From the Diary of Anne Frank By Anne Frank
Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me. Not only because I’ve never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I feel like writing, and I have an even greater need to get all kinds of things off my chest.
‘Paper has more patience than people.’ I thought of this saying on one of those days when I was feeling a little depressed and was sitting at home with my chin in my hands, bored and listless, wondering whether to stay in or go out. I finally stayed where I was, brooding: Yes, paper does have more patience, and since I’m not planning to let anyone else read this stiff-backed notebook grandly referred to as a ‘diary’, unless I should ever find a real friend, it probably won’t make a bit of difference.
Now I’m back to the point that prompted me to keep a diary in the first place: I don’t have a friend.
Let me put it more clearly, since no one will believe that a thirteen-year-old girl is completely alone in the world. And I’m not. I have loving parents and a sixteen-year-old-sister, and there are about thirty people I can call friends. I have a family, loving aunts and a good home. No, on the surface I seem to have everything, except my one true friend. All I think about when I’m with friends is having a good time. I can’t bring myself to talk about anything but ordinary everyday things. We don’t seem to get any closer, and that’s the problem. Maybe it’s my fault that we don’t confide in each other. In any case, that’s just how things are, and unfortunately they’re not liable to change. This is why I’ve started the diary.
To enhance the image of this long-awaited friend in my imagination, I don’t want to jot down the facts in the diary and the way most people would do, but I want the diary to be my friend, and I’m going to call their friend ‘Kitty’.
Since no one would understand a word of my stories to Kitty if I were to plunge right in, I’d better provide a brief sketch of my life, much as I dislike doing so.
My father, the most adorable father I’ve ever seen, didn’t marry my mother until he was thirty-six and she was twenty-five. My sister, Margot, was born in Frankfurt in Germany in 1926. I was born on 12 June 1929. I lived in Frankfurt until I was four. My father emigrated to Holland in 1933. My mother, Edith Hollander Frank, went with him to Holland in September, while Margot and I were sent to Aachen to stay with our grandmother. Margot went to Holland in December, and I followed in February, when I was plunked down on the table as a birthday present for Margot.
I started right away at the Montessori nursery school. I stayed there until I was six, at which time I stated in the first form. In the sixth form my teacher was Mrs Kuperus, the headmistress. At the end of the year we were both in tears as we said a heartbreaking farewell.
In the summer of 1941 Grandma fell ill and had to have an operation, so my birthday passed with little celebration.
Grandma died in January 1942. No one knows how often I think of her and still love her. This birthday celebration in 1942 was intended to make up for the other, and Grandma’s candle was lit along with the rest.
The four of us are still doing well, and that brings me to the present date of 20 June 1942, and the solemn dedication of my diary.
Dearest Kitty,
Our entire class is quaking in its boots. The reason, of course, is the forthcoming meeting in which the teachers decide who’ll move up to the next form and who’ll be kept back. Half the class is making bets. G.N. and I laugh ourselves silly at the two boys behind us, C.N. and Jacques, who have staked their entire holiday savings on their bet. From morning to night, it’s “You’re going to pass”, “No, I’m not”, “Yes, you are”, “No, I’m not”. Even G.’s pleading glances and my angry outbursts can’t calm them down. If you ask me, there are so many dummies that about a quarter of the class should be kept back, but teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth.
I’m not so worried about my girlfriends and myself. We’ll make it. The only subject I’m not sure about is maths. Anyway, all we can do is wait. Until then, we keep telling each other not to lose heart.
In get along pretty well with all my teachers. There are nine of them, seven men and two women. Mr Kessing, the old fogey who teaches maths, was annoyed with me for ages because I talked so much. After several warnings, he assigned me extra homework. An essay on the subject, ‘A Chatterbox’. A chatterbox – what can you write about that? I’d worry about that later, I decided. I jolted down the title in my notebook, tucked it in my bag and tried to keep quiet.
That evening, after I’d finished the rest of homework, the note about the essay caught my eye. I began thinking about the subject while chewing the tip of my fountain pen. Anyone could ramble on and leave big spaces between words, but the trick was to come up with convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking. I thought and thought, and suddenly I had an idea. I wrote the three pages Mr Keesing had assigned me and was satisfied. I argued that talking is a student’s trait and that I would do my best to keep it under control, but that I would never be able to cure myself of the habit since my mother talked as much as I did if not more, and that there’s not much you can do about inherited traits.
