English Essay

English Essay

To me, the phrase “A paper has more patience than humans” conveys the message that a piece of paper has the patience to understand the feelings and emotions of the person who writes on it whereas a human being may take several years to actually get to understand another person because he is impatient. Hence, there is deep philosophy in the simple expression. Upon reading the diary of Anne Frank,it is clear what she means by this expression.

Anne frank believes that there is not another thing in the world like a piece of paper mainly because it allows her to freely share her feeling and darkest secrets with it without interrupting her or making her feel uncomfortable (Didion, 1966).According to Anne Frank, a piece of paper possesses all of the major senses such as sight, feel, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.A person who has the habit of writing a diary would know very well that it is through these senses that she is able to communicate with the pieces of paper in her diary as she sings the happy as well as sad songs in her young life.

When reading the diary of Anne Frank, it also becomes clearer that, apart from being patient, a paper is much more understanding and sensitive when compared with humans.This can be seen from the fact that a piece of paper acts as a sponge; it absorbs the tears of the writer which essentially means that in comparison to humans, it has more courage since it absorbs the realities of life whereas humans may not always be able to do the same(Didion, 1966). Anne frank's diary reflects this thought wonderfully.

Even in the diary, she emphasizes how she wants her diary to be a special and unique kind of friend to her with whom she can share her life without any hesitation. Hence, the expression “A paper has more patience than humans”fits very aptly as she uses her in her own case since her diary is her best friend in the whole world - a friend who has a fair heart and a good patient and listening ear that understands her and provides her with comfort and a strong sense of understanding(Didion, 1966). And so, the diary of Anne Frank listens to the woe of the world with a brave heart.

However, in stark contrast to the diary of Anne Frank, Joan Didion's On Keeping a Notebook reflects starkly contradictory feelings to the reader. For example, notebooks are kept by people who are forgetful whereas a diary is maintained by a person who wishes to share his feelings with someone(Frank et al., 2011). This stark contrast in the purpose of writing in both the sources reflects the different feelings that two writers have when they are writing on the piece of paper. Didion does not writea notebook to share her feelings.Rather, she uses it as a sort of reference in order to remind herself of what it is that she should remember when she reads a ...