Life narratives are an important part of literature. They allow the reader to experience the author’s life through their eyes. By doing this they are exposed to the author’s emotions and point of view, which the reader would not have experienced if it wasn’t a life narrative. Both Anne Frank and Malala Yousafzai have written very inspiring life narratives. A Diary of a Young Girl by Frank and I am Malala by Yousafzi share incredible stories of two young girls going through something nobody should ever face in their lifetime. Both girls stories have raised awareness in their own ways around the world.
Frank’s diary shares her experience as a young Jewish girl living in Germany during the Second World War. Having to go into hiding with her family to escape from the Nazis is one of many examples of the writing in her diary. Anne’s diary allows the reader to learn about the horrors that are happening to the Jewish people through her eyes, and get a personal experience of the War. Frank’s book is taught in middle schools today for students to learn about the War. I think teaching the book at this age is important because the readers would be around the same age as Frank was while she was writing. When I studied this book in school, it was shocking to me what Anne was going through at 13 in comparison to what I was.
Malala’s book is an incredible story of how she stood up for the right for girls to go to school against the Taliban at the age of fifteen. The book is set in Pakistan during a time when the Taliban had control over most things — including schools for girls. That did not stop Malala from going to school. Malala had very different views from the Taliban when it came to gender equality (I am Malala). Her advocacy for her beliefs is what made her a target of the Taliban and is why they attempted to murder her. Being targeted and shot for her views was not going to stop Malala. She wrote a book to share with the world her experience and to show people the discrimination against women that is occurring in her country.
These books show how two young girls different experiences can influence so many people around the world. Anna and Malala come from very different backgrounds and religious views, but they are both seen just as inspiring. By looking at the books together it is clear how it doesn’t matter where they come from, the time they are set in, or what they have faced, both girls and books are equally influential in the literary world.
Cited Work
Yousafzai, Malala, and Christina Lamb. I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. New York: Little, Brown, 2013. Print.
Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1952. Print.