Mr Keesing had a good laugh at my arguments, but when I proceeded to talk my way through the next lesson, he assigned me a second essay. This time it was supposed to be on ‘An Incorrigible Chatterbox;. I handed it in, and Mr Keesing had nothing to complain about for two whole lessons. However, during the third lesson he’d finally had enough. “Anne Frank, as punishment for talking in class, write an essay entitled – ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, Said Mistress Chatterbox’,”
The class roared. I had to laugh too, though I’d nearly exhausted my ingenuity on the topic of chatterboxes. It was time to come up with something else, something original. My friend, Sanne, who’s good at poetry, offered to help me write the essay from beginning to end in verse and I jumped for joy. Mr Keesing was trying to play a joke on me with this ridiculous subject, but I’d made sure the joke was on him.
I finished my poem, and it was beautiful! It was about a mother duck and a father swan with three baby ducklings who were bitten to death by the father because they quacked too much. Luckily, Mr Keesing took the joke the right way. He read the poem to the class, adding his own comments, and to several other classes as well. Since then I’ve been allowed to talk and haven’t been assigned any extra homework. On the contrary, Mr Keesing’s always making jokes these days.
Yours,
Anne
[Extracted from The Diary of a Young Girl, with slight adaptation]
From the Diary of Anne Frank Summary
Anne Frank’s First Entry in the Diary
Anne Frank, a thirteen year old girl, was gifted with a diary by her father. So, she decided to write in her diary which she considered to be her best fried in loneliness and named it ‘Kitty’. She began writing in June 1942. In her first entry, she expressed her desire to confide everything to the diary as she hadn’t been able to do so to anyone else. She felt that paper had more patience than people. Secondly she thought that nobody would be interested in her diary as she was a small girl.
Her Childhood and Family
Anne called her father the most adorable person. He was 36 when he married her mother, who was just 25. She had an older sister Margot.
She had about 30 people around her bout she had no true friend. They lived in Frankfurt for sometime but as they were Jewish, they had to migrate to Holland for refuge.
Anne’s Schooling
She was sent to Montessori nursery school. She stayed there until she was six. At her farewell, she and her headmistress Mrs Kuperus had tears in their eyes.
Her Grandmother’s Death
In the summer of 1941, her grandmother fell ill. She had to be operated upon but she died in January 1942. It gave Anne a shock and she did not write her diary in that period, but after that she wrote again as she thought of her grandmother’s love and affection.
Her View About Teachers
Anne was not good at Maths so she and her friends were always worried about it, but she was sure that she would go to the next class. She always considered teachers to be the most unpredictable creatures on earth. So she told her friends not to lose hope.
Punishment by Mr Keesing
Anne was a good student and had a good relationship with all the teachers except Mr Keesing, who taught her Maths. He was always annoyed by her talkative nature. He used to give her extra homework as punishment. He asked her to write an essay on ‘A Chatterbox’. He also put a slip of it on her bag to remind her about it.
Completion of Homework
Anne was unable to understand what she could write in the essay. She started writing to consider it necessary. She wrote the three pages for her satisfaction. She defined it as a feature of a student and also mentioned that she inherited this trait form her mother who also used to talk much.
Homework given as Punishment Again
Mr Keesing read Anne’s essay in front of class and laughed at it. He gave her another essay as a punishment on the topic ‘An Incorrigible Chatterbox’ and ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, Said Mistress Chatterbox’.
Anne Mocks Mr Keesing Amusingly with her Homework
Anne wanted to write something interesting and different this time. So, with the help of her friend Sanne who was good at poetry, she wrote an essay in verse. It was about three ducklings going dead because their father duck bit them as they quacked too much. Mr Keesing took the joke in the right way and didn’t bother Anne for talking after that incident. She was not even given any extra homework after that.
Chapter Sketch
In the chapter ‘From the Diary of Anne Frank’, the writer Anne Frank tells about her true companion – a diary. She writes everything about her life in her diary and considers it her true friend. At the time of invasion of German over Holland, her family hid itself. At that time, she started to write in her diary. She spent her adolescent years hidden from outside world, and her diary kept all her secrets.
