From the Diary of Anne Frank

 From the diary of Anne Frank

Extract Based Questions

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Question 1: 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 is why I’ve started the diary.

a) What are Anne’s views on friends?
b) What is her fault?
c) Explain ‘unfortunately they’re not liable to change’.
d) What is the problem which the speaker has with her friends?

Answer: (a) Anne could only think of having a good time with friends, nothing more.

(b) Her fault was that they did not confide in each other, and hence, weren’t very close.

(c) It means that regrettably, the situation was not likely to change, as she couldn’t confide in friends.

(d) She feels that her friends do not confide in her, and nor does she reveal her secrets to them.

Question 2: ‘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.

a) Why did Anne think that ‘paper has more patience than people’?
b) Why did Anne feel depressed?
c) When would Anne allow one to read her diary?
d) Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people?

Answer: (a) She thought so because paper is much better than people in sharing thoughts, keeping secrets and it never shows disinterest.

(b) Anne felt depressed because she did not have a true friend.

(c) She would allow one to read her diary when she would find a real friend.

(d) She was never so close to people as to pour her heart out to them. She could do so only in her diary because she considered the diary to be her true friend.

Question 3: 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 the beginning to end in verse and I jumped for joy. Mr Keesing was trying to play a joke on me with this ridiculous subjects, but I’d make sure the joke was on him.

a) Who is ‘he’? What did ‘he’ had enough?
b) How was this essay different from the one written earlier?
c) Why was Anne punished?
d) Why did the whole class roar with laughter?

Answer: (a) He is Mr Keesing, Anne’s maths teacher. He was tired of Anne’s talking habit.

(b) This essay was written in verse.

(c) Anne was punished because she had been continuously talking for three periods.

(d) This was because the topic of the essay given to Anne as punishment was absurd and funny.

Question 4: Our entire class is quaking in its boots. The reason, of course, is the forthcoming meeting in which the teachers decide who’ll be kept back. Half the class is making bets.

a) What does ‘quacking in its boots’ imply?
b) Why was the entire class quacking in its boots?
c) What were they betting for?
d) What opinion did Anne have about her classmates?

Answer: (a) ‘Quacking in its boots’ implies shaking with fear and nervousness.

(b) There was going to be a meeting of all the teachers to decide whom to promote to the next form and whom to detain in the same class.

(c) They were betting for — who would be promoted to the next class.

(d) She thought that girls were better in studies than the boys and most of them were dummies.

Question 5: 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 try to keep it under control, but 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.

a) Which fact shows that the narrator was intelligent?
b) Which trait of students did she mention in her essay?
c) Why did she say that she could never be able to cure herself of the habit of talking?
d) How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?

Answer: (a) Anne came out with convincing arguments in support of her habit of talking.

(b) Anne mentioned the trait of talking in her essay.

(c) This was because she inherited it from her mother and it was difficult to cure inherited habits.

(d) She argued that talking was a student’s trait. Moreover, she had inherited it from her mother.

From the Diary of Anne Frank Short Answer Questions

Q1. In what way did Anne’s diary become the most widely read book?

Ans: The diary of Anne provides a close examination of her daily life. Her original work was in Dutch language. Then there came several films, television and theatrical productions of her diary.

 

Q2. Why did Anne feel like writing?

OR

Anne wrote in her diary to get things off her chest. List any two reasons why getting things off one’s chest is recommended by counsellors as therapeutic. 

Ans: Anne had no real friend. Even she had a greater need to get all kinds of things off her chest. So she felt like writing. Though she had a whim that none would take interest in her views because of her small age.

Q3. Anne was not alone in this world. How?

Ans: Anne was not alone in this world. She had loving parents and a sixteen year old sister She had a deep intimacy with thirty people She could call them friends. She had a family, loving aunts and a sweet home.

 

Q4. What were Anne’s thoughts on having a true friend?

Ans: Anne thought that one could have a good time with a true friend. Friendship brings closeness and helps in confiding in each other though we can talk about ordinary things with anybody else too.

 

Q5. What did Anne tell about her father?

Ans: Anne said that her father was the most adorable man. He married at the age of thirty six and her mother was twenty five at that time.

Q6. What shows that Anne was deeply in love with her grandmother?

OR

Grandma had a significant place in Anne’s heart. Explain. 

