the contrasts between Anne and Peter during this page and why would the author highlight those differences?

Anne is outgoing, talkative, and sensitive. She always remains optimistic about her family's situation throughout their ordeal. Peter is quiet and rarely expresses his personal thoughts and feelings. Anne sees herself as accomplishing something great in life, while Peter says he wants to be a gambler or just loaf around. Anne spends some of her time studying, while Peter sees his studies as a boring requirement. Anne is reflective about her strengths and weaknesses while being self-confident about what kind of woman she wants to become. Peter obviously has not given that much thought to his future.

The author wanted to show these differences because it reveals that they don't really fit each other's personality very well and they can't really relate to a lot of things, but they love each other.