SUMMARY
From the Diary of Anne Frank is an autobiography of a young Jewish girl who wrote her thoughts in a diary. At first, she felt it was an unusual experience for her to pen down all her thoughts in pen and paper. She believed that no one in the near future would be interested to read about a young girl’s past experiences from her diary. However, she still decided to write her thoughts in her diary and named it “Kitty”. She considered her diary to be her true and loyal friend as she was lonely and had no friends to talk to. Anne felt that her diary had more capacity to absorb thoughts than people with low patience levels. Further, she mentioned how much she loved her family, especially her adorable father who gifted her the diary on her thirteenth birthday. On 20th June 1942, Anne stated how her entire class was nervous about their exam results. Although she was confident about other subjects, she wasn’t quite sure about mathematics. She and her friend, G pleaded the students to calm down and not make noise, but all in vain. She felt that about a quarter of the class were dummies who should be kept back in the same class as they did not participate in other activities. Besides, Anne also mentioned how the Maths teacher, Mr. Keesing was annoyed by her talkative nature. He would often punish her with extra homework whenever she talked more during his class. In the first punishment, he asked her to write an essay on ‘A Chatterbox’, which in itself was a weird topic for Anne. She gave a good thought about the topic and decided to present convincing arguments in her essay, justifying her points in support of talking. She mentioned that she would try to improve herself but she could not do anything about the trait that she inherited from her mother. When her teacher read the essay, he found it amusing and assigned her a second essay ‘An Incorrigible Chatterbox’ for her talkative nature. However, during the third lesson Mr. Keesing had read enough of her justifications and assigned her another topic entitled, ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, Said Mistress Chatterbox’ as a punishment for her incorrigible habit. Anne almost ran out of thoughts after writing essays on similar topics previously. This time she took the help of her friend, Sanne who was good at poetry and wrote the essay from beginning to end in satirical verse. When her teacher read the essay, he took it lightly and thoroughly enjoyed it. Since then, Anne was allowed to talk in class and was never assigned any extra homework by Mr. Keesing.
EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS
Read the following extracts carefully and choose the correct option.
1. Let me put this more clearly, since no one will believe that a thirteen-year old girl is completely alone in this world. And I’m not. I have loving parents and a sixteen years old sister, and there are almost thirty people I can call friends. I have a family, loving aunts and a good house. No, on the surface I seem to have everything, except my one true friend. All I think about when I am with friends is having a good time. I can’t bring myself to talk about anything, but ordinary everyday things.
(i) On the surface, it appears that Anne the thirteen-year-old girl has_____. everything
(ii) How can we infer that the speaker felt alone in the world?
(a) She had a family of many people.
(b) She had loving parents.
(c) She had thirty friends.
(d) She craves for a true friend.
(iii) Anne and her friends talked about _____.
(a) their problematic parents (b) their financial problems
(c) common everyday things (d) the commuting problems
(iv) Complete the analogy by selecting the suitable word from the text:
Alone: friends: nothing: everything
(v) Select the option that correctly captures the usage of the idiom ‘bring myself ’ from the extract :
(a) to do something willingly
(b) to do something unwillingly
(c) a charitable act
(d) an involuntary act
2. 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 nor 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) Mr. 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
b) One can rely on paper to confide (d) Paper can be hidden easily
iii) Find a word in the extract that means ‘deep thought’.
(IV) 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 can rely on paper to confide
iii) b) Musing
iv) d) Lethargic
3. 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 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 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
4. To enhance the image of this long – awaited friend in my imagination, I don’t want to jot down the facts in this diary the way most people would do, but I want the diary to be my friend, and I’m going to call this friend ‘Kitty’.
(a) Who is I here?
(b) Who is her long-awaited friend?
(c) What do most people do?
(d) Which word in the passage means the same as ‘record’?
Answer:
(a) I here refer to Anne Frank.
(b) Her long – awaited friend is her diary.
(c) Most people write only facts in their diary.
(d) Jot down.
5. 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 12th 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.
(a) Why were the narrator and her sister sent to Aachen?
(b) When was the narrator born?
(c) Find the word from the passage which means to leave one’s own country to live in another country’.
(d) How does the narrator explain his father?
Answer:
(a) The narrator and her sister were sent to Aachen as her father had emigrated to Holland along with her mother and there was no one to look after them.
(b) The narrator was born on 12th June, 1929.
(c) ‘Emigrated’ means ‘to leave one’s own country to live in another country’.
(d) Most adorable father.
6. I get along pretty well with all my teachers. There are nine of them, seven men and two women. Mr. Keesing, 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 jotted down the title in my notebook, tucked it in my bag and tried to keep quiet.
(a) In the passage whom does I stand for?
(b) Who was Mr. Keesing?
(c) Trace a word in the passage which means ‘old fashioned’.
(d) What was the topic of the ‘essay’?
Answer:
(a) I stand for Anne Frank.
(b) Mr. Keesing was her maths teacher.
(c) ‘Fogey means ‘old fashioned’.
(d) ‘A chatterbox’
7. I began thinking about the subject while chewing the tip of my fountain pen. 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. 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.
