Whenever this happened, Anne went into her cramped room and wrote out all of her feelings into her diary. Although she was a little depressed at times in her life, she tried to stay as positive as possible. At times though, she felt as if she should completely close herself up as shown in this specific quote. “New idea. I talk more to myself than to others at mealtimes, which is to be recommended for two reasons. Firstly, because everyone is happy if I don’t chatter the whole time, and secondly, I needn’t get annoyed about other people’s opinions. I don’t think my opinions are stupid and others do; so it is better to keep them to myself.” (Diary of Anne Frank, Pg. 102) Although Anne tried her best to keep a positive outlook on life, she did hide herself from the world at times.

On the other hand, Vincent Van Gogh overcame his depression for a time by putting his emotions into his artwork after everyone he relied on rejected him. His first love rejected his proposal for marriage. The church rejected him for his beliefs. Even his own mother rejected him because she was in mourning of the loss of her previous son. With all of this rejection, he turned to God and painting to fill his empty heart. Because of this, he became an introvert towards society. “I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.” (Quote of Van Gogh, BrainyQuote.com) Van Gogh realized that he had grown crazy, and that drove him even deeper into depression. Although rejected many times by everyone he loved, Van Gogh dealt with it for most of his life.

Self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh. (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KLbIsd6VCiU/R7uHRAEFQsI/AAAAAAAAAH0/YkDEN8aBo4k/S240/Van+Gogh+Self+portrait.jpg)
Self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh. (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KLbIsd6VCiU/R7uHRAEFQsI/AAAAAAAAAH0/YkDEN8aBo4k/S240/Van+Gogh+Self+portrait.jpg)

Both Anne Frank and Van Gogh were rejected at times of need or life-altering events. They both dealt with their feelings by using specific types of arts. Anne Frank wrote in her diary. Van Gogh worked on paintings. They were both very emotional. Van Gogh got a lot of financial help from his brother, but Anne Frank wasn’t as close to her sister, so she received very little help. Although Van Gogh did get a lot of help from his brother, he went crazy, while Anne didn’t, although some may argue she did at times. Van Gogh and Anne Frank were both similar and different in many ways.

At times of life-altering events, most people reject the ones they love and usually care for. Anne Frank was rejected by her family and Van Gogh was rejected by his mother, the church, and soon, he rejected himself. Both Anne and Van Gogh had to deal with rejection throughout their times of struggle. Everyone knows rejection, and everyone feels the hurt from it.

Page created on 3/11/2011 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 3/11/2011 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.
 

Author Info

Returned with other almost identical essay. Some questions about Van Gogh's mother. Teacher contacted - 3/11/2011 rm