About the Characters
Anne Frank : A thirteen year old Jewish girl who writes a diary while she is hiding in Amsterdam from Nazis during World War II.
Margot Frank : Anne’s sister, she is three year older than Anne.
Otto Frank : Anne’s father, he is a Jewish businessman who left Germany after Hitler’s rise to power, hoping to find refuge in Holland.
Mrs Frank : Anne’s mother, she is the source of many conflicts with Anne during the two years that the family spends in hiding.
Mr van Daan : A Jewish business and an associate of Mr Frank.
Mr Keesing : Anne’s teacher who punishes her as he gets annoyed by her talkative nature.
Chapter Highlights
- Anne Frank lived in Holland after Hitler invaded. They lived in hiding for many years to survive.
- Her father and mother left her and her sister to her Grandma.
- She was very close to her Grandma, after her death she felt very much alone.
- She was gifted a diary on her thirteen birthday and she named it ‘Kitty’ and it her best friend in her loneliness. She wrote every problem and happenings in her diary.
- She was lovable of every teacher except Mr Keesing who taught Maths.
- Mr Keesing got annoyed with her talkative nature. So , he punished her by giving her extra homework many a time.
- He asked her to write an essay on the topic ‘A Chatterbox’ as punishment.
- She wrote the essay in verse form on topic ‘Quack Quack, Quack, Said Mistress Chatterbox’ which humiliated Mr Keesing.
- He allowed her to talk and relieved her from any extra homework.
Word Meanings
musings : (here) thoughts
listless : lacking energy or enthusiasm
brooding : thinking seriously
stiff-backed : with a hard cover
grandly : beautifully
prompted : encouraged
imagination : fancy
jot : write, put together
plunge : to go into
adorable : lovable
emigrated : went to settle
plunked down : thrown down
farewell : good bye
celebration : rejoice
intended : thought of
solemn : serious, grave
dedication : devotion
quaking : shaking because of fear
silly : foolish
staked : put on bet
pleading : requesting
glances : looks
outbursts : bursting out
dummies : persons of low intelligence
unpredictable : about which nothing can be predicted
fogey : a dull, old-fashioned person
assigned : given
chatterbox : one who speaks too much and every time
jotted down : out down together
tucked : carried
ramble on : (here) wander, write about
convincing : making agreeable
inherited traits : features taken from one’s parents
proceeded : went ahead/forward
incorrigible : incurably bad
roared : laughed with noise
ingenuity : skill
original : real
ridiculous : funny
ducklings : offsprings of a duck
quacked : spoke much
on the contrary : opposite to it
Questions and Answers
NCERT Solutions
Activity (Page 49)
Question 1 : Do you keep a diary? Given below under ‘A’ are some terms we use to describe a written record of personal experience. Can you match them with their descriptions under ‘B’?
(You may look up the terms in a dictionary if you wish.)
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| i) | Journal | A book with a separate space or page for each day, in which you write down your thoughts and feelings or what has happened on that day |
| ii) | Diary | A full record of a journey, a period of time or an event, written every day |
| iii) | Log | A record of a person’s own life and experiences (usually , a famous person) |
| iv) | Memoir(s) | A written record of events with times and dates, usually official |
Answer :
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| i) | Journal | A full re cord of a journey, a period of time or an event, written every day |
| ii) | Diary | A book with a separate space or page for each day, in which you write down your thoughts and feelings or what has happened on that day |
| iii) | Log | A written record of events with times and dates, usually official |
| iv) | Memoir(s) | A record of person’s own life and experiences (usually, a famous person) |
Question 2 : Here are some entries from personal records. Use the definitions given in the previous question to decide which of the entries might be from a diary, a journal, a log or a memoir.
i) I woke up very late today and promptly got a scolding from Mum! I can’t help it – how can I miss the FIFA World Cup matches?
ii) 10:30 Am Went to the office of the Director
01:00 PM Had lunch with Chairman
05:45 PM Received Rahul at the airport
09:30 PM Dinner at home
iii) The ride to Ooty was uneventful. We rested for a while every 50 km or so and used the time to capture the magnificent landscape with my HandyCam. From Ooty we went to Bangalore. What a contrast! The noise and pollution of this once-beautiful city really broke my heart.
iv) This is how Raj Kapoor found me – all wet and ragged outside RK studios. He was then looking for just someone like this for a small role in ‘Mera Naam Joker’ and he cast me on the spot. The rest as they say, is history!