Ans: Anne loved her grandmother from the core of her heart. She died in January 1942, but Anne still went on loving her. When her birthday was being celebrated in 1942, a special candle was lit for her as well.

 

Q7. Why was Anne’s entire class quacking in the boots?

Ans: Anne’s entire class was shaking with fear and nervousness because of the forthcoming teacher’s meeting. The teachers had to decide who would move up to the next grade and who would be kept back or not promoted.

 

Q8. Why was Anne in tears when she left the Montessori school?

Ans: Anne studied at the Montessary school. She stayed there till she was in the sixth form. She was very much attached to her teacher and headmistress Mrs Kuperus. At the end of the year they were both in tears as they bid a heartbreaking farewell.

 Q9. Where did Anne stay before going to Holland?

Ans: Anne’s father emigrated to Holland in 1933 and her mother went with him in September. Anne and her sister did not go with their parents. They were sent to Aachen to stay with their grandmother

 

Q10. Why did Anne feel alone?

Ans: Anne felt alone though she had loving parents, relatives and thirty friends. It was because she could not confide in them. Though she enjoyed their company, yet she could not get close to any one of them.

 

Q11. How did Mr Keesing stop punishing her? 

OR

Annie writes that it was fortunate that Mr. Keesing took the joke the right way. Why does she feel so? 

OR

How did Anne stop Mr. Keesing to finally stop punishing her? 

Ans: Mr Keesing read the poem by Anne. In this poem, a father swan bit his three ducklings to death. He could not bear their excessive quacking. Mr Keesing took the joke in the right way. He read the poem to the class. He never punished her after that.

 

Q12. Why did Anne jump with joy? 

Ans: Anne had already written two essays as punishment. She had exhausted all her views about chatterboxes. When she got a third essay to write, she was at a loss of ideas. She wanted something original. Her friend Sanne suggested to write it in verse form so Anne jumped with joy.

 

Q13. What arguments did Mr Keesing laugh at? 

Ans: The arguments that talking was a student’s trait and she could not do much about it since she had inherited it from her mother made him laugh.

 Q14. What punishment was given to Anne? 

OR

Clarify why it is fair to say that Mr Keesing was innovative with his punishments. 

Ans: Anne was a talkative girl. Her maths teacher was annoyed at her talkative nature. So he gave her an essay tiltled “A Chatterbox” to write as a punishment.

 

Q15. What makes writing in a diary a strange experience for Anne Frank?

Ans: Writing in a diary is a strange experience for Anne because she has never written anything earlier. Also she thinks that none will take interest in the musings of a thirteen year old school girl.

 

Q16. Why does Anne want to keep a diary? 

Ans Anne has got no friend with whom she can confide in (her secrets) and pass time. She feels herself to be alone in this world. She faces difficulty in confiding with a human friend and so she decides on keeping a diary as a friend.

Q17. Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people?

Ans: Anne faced difficulty in sharing her secrets with people. So she felt lonely and rued not having a true friend. She felt that it was easier for her to write down her feelings, so at the age of thirteen, she got a diary named Kitty as a friend with which she could share her feelings.

 

Q18. Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life?

Ans: Anne has named her diary Kitty. She is her friend now. She will address and talk to her throughout. No one would understand her writings directly if she had not given her brief sketch as an introduction.

 

Q19. What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother? 

OR

Grandma had a significant place in Anne’s heart. Explain. 

Ans: When the parents of Anne went to Holland, she and her elder sister, Margot went to stay with their grandmother. She loved her very much. She was thinking of her on Anne’s birthday, a special candle for grandma was also lit.

Q20. Why was Mr. Keesing annoyed with Anne? What did he ask her to do? 

OR

Why was Mr. Keesing annoyed with Anne and what extra homework did he give to her after several warnings?

OR

Why did Mr. Keesing an ‘incorrigible chatterbox’ 

Ans: Mr Keesing was her maths teacher. By nature Anne was very talkative. He did not like this because her conversations disturbed the class. As a punishment he gave an essay to write on the topic “A chatterbox” to Anne.

 

Q21. How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?

Ans: Anne was an intelligent girl. She explained in writing the necessity of talking. She argued that talking is a student’s trait. She tried to control it but she was helpless since her mother was more talkative than her. It was her inherited trait.

