Question 5K

During the crisis in Act Two, Scene 3, Mr. Frank says, "We don't need the Nazis to destroy us.  We're destroying ourselves."  What does he mean here?  are the Annex inhabitants crueler and more destructive than when they first went into hiding?  How would you describe the forces destroying the characters from inside?  Do you think, given their desperate situation, that such behavior was inevitable?  Give examples from the text to support your answer.  

Mr. Frank is saying that even without the Nazis trying to come and destroy them, the inhabitants are doing so themselves.  They are going at each other with comments and each of them are getting on each others nerve.  They tear each other down with the bickering at each other.  Because as time passes by, everyone is getting frustrated with each other, they are crueler than how they were before.  Everyone of them is getting irritated by the little things they do.  Because they are locked in a smaller room, i think it is even worse.  The force that are inside the characters i think is want.  The wanting to get out of the room and breathe fresh air.  They have been locked in the room for about a year and a half and i bet that being in a small room in the attic could get claustrophobic.  I think that their behavior was predictable.  Such as when Mr. Van Daan steals food, and Mrs. Frank tells him to get out of the house.  Given the situation they were in, it was crucial to have food for the family.  Yet, Mr. Van Daan decides to get out of bed and steal food.  Mrs. Frank blows up.  It is normal for her to behave that way, but they were tearing each other down.  They were bickering at each other to stay alive.  Even without the Nazi's tearing them down physically, they were doing so themselves mentally.