(a) What was the subject on which she had to write?
(b) What was the trick in writing the essay?
(c) Find out a word from the passage which means ‘contended’.
(d) What is a student’s trait?
Answer:
(a) She had to write on the subject ‘Necessity of talking’.
(b) The trick was to come up with convincing arguments in favour of talkativeness.
(c) ‘Satisfied’ means ‘contended’.
(d) Talking
8. I started right away at the Montessori nursery school. I stayed there until I was six, at which time I started 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.
(i) The narrator ‘I’ refers to
(a) Mr. Keesing (b) Mrs. Kuperus (c) Anne Frank (d) Miss Margot
(ii) The phrase ‘right away’ in this extract most nearly means
(a) with delay (b) the correct way (c) immediately (d) overtaking from right
(iii) What does the narrator mean by saying ‘we were both in tears’?
Sad on parting / sad or upset or unhappy as they were separating
(iv) Complete the analogy by selecting a word from the text:
Dawn: dusk: mourning: celebration.
(v) Select the option that correctly captures the application of the word ‘form’ as used in the extract.
(a) Raghav was in good form while playing the match.
(b) Saheb was promoted to the next form after the annual exam.
(c) My brother did not know how to form a circle.
(d) Anne saw the form on the headmaster’s desk.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
Q1- Why was writing in a diary a strange experience for Anne?
A) she had never written anything before
B) she didn't know how to write
C) neither she nor anyone else would be interested in it later
D) Both A and C
Q2- Who would Anne allow to read her diary?
A) her sister
B) her parents
C) a real friend (if she got one)
D) no one
Q3- Why does Anne want to keep a diary?
A) she has no close friends
B) she loves to write
C) she wants people to read about her later
D) she likes the idea of it
Q4- What did she name her diary?
A) Anne
B) Catty
C) Kitty
D) Kitten
Q5- Why does she give a brief sketch about her family in the diary?
A) no one would understand it if she dove right in
B) to introduce Kitty to her family
C) she would forget facts about her family
D) she liked talking about her family
Q6- Which subject was she not sure of passing?
A) Maths
B) science
C) English
D) all of the above
Q7- Why was Mr. Keesing annoyed with her?
A) she was not a good student
B) she was talkative
C) she was rude
D) all of the above
Q8- Which topic was she to write an essay on as a part of her punishment?
A) A Chatterbox
B) An incorrigible chatterbox
C) Quack, Quack, Quack, said Mistress Chatterbox
D) all of the above
Q9- What language was the diary originally written in?
A) Spanish
B) English
C) Dutch
D) French
Q10- How did Anne justify her being talkative in the essay?
A) she discussed the subject topics in class
B) it is a habit
C) it is an inherited trait from her mother and you can't do much about it
D) the class is boring
Q11- What shows Anne's love for her grandmother?
A) she still thinks about her
B) she misses her
C) she let her birthday pass with little celebration
D) both 1 and 2
Q12- Why does Anne think she was lonely?
A) she had no friends
B) she had no real friends
C) she was all alone
D) she was an introvert
Q13- Why was she unable to get closer to her already existing friends?
A) she didn't like her friends
B) her friends are not understanding
C) she can't bring herself to talk about personal stuff
D) all of the above
Q14- What would the kids bet about in class?
A) who is more talkative
B) who would be promoted to the next grade
C) football matches
D) baseball matches
Q15- What did she write in her last essay?
A) a poem
B) a joke
C) a paragraph
D) a funny poem
Q16- When was the diary given to Anne?
A) 11th birthday
B) 12th birthday
C) 13th birthday
D) 14th birthday
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. Why did Anne start writing a diary?
Ans. Anne had all the loving parents, a sister and many friends. But she had no real friend. She needed someone to listen to her musings, to share her secrets with and to confide in. She could not feel free with her friends. This prompted her to keep a diary.
2. ‘Paper has more patience than people’. Elucidate.
Ans. According to Anne Frank, people are not always interested in listening to what you are telling them. They get bored and lose patience, but it is not so with paper. You can go on writing whatever you like, and as long as you like.
3. How did Anne regard her diary and what name did she give to it?
Ans. Anne regarded her diary as her long-awaited friend in her imagination. She didn’t want to jot down facts in this diary, but she wanted the diary to be her friend and she named ‘Kitty’.
4. Why does Anne want to keep a diary? Why does she feel she can trust a diary more than the people?
Ans. She wanted to keep a diary because she felt that people change and can’t be trusted but paper doesn’t change. Moreover, it patiently documents one’s experiences. And she would keep it confidential.
5. Grandma had a significant place in Anne’s heart. Explain.
Ans. In the summer of 1941, Anne’s grandma fell ill and had to have an operation. But she died in January 1942. Anne loved her grandma very much. Anne remembered her very much. On Anne’s birthday, a separate candle was lit for grandma along with the rest.
6. Why does Anne want to keep a diary?
Ans. In spite of a family and friends, Anne felt rather lonely. There were thirty persons whom she could call her friends. She could talk only ordinary everyday things with them. She couldn’t share most feelings with them. Nor could she confide in them. She wanted the diary to be her friend. She named her friend ‘Kitty’.