 Q22. Do you think Mr. Keesing was a strict teacher? 

Ans: In the beginning Mr Keesing seems to be a hard task master. He wants to ridicule Anne but he himself becomes the victim. Since then he starts participating in jokes with the students.

 

Q23. What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in class?

Ans: Mr. Keesing thrice gave Anne a writing tasks on her talkative nature. On all the three occasions she came out successful in the third attempt the ball fell on the teacher and he became her victim. Finding himself unsuccessful, he allowed Anne to talk in the class.

 

Q24. Was Anne right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen year old girl?

Ans: Anne was not at all right in having such a view about her musings. Her writings were translated in different languages under the title “The Diary of a Young Girl”. Her work became one of the world’s most widely read books. It is available in films. This is so because she was a victim of the holocaust and her writings give an account of the torture they suffered.

Q25. 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? 

Ans: If we compare them with the diary of Anne, we get to see a difference. Anne gives minute details of all actions and feelings. The diary is written in Dutch. Anne’s diary is different because she calls her diary her friend. All writings refer to her friend Kitty, the name given to her diary.

 

Q26. Why does Anne need to give a brief sketch about her family? Does she treat Kitty as an insider or an outsider?

Ans: Anne says that no one will understand a word of her stories in case she starts writing directly in Kitty since she’s her friend in the shape of a diary. She is a non-living organism. So she gives a brief description of her family. Anne does not think of her diary as an outsider. She is an insider to her. 

Q27. How does Anne feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing? What do these tell you about her?

Ans: For Anne, her father is the most adorable man. Her grandmother is very lovely to her. She is very much attached to Mrs Kuperus and her farewell is full of tears. Mr Keesing is a hard task master. Her father has a high affection for Anne. The grandmother loved her very much. The headmistress has good relations with Anne. Keesing calls her talkative.

 

Q28. What does Anne write in her first essay? 

Ans: Anne writes her first essay on A Chatterbox. She states that talking is a trait of students. She tries to control but she has inherited this trait from her mother. She is more talkative than Anne.

 

Q29. Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr. Keesing unpredictable? How?

Ans: Anne is right in saying that most of the teachers are unpredictable. Mr Keesing is quite like this. No one can tell about his reaction. It is he who assigns different topics to Anne about which no one can even think of. Initially he is a strict man but Anne’s assignments have an effect on him and he starts taking jokes the right way.

Long Answer Questions

 

Q1. What punishment did Mr Keesing give to Anne Frank? How did she finally stop him from punishing? 

OR

Enumerate any two reasons that justify Mr. Keesing’s displeasure at Anne’s talking in class. 

Ans: Mr Keesing was an old-fashioned maths teacher. Anne talked too much during Mr Keesing’s class and this annoyed him. He gave her several warnings but that did not keep Anne away from talking in the class. So Mr Keesing had to punish her time and again. Mr Keesing assigned her some extra homework as a punishment for talking in the class. He asked her to write an essay on the subject A Chatterbox. On the second occasion, she was asked to write an essay, on the subject An Incorrigible Chatterbox On the third occasion, Mr. Keesing assigned her a more difficult topic : “Quack Quack, Quack, Said Mistress Chatterbox.”

Mr Keesing was trying to play a joke on her when he asked her to write an essay entitled “Quack Quack, Quack Said Mistress Chatterbox” so she decided to play a joke on Mr Keesing himself. She had nearly exhausted her ingenuity on the topic of chatterboxes. Her friend Sanne suggested she write the essay in a poetic form. She wrote about a mother duck and a father swan with three baby ducklings who were bitten to death by their father because they quacked too much. Mr Keesing took the poem in the right way and understood the joke. After that he never assigned any extra homework to Anne for talking in the class. On the contrary, he was always making jokes in the class.

 

Q2. What do you know about Mr Keesing? How did he punish Anne? 

OR

Do you agree with Anne when she says that teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth. Rationalize. 

OR

Comment on the teacher-student relationship shared between Anne and Mr. Keesing.  

Ans: Mr Keesing was an old-fashioned maths teacher Anne talked too much during Mr Keesings class and this annoyed him. He gave her several warnings but that did not keep Anne away from talking in the class. So Mr Keesing had to punish her time and again. Mr Keesing assigned her some extra homework as a punishment for talking in the class.