Answer : i) Diary
ii) Log
iii) Journal
iv) Memoir
Oral Comprehension Check (Page 51)
Question 1 : What makes writing in a diary a strange experience for Anne Frank?
Answer : Writing in a diary was a strange experience for Anne Frank as she never had a diary and it was a gift on her 13th birthday. She considered it her best friend on which she relied the most and with whom she shared all her ups and downs.
Question 2 : Why does Anne want to keep a diary?
Answer : Anne always feels lonely and distressed so to get off all the burden and pain, she wants to keep a diary in which she finds a true friend as she has hardly any friends whom she could confide in.
Question 3 : Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people?
Answer : Anne felt that paper had more patience than people to listen to her plight. So, it was easier for her to write all kinds of thoughts which she had in her mind. Her personal diary was not meant for any one else to read.
Question 4 : Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life?
Answer: By providing the brief sketch of her life, Anne wants to give an overview of her family, relatives and her age. This helps the reader to develop a connection with the author.
Question 5 : What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother?
Answer : Anne lived with her grandmother for sometime while her parents settled down in Holland. She was very close to her grandmother. She writes in her diary “No one knows how often I think of her and still love her”. On her 13th birthday by lightening up one candle for grandmother, she shows her love for her.
Oral Comprehension Check (Page 54)
Question 1 : Why was Mr Keesing annoyed with Anne? what did he ask her to do?
Answer : Mr Keesing was annoyed with Anne because she was very talkative. He punished her by giving her extra homework to write essays to keep her silent and the topics always related to her nature.
Question 2 : How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?
Answer : Anne justified her being a chatterbox in her essay by explaining that ti was due to her mother who was also very talkative and nobody could do anything about their inherited traits.
Question 3 : Do you think Mr Keesing was a strict teacher?
Answer : No, Mr Keesing was not a bad or strict teacher because a teacher does something for the welfare of his students. Any teacher would be annoyed if children keep on talking in the class. Secondly, if he had been strict, he would not have laughed at Anne’s funny arguments.
Question 4 : What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in class?
Answer : Anne’s last essay in the form of a poem showed Mr Keesing the lighter side of a naughty child. It helped bridge the generation gap between the teacher and the student.
Thinking about the Text (Page 54)
Question 1 : Was Anne right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a 13 year old girl?
Answer : Yes, Anne was right when she said so because most of the people don’t want to give importance to a child’s perspective towards the world because they are too immature for the world. But Anne Frank has become one of the most discussed of all holocaust victims. Her ‘diary’ has been translated into many languages.
Question 2 : There are some examples of diary or journal entries in the ‘Before You Read’ section . Compare these with what Anne writes in her diary. What language was the diary originally written in? In what way is Anne’s diary different?
Answer : Anne’s diary was entirely different from most of the examples given before the text. It was somewhere closer to the memoir in which the name of Raj Kapoor has been mentioned. It was written in Dutch. It has informal tone which exudes the careful nature of a teenager.
Question 3 : Why does Anne need to give a brief sketch about her family? Does she treat ‘Kitty’ as an insider or an outsider?
Answer : Anne gives an introduction of her family i the ‘diary’ because it is hard to make other realise that a 13 year old teenager can write about her loneliness. Kitty is an ‘outsider’ which is gifted by her parents on her 13th birthday but she considers it her best friend and treats it as an insider.
Question 4 : How does Anne feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing? What do these tell you about her?
Answer : Anne had fond memories of her father, grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing, who have left indelible impressions on her mind and affected her life a lot.
The way she represents all of them in her diary reveals that Anne was very good at understanding people and at developing interpersonal relations.
Question 5 : What does Anne write in her first essay?
Answer : Mr Keesing asks her to write an essay on the topic ‘A Chatterbox’ as punishment. In the essay, she accepts the drawbacks of being talkative but argues that it is in her genes as her mother is also very talkative. It is difficult to give up the habit and it is also a student’s trait. Even Mr Keesing laughed at the argument she had given.
