Essay

Everyone is curious;, part of our humanly nature is to inquire and build upon our knowledge. Commented [MA1]: Well-written and structured introduction
Questioning your surroundings and existence are all commonly investigated to find our soul
purpose. But in the novel Hitler’s Ddaughter curiosity is explored at a young age in many different
ways. The idea of curiosity in Hitler’s Daughter is explored through the interconnection of themes
and techniques displayed through the characters of Mark and Heidi and connected though Anna.
Exploring curiosity in this context is defined as a strong desire to know or learn something that
satisfies your conscious. In a nutshell Hitler’s Daughter discusses the events of Heidi’s ( Hitler’s
daughter) life, the story is told through modern day characters: Anna, Mark and Heidi who find
passion in uncovering the truth about Heidi and her reality. This essay will explore how Mark’s
dialogue and questions display curiosity, the interconnections of themes that are shown in Heidi’s
thoughts and actions and lastly how both characters are connected through Anna.

Jackie French uses Mark as the role of the audience. The book features a reader (Mark) and a teller
(Anna) and the author uses that to display curiosity through techniques like dialogue, rhetorical
questions and exclamations. Throughout the book the theme of loss of innocence and personal
responsibility are highly relied on, but that is what leads to the curiosity of Mark. On page 77 Mark Commented [MA2]: Not necessary to mention page numbers in
the essay.
reflects by saying “people should do what they thought was right but what if what they thought was
right was wrong.” The use of a rhetorical question makes it evident that the theme of personal
responsibility is also shown, but due to the theme of personal responsibility it leads to the curiosity
of Mark. Another instance where this occurs is on Page 45 where Mark is asking his Dad, “No, dad,
I’m serious. If you did things like Hitler did-really bad things-what do you think I should do”. Through
the use of dialogue, it is conveyed that Mark’s communication elaborates his curiosity and in spite of
the theme of duty to parents, it causes him to become curious.

Heidi’s character is less outspoken than Mark’s. Jackie French chooses to present her character
through her thought process and actions. The themes that Heidi is faced with most of the time is loss
of innocence, and loneliness it is usually what keeps her curious. On page 31 the book states ‘” If she Commented [MA3]: I would probably phrase this different not
call them themes but ‘concerns’.
looked like the dolls then maybe he would have let her call him father.” Using the technique of
emotive language and the symbolism of the dolls to display how she thought her appearance
affected her. The symbolism of the dolls is significant due to the sufficient amount that it connects
with racism and intolerance which fascinated Heidi and began to interest her curiousness in her
surrounding environment and objects. Also, on page 31 Heidi continues to say “…he brought her
dolls with long blonde hair that made her secretly cry at night, because they were beautiful, and she
was not.” Using the symbolism of the dolls it is evident that the theme of being neglected, unwanted
and lonely is shown to emphasise her curious nature. The quote highlights Heidi’s thoughts and gives
us an insight on what drives her curiosity.

Finally, both Mark and Heidi explore curiosity in their own way but seem to be connected. This
connection is through the character of Anna. Anna, as the storyteller understands both characters
and is able to use the themes to show the audience both sides of the story. On page 15 Mark
explains “Because somehow Mark knew that the story was THERE, in Anna’s mind. She wouldn’t
have let them butt in. It was almost, almost as if she didn’t want to tell it all.” Using repetition, we
can understand from this quote that Anna gives the right amount of information to drive his
curiosity. Similarly, on page 15 Mark continues to say “But somehow Heidi had become real…no, she Commented [MA4]: Fantastic point.
wasn’t real, not yet. It was though she MIGHT be real, if Anna just told them more.” It is evident that
Anna controls the information given to Mark, in some way Anna gives him a motive to feed his
curiosity. By keeping some of the information hidden or not telling him every detail, it connects to
Heidi and Anna’s ability to link both stories.

To conclude , Hitler’s Daughter explores the theme of curiosity by using the characters to portray
connected themes by using techniques. Mark’s questions and dialogue establish his character as
curious through the development of many themes to create that understanding, Heidi’s critical
thoughts and actions are categorised as curious because of her interest in other topics which
encourages different themes to drive her curiosity. Lastly Anna as the storyteller brings Mark’s Commented [MA5]: *concerns/issues
curiosity to justify Heidi’s story and communicate her curiosity.

Brilliant essay Nour. You present an original take on the question with some strong examples
including quotes and techniques. From the booklet, you clearly understand the essay writing process
and have used it to your advantage.

In terms of improvements, make sure you proofread for typos and very occasionally your sentences
could be better phrased.

I would not use the word ‘themes’ to describe topics the characters are interested in but the way
you have used it does not go against the definition of the word.

With your permission, I would like to use your essay as an example to teach other students.

Well done.