Quote 16
Once again you hear "shh" from all sides, and we’re doing everything more quietly. The police forced the door there; they could just as easily do that here too! What will we do if we’re ever . . . no, I mustn’t write that down. But the question won’t let itself be pushed to the back of my mind today; on the contrary, all the fear I’ve ever felt is looming before me in all its horror. (5/26/1944.6)
Anne seems to generally be aware of her mortality, but attempts not to ever allow its presence in her consciousness or even writing for fear it might come true.
Quote 17
I’ve asked myself again and again whether it wouldn’t have been better if we hadn't gone into hiding, if we were dead now and didn’t have to go through this misery, especially so that the others could be spared the burden. But we all shrink from this thought. We still love life, we haven’t yet forgotten the voice of nature, and we keep hoping, hoping for . . . everything. (5/26/1944.9)
Anne realizes what her fate would have been if she were not in hiding; her suffering is very strong but eased by hope.
Quote 18
Our freedom was severely restricted by a series of anti-Jewish decrees: Jews were required to wear a yellow star; Jews were required to turn in their bicycles; Jews were forbidden to use streetcars; Jews were forbidden to ride in cars, even their own; Jews were required to do their shopping between 3 and 5 P.M.; Jews were required to frequent only Jewish-owned barbershops and beauty parlors; Jews were forbidden to be out on the streets between 8 P.M. and 6 A.M.; Jews were forbidden to go to theaters, movies or any other forms of entertainment; Jews were forbidden to use swimming pools [. . .] (6/20/1942.9)
These are just a few examples of how Nazi policies imposed an identity on Jewish people. They were identified as separate, different, and less than human. Anne doesn’t seem to believe any of this about herself or other Jewish people, but she is forced to live it. This imposed identity contributes to Anne’s later identity as a fearful person, living on the brink of disaster.