Question 6 : Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Kessing unpredictable?
Answer : Anne takes perfect example of Mr Keesing as an unpredictable teacher because Mr Keesing seemed to be indifferent towards Anne’s behaviour. Earlier he laughs but later he allows Anne to talk in the class post reading her essays.
Question 7 : What do these statements tell you about Anne Frank as a person?
i) We don’t seem to be able to get any closer and that’s the problem. Maybe it’s my fault that we don’t confide in each other.
ii) I don’t want to jt down the facts in this diary the way most people would, but I ant the diary to be my friend.
iii) Margot went to Holland in December and I followed in February, when I was plunked down on the table as a birthday present for Margot.
iv) If you ask me, there are so many dummies that about a quarter of the class should be kept back, but teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth.
v) Anyone could ramble on and leave big spaces between the words, but the trick was to come up with convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking.
Answer : i) Anne is reserved.
ii) She is self-confident and inventie.
iii) She is humorous as well.
iv) Anne is intelligent
v) She has a sense of propriety and convincing attitude.
Thinking about Language (Page 55, 56, 57)
Question 1 : Match the compound words under ‘A’ with their meanings under ‘B’. Use each in a sentence.
| S.No. | A | B |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Heart-breaking | (a) Obeying and respecting the law |
| 2. | Homesick | (b) Think about pleasant things, forgetting about the present |
| 3. | Blockhead | (c) Something produced by a person, machine or organisation |
| 4. | Law-abiding | (d) Producing great success |
| 5. | Overdo | (e) An occasion when vehicles/machines stop working |
| 6. | Daydream | (f) An informal word which means a very stupid person |
| 7. | Breakdown | (g) Missing home and family very much |
| 8. | Output | (h) Do something to an excessive degree |
Answer : 1.(d), 2. (g), 3. (f), 4. (a), 5. (h), 6. (b), 7. (c), 8. (c)
Question 2 : Now find the sentences in the lesson that have the phrasal verbs given below. Match them with their meanings. (you have already found the meanings for some of them.) Are their meanings the same as that of their parts ? (Note that two parts of a phrasal verb may occur separated in the text.)
| S.No. | A | B |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Plunge in | (a) Speak or write without focus |
| 2. | Kept back | (b) Stay indoors |
| 3. | Move up | (c) Make (them) remain quiet |
| 4. | Ramble on | (d) Have a good relationship with |
| 5. | Get along with | (e) Give an assignment (homework) to a person in authority (the teacher) |
| 6. | Calm down | (f) Compensate |
| 7. | Stay in | (g)) Go straight to the topic |
| 8. | Make up for | (h) Go to the next grade |
| 9. | Hand in | (i) Not promoted |
Answer : 1.(g), 2.(b), 3.(h), 4.(a), 5.(d), 6.(c), 7.(b), 8.(f), 9.(e)
Extra Questions
Extract Based Questions
Read the following extracts carefully and choose the correct option.
Question 1 : Writing in a diary is really strange experience for someone like me. Not only because I have never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I not anyone else will be interested in the musing of a thirteen year old school girl. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I feel like writing and I have an even greater need to get all kind of things off my chest.
‘Paper has more patience than people.’ I thought of this saying on one of those days when I was feeling a little depressed and was sitting at home with my chin in my hands, bored and listless, wondering whether to stay in or go out.
i) To whom does ‘I’ refer in the extract?
a) Anne Frank
b) Margot Frank
c) Mr Van Daan
d) M Keesing
ii) ‘Paper has more patience than people’ Why did Anne Frank say that?
a) Paper does not offend
b) Paper is more mature and serious
c) One can rely on paper to confide
d) Paper can be hidden easily
iii) Find a word in the extract that means ‘deep thought’.
a) Diary
b) Musing
c) Strange
d) Chin
iv) What does the word ‘listless’ used in the extract mean?
