In the passage for August 18, 1943, Anne manages to give a vivid and entertaining account of a rather mundane task, potato peeling. She has a keen eye, and she carefully observes the little nuances of speech and the physical gestures which characterize the various members of the group. There is also a touching description of what Anne calls "a little bit of real family life" (August 23, 1943).
The members of the group are up before half-past eight, when the workers begin their duties in the warehouse, and even though the office staff has not yet arrived, so that it is necessary for the group to be particularly quiet, Anne and Margot and their parents sit, read, or work in their room until it is time for breakfast, at nine o'clock.
The news about Italy's capitulation raises everyone's spirits (September 10, 1943), but this is offset by the illness of one of their "protectors," Mr. Koophuis. Another cause for concern is the fact that one of the workers in the warehouse appears to suspect something, and thus the already strained nerves of the members of the group lead them to virtually refrain from speaking to one another because "whatever is said you either annoy someone or it is misunderstood." Anne takes sedatives to calm her nerves (and so presumably do the others), but she notes that "it doesn't prevent me from being even more miserable the next day. A good hearty laugh would help more than ten Valerian pills, but we've almost forgotten how to laugh" (September 16, 1943). This remark, "but we've almost forgotten how to laugh," is but one of the many of Anne's comments that suggests that here is a person of a sensitivity, an intelligence, and a maturity far beyond her chronological years.