7. The classmates of Anne Frank were shaking with fear and nervousness. Why?
Ans. The classmates of Anne Frank were shaking with fear and nervousness because it was time to move to the next class. The students did not know who would be kept back and who would be promoted.
8. Who taught Anne Frank Maths? Why did the Maths teacher always get annoyed with her?
Ans. Mr. Keesing, the old fogey taught her Maths. He was annoyed with Anne for ages because in his class Anne talked too much. He had warned her several times, but Anne didn’t bother.
9. What does Anne write in her first essay?
Ans. Anne wrote that talking is a student’s trait. She would not keep talking under control because her mother talked a lot. She had inherited that trait from her mother. And she would do her best to keep it under control.
10. How did Sanne help Anne Frank in writing the third essay?
Ans. Sanne was one of Anne Frank’s friends. She suggested Anne to write the essay in verse form. She also advised her to put up the example of a swan and ducklings in it. The poem was very beautiful.
11. Why did Margot and Anne stay with their grandmother?
Ans. Margot and Anne stayed with their grandmother because their father migrated to Holland. Her mother also went with him. So, the girls were sent to Aachen to stay with their grandmother.
12. Why did Mr. Keesing call Anne ‘an incorrigible chatterbox?
Ans. Anne was very talkative/ didn’t stop despite being punished/wrote an essay as a punishment/justified her over-talkative nature.
13. Anne writes that it was fortunate that Mr. Keesing took the joke the right way. Why does she feel so?
Ans. Poem referred to the father swan who bit his three ducklings because they quacked too much/allusion to Mr. Keesing/ poem written to turn the joke around on Mr. Keesing/metaphorically convey the value of talking/fortunate that Mr. Keesing got the joke, else, the disciplinary action could have been severe.
14. Why did Anne say that teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth?
Ans. Anne frank felt that nothing could be predicted about the mood of the teachers. They were the most ‘unpredictable creatures on earth’. Nobody would know what there was in their minds and what their next step would be. It depended on their choice who would go up in the next class. Only they could decide who would be kept back.
15. What do you think about Anne’s talent for writing essays which she wrote more convincingly, when punished by the teacher?
Ans. Intelligent-had a flair for writing/wanted to convince her teacher that talking was her birthright, nothing bad, inherited from her mother/no control over herself/outwitted the teacher, got punished again/ second essay ‘An incorrigible chatterbox’/ third time punished/ ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, said Mistress Chatterbox’/ composed a poem with a message/ Mr.Keesing impressed/ ultimately won his heart.
16. Was Anne an intelligent girl? Support your answer giving instances?
Ans. Anne was indeed a very intelligent girl. She was a thirteen years old school going girl, but her diary shows that she was mature enough for her age. Anne was a Jewish girl who had to go into hiding during World War II to avoid the Nazis. Nobody ever thought of writing an account of how Hitler tortured Jews. But Anne Frank did so. On her thirteenth birthday her father gifted her a diary, in which chronicles of the events of her life were written. She decided to write a diary because she felt that paper was more patient than people. Only an intelligent girl could think so wisely and deeply. In school in her Maths period, she proved her necessity of talking. She defended her habit as hereditary. By writing a poem of a mother duck and a father Swan in a humorous form, she very wisely turned a punishment into a joke. Even Mr. Keesing, her Maths teacher, took the joke in the right way and read the poem to the class, after that he was often seen making jokes in the class. Only an intelligent girl like Anne could do that.
17. Why did Anne Frank think that she could confide more in her diary than in the people?
Ans. Anne got a diary as a gift on her thirteenth birthday. First, she didn’t like the idea of writing diary at all. But then she felt like writing because she had to get all kinds of things off her chest. She felt lonely, bored and depressed, though she had loving parents, a sister and thirty others.
She was a shy and introvert type of a girl. She did not have a true friend. Even though she had a happy family but somehow, she could not confide in them. She wanted someone with whom she could share her secrets. She found a real friend in her diary ‘Kitty’. Moreover, she realized the truth lying in the fact that paper has more patience than people. She did not plan to let anyone else read her diary, unless she ever found a real friend. So she could confide in more ideas in her diary than in people because people are not always interested in listening to what you are telling them. But diary conceals all your secrets.
18. How did Anne respond to the punishment by Mr. Keesing? What light does it throw on her nature?
Ans. Mr. Keesing Anne’s, Maths teacher, was always annoyed with Anne because of her talkative nature. So, he had given her some extra work to write an essay on “A Chatter Box”. She wrote in her essay, “Talking is a student’s trait and I would do my best to control it. But I won’t be able to cure this habit since my mother is also talkative. So moving from the inherited trait cannot be done “. On reading her arguments, Mr. Keesing had a good laugh. When the teacher gave her another essay on ‘An Incorrigible Chatter Box’. It was a punishment for Anne for talking in the class. Anne gave a message through the poem to the teacher. The teacher got so impressed by her little poem that he decided not to punish her. She made him realize his mistake. It also reflects her fearlessness, critical thinking, humility and unbiased approach as well as her creativity and humorous approach to deal with her strict teacher.