a) Uncountable
b) Many
c) Numberless
d) Lethargic
Answer : i) a) Anne Frank
ii) c) One ca rely on paper to confide
iii) b) Musing
iv) d) Lethargic
Question 2 : Let me put it more clearly, since no one will believe that a thirteen-year-old girl is completely alone in the world. And I’m not. I have loving parents and a sixteen-year-old sister, and there are about thirty people I can call friends. i have a family, loving aunts and a good home. No, on the surface I seem to have everything, except my one true friend. All I think about when I’m with friends is having a good time. I can’t bring myself to talk about anything but ordinary everyday things. We don’t seem to be able to get any closer, and that’s the problem. Maybe it’s may fault that we don’t confide in each other. In any case, that’s just how things are, and unfortunately they’re not liable to change. This why I’ve started the diary.
i) Why was Anne Frank disturbed even when she had loving parents, relatives and friends?
a) Due to being listless
b) Due to lack of a true friend
c) Due to her hostile nature
d) Due to her teacher
ii) Why did Anne Frank decide to write a diary?
a) To keep track of her day-to-day activities
b) To write poetry
c) To become an authoress
d) To share her secrets with a trusted source
iii) Which word in the extract means ‘unluckily’?
a) Unfortunately
b) Clearly
c) Completely
d) Liable
iv) To confide in somebody is to …………………
a) to be inspired by someone
b) to encourage someone
c) tell someone your secrets or person information
d) to explore secret information from others
Answer : i) b) Due to lack of a true friend
ii) d) To share her secrets with a trusted source
iii) a) Unfortunately
iv) c) tell someone your secrets or personal information
Short Questions and Answers
Question 1 : Describe Anne’s feelings about having diary.
Answer : Anne feels it silly for a 13 year old teenager to have a diary as it would seem she has many friends and other people to talk to, but in reality, she states that she feels very lonely in the world. She wishes her diary to become her friend.
Anne believes that paper has more patience than people because it listens to her more patiently and silently. It does not react like other people and also because she can confide in her diary all her secrets.
Question 2 : What does Anne Frank tell about her family in her diary?
Answer : Anne Frank tells that she has very lovely and caring family. Her parents and her elder sister love her a lot. There are about thirty people nearby her whom she can call her friends. She has loving aunts and a good home but she wants to have a true friend with whom she can share feelings and thoughts. After her grandmother’s death, she things of her love and affection whenever she writes the diary as her death gave her a shock and she begins to feel lonely again.
Question 3 : Describe Anne’s love for her grandmother.
Answer : When Anne’s grandmother died, she stated that no one could understand the intensity of her love for her Grandma. She also said that no one could imagine how much she thought of her. Lighting up extra candle for her on her birthday showed her love for her grandma. Even after her death, she did not write as it was a shock. but after that she starts writing and always thinks of her love and affection for her.
Question 4 : Describe your views about Mr Keesing as a teacher.
Answer : Mr Keesing seems to be a strict teacher but he actually believes in taking actions with good intentions and for the development of children. He tries to control Anne’s bad habit of talking too much but as soon as he is convinced that her habit does not affect her studies, he overlooks Anne’s shortcoming. For that he asks her to write an essay on the topic ‘A Chatterbox’ as her homework. She convinces him and humiliates him in a funny manner. She was not given extra work after that.
Question 5 : What does Anne write in her first essay to support her habit of talking so much?
Answer : Anne Frank supports her nature by stating that talking is a student’s trait and she will try to control it. But she also says that she has got it from her mother and such inherited traits cannot be curbed. Mr Keesing laughs at it while reading it in front of the class. She write about three ducklings going dead because their father bit them as they quack too much.
Question 6 : What was Mr Keesing’s reaction after reading Anne’s poem on the third essay that he had given to her to write?
Answer : When Mr Keesing read Anne’s poem in the third essay that he had given her to write, he took the joke in the right way. He understood the intentions of Anne and felt it in good humour. After that he allowed her to talk and did not punish her by assigning her extra work.
Long Questions and Answers
Question 1 : Anne called 26th July a ‘tumultuous’ day. Explain the reasons behind it.