He asked her to write an essay on the subject- A Chatterbox. On the second occasion, she was asked to write an essay, on the subject An incorrigible Chatterbox, on the third occasion Mr Keesing assigned her a more difficult topic. It was “Quack Quack Quack, Said Mistress Chatterbox”

Mr Keesing was trying to play a joke on her when he asked her to write an essay entitled “Quack Quack Quack, Said Mistress Chatterbox” so she decided to play a joke on Mr Keesing himself. She had nearly exhausted her ingenuity on the topic of chatterboxes: Her friend Sanne suggested she write the essay in a poetic form. She wrote about a mother duck and a father swan with three baby ducklings who were bitten to death by their father because they quacked too much. Mr Keesing took the poem in the right way and understood the joke.

After that he never assigned any extra homework to Anne for talking in the class. On the contrary, he was always making jokes in the class.

 

Q3. Why was Anne’s teacher annoyed with her? How was she able to bring about a change in his attitude towards her?

Ans: Mr. Keesing, her math teacher, was annoyed with Anne because she talked too much. When she did not improve, despite several warnings, he punished her. The punishment was extra homework. She was supposed to write an essay on “A Chatterbox, then an essay on “An Incorrigible Chatterbox” and finally “Quack Quack Quack, Said Mistress Chatterbox.”

In her first essay Anne argued that talking was a student’s trait and her mother talked too much. She could not do anything with an inherited trait. Finally, Anne wrote the third essay in verse form. After reading the poem Mr. Keesing read it to the class. It was about three ducklings beaten to death by the father swan because they quacked too much. After that Mr Keesing never gave her any punishment.

 

Q4. Write the character sketch of Anne Frank.

OR

How do you assess Anne’s character?

Ans: Anne was a sensible, 13 year old girl. Though she had loving parents and thirty friends, she was lonely. She could not share her innermost thoughts and feelings with her friends. She knew that no one would understand her need to keep a diary. Arine was very caring and loving. She adored her father. She loved her grandma and often thought of her after her death. She was quite mature for her age, for she knew that no one would have time for the thoughts of a 13-years old. It was because of this maturity that she could not confide in her friends.

She was very talkative and was often punished by her maths teacher Yet she was intelligent and had a good sense of humour She convinced her teacher with her arguments, ultimately, he took the joke and did not punish her any more.

Q5. Was Anne an intelligent girl? Give instances in support of your answer.

Ans: I think Anne was not only an intelligent girl, but she was far more mature than her age. The very fact that she thought so much that she needed to write a diary shows that she was intelligent. Anne was also intelligent enough to realise that no one would be interested in her musings. Anne believed that paper had more patience than people. She knew that she had friends with whom she could enjoy.

Yet, she could not confide in them. She realised that things would not change. She was quite a popular student. She knew that she would be promoted though Maths was her weak point. She also took her punishment of writing essays humorously, ultimately she convinced Mr Keesing with her arguments: and she got rid of her punishments.

 Q6. “Paper has more patience than people. Elucidate.  

OR

Paper has more patience than people. Explain with reference to “From the Diary of Anne Frank” 

Ans: Anne Frank thought of a saying: Paper has more patience than people; it requires a lot of patience to listen to someone’s private feelings and problems. It is not the listening that is important but the more important thing is to keep others secrets to oneself. It is a human tendency that after knowing someone’s secrets we pass them over to others. There is a limit for listening to someone’s problems.

After some time, one is fed up with the person and tries to avoid him. But paper is a lifeless thing. It is never fed up with one’s problems: One can confide as much as one likes on a paper, Paper never becomes Impatient. One can write on it as much as one desires and for as long as one wants to. As long as anyone else does not read it, the secret remains a secret.

Q7. ‘Our entire class is quacking in its boots.’ Explain with reference to from the Diary of Anne Frank.

Ans: Anne Frank was sent to Montessori nursery school. There she stayed till the sixth form. Her teacher Mrs. Kuperus was the headmistress: At the end of the year, the farewell function was arranged, it was a tearful farewell with the headmistress. Then Anne was admitted to a school. There were nine teachers. Among them two were females and the rest were the male teachers.

The meeting was going on among the teachers. They had to decide who would be moved up to the next form and who would be kept back. This was