51 pages • 1 hour read
Alice HoffmanWhen We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary
Alice HoffmanFiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Black Moths
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of religious discrimination, graphic violence, bullying, illness and death, and physical abuse.
The black moths in the story are a symbol of evil and hate. They represent how hatred can infiltrate and spread throughout groups, sometimes before it can be recognized.
Initially, only Anne can see the moths; for example, one appears the day before the German invasion. This moth foreshadows the coming danger and establishes a mood of ominous doom. Additional moths arrive as Anne realizes that her parents are afraid of Germany’s power, the ongoing effects of war, and the outcomes of hatred against Jewish people. Later, other people like passersby on the sidewalks sense the presence of the moths and try to stay out of their way. These moths appear in corners and along edges of places, as if ghostlike or illusory. Anne tries to keep from worrying about the moths but realizes they cannot be ignored; in the same way, the persecution of the Jewish people eventually cannot be ignored, prompting many to flee or hide.
Margot thinks she sees a black moth on the day she turns 16; this moth represents the spreading evil in their world. Anne’s and Margot’s observations of the black moths represent the impact of evil on young people and indicate The Loss of Innocence in the Context of War and Genocide.
Anne’s Writing
Anne’s writing is a motif that supports her early coming-of-age; her development as a writer parallels her maturation. Early on, Anne is effusive and dramatic, dreaming of the stage and film, but she later becomes more observant and thoughtful as she invests those storytelling talents on paper.
Like many writers, Anne sometimes wants to hear others’ reactions, such as her story of Esther at Purim. Edith’s quiet, indirect praise of Anne’s abilities brings great confidence to Anne. Other times, Anne wants no one to see her stories; she writes with an arm around the paper at school, refusing to show her friends. Both shared and private writing practice helps Anne’s progress. As her skill progresses, myths from Greek, Roman, and Danish traditions influence Anne. For example, when she compares her mother to Demeter, Anne’s “writer’s brain” sees her circumstances through the story lens.
Anne intuits that writing in the red plaid journal will be good for her—not just for her writing, but as an act of self-care. A new “member” of Anne’s tight circle late in the novel, this journal becomes her confidante. Now mature enough to understand how the act of writing fulfills and sustains her, Anne knows her diary will be the friend she needs while in hiding: “Just seeing [the diary] gave her hope. She would write it all down” (269). The motif of Anne’s writing culminates in this important choice to keep a diary, an example of Sustenance Supplied by Family and Community.
Fairy Tales
The novel contains numerous allusions to fairy tales, and together these form a motif that comments on storytelling as a means to understand overwhelming events. Early on, for example, Anne is characterized through her penchant for stories: “Anne was a believer, one who loved fairy tales and myths” (8). After the Germans invade, the omniscient narrator utilizes this motif to describe impactful events: “Anne knew what happened when a queen disappeared in fairy tales” (57). Also, Anne is reminded of a “fairyland” near the countryside hotel; she later reflects on her past dreams of traveling to California, a location that now seems to exist only “in a fairy tale” (103) since the ruling Nazi presence now limits freedoms so drastically. These direct mentions of fairy tales provide a familiar basis of comparison that helps young readers connect with Anne and understand complex turns of events.
The author also occasionally incorporates fairy tale language in the writing style. Introductions to each part of the novel feature an omniscient, third-person narrator like that found in many fairy tales, universalizing a story that remains recognizably Anne’s; for example, “Once, there were two sisters” (xi) opens Part 1. Fairy tale language situates the setting as an ancient city, “one in which good people were rewarded and those who were evil were locked up in the towers, the keys thrown away, tossed into the dark water of the canals” (8). This fantasy of moral clarity offers a contrast to Anne’s real world, in which evil people hold power while the innocent are punished. As the story continues, fairy tale wolves and monsters serve as metaphors for the Nazis. As the author describes her fairy tale style, “Sometimes the evil is so unbelievable that you can only tell it in a mythic way” (“Alice Hoffman Won’t Let Anne Frank Be Forgotten,” Hadassah Magazine). In this way, the fairy tale style aids in cushioning and distancing difficult and upsetting content.
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By Alice Hoffman