Answer : Anne called 26th July a ‘tumultuous’ as it was full of tension and fright. The first warning siren was sent off in the morning but nobody paid any attention to it because it only meant that the planes were crossing the coast. The siren alarmed again around 2 O’clock in the afternoon. Anne and her sister went upstairs but after five minutes they heard loud gunshots. After half an hour, drone of engines faded and life became normal . The city was enveloped in thick fog. But after dinner time, there was another gun-fire round and swarms of planes. The air was buzz with the drone of engines. Nobody was able to sleep that night because it repeated again at midnight.
Question 2 : Why did Anne think that she could confide more in her diary than in the people?
Or,
Anne’s diary is as important for Anne as any other character in the annexe. What is your opinion?
Answer : Anne Frank did not have a friend with whom she could share her feelings. Although she had spent a good time with her friends, she was unable to share her views and thoughts with them. When she got her diary, she decided to share everything with it because she believed that nobody would be interested enough in her musings. So, she treated her diary as her best friend. It would keep her life a secret and would not react like people. She confided everything in the diary – her family, her fear, her loneliness, her life and considered it her best friend.
She had a family and other members around her but never found anyone with whom she could share her feelings. It was the diary which gave her support and a hope to live. It shows the importance of diary in her life.
Question 3 : How is Anne more mature than Peter? Describe her feelings for him.
Answer : Anne was a lovely girl who never had anyone to share her secrets with. As she was growing up, she felt that she should also have a friend to whom she could confide and share her feelings.
She liked Peter and dreamt of him. She always wanted to be near him. She always kept on finding some excuses to go to his room or try to talk to him. She longer for his company. Whenever Peter didn’t talk to her, she used to cry a lot and became restless. Both of them had a very understanding relationship.
Even Peter liked her company. They talked on every subject including physical changes in a teenager and sex. They never felt embarrassed about it. Their parents objected to their meetings but still they used to meet. They didn’t bother much about their parents as they felt them to be too busy. Anne felt herself to be in love with him which shows her maturity while Peter thought of her as a friend.
Question 4 : ‘Paper has more patience than people’. Justify.
Or,
‘Paper has more patience than people’. Do you agree with the statement?
Answer : Anne believes that people are not interested in other’s life as they are stuck with their own problems so it is really hard to get someone who can give importance to her diary. People feel bored and become impatient when we talk about our problems.
On the other hand, when we write our feelings and thoughts on paper, we can write as long as we want without thinking of anyone’s intention as it doesn’t react. We can share our feelings, both sad and happy. It never gets bored or stops us to write. It behaves like a true friend who keeps our secrets and listens to us patiently. So, she thinks that paper has more patience than people, and paper listens to her silently. It does not react, like people and also because she can confide in her diary all her success. So she thinks that paper has more patience than people.
Question 5 : ‘From the Diary of Anne Frank’ throw light on teacher-student relationship, class atmosphere and discipline.
Answer : ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ clearly describes the teacher-student relationship, class atmosphere and discipline. Anne who talks a lot in the class gets punished by Mr Keesing, her Maths teacher. He gets annoyed with her because of her talkative nature. He asks her to write essays on the subject, ‘A Chatterbox’ as punishment which is learning in disguise because he wanted her to focus on studies. He cannot be blamed for the punishment as he did it for the development of Anne. The teacher-student relationship is very respectful and sacred. It is above discipline and classroom manners which are essential for every student as well as teacher, otherwise both teaching or learning could hamper.
this relationship is clearly shown in Mr Keesing and Anne Frank’s actions as they both try to joke on each other but in very humurous and healthy manner. So, this healthy relationship is needed everywhere in the class for effective teaching and learning.
Question 6 : Write the character sketch of Anne Frank.
Or,
What values one can adopt from Anne Frank’s character?
Answer : Anne Frank was born on 12th June, 1929 in Frankfurt Germany. She was four years old when her father went to Holland to find a better place for his family to live. She was very intelligent and always wanted to become a writer. She loved Peter even when she had to face opposition from her family in this regard. She was a very good reader as well, she continued reading books, translated chapters, wrote down the vocabulary and worked hard on her skills.
Like any child, she loved her parents but later grew a dislike towards her mother as she compared her to Margot. Anne was always jealous of Margot. She believed that time would come when the problems would be over. She felt alone although there were thirty people around her but she hardly could call anyone a true friend.
Anne died of typhus in the concentration camp at Berger-Belsen in late February or early March of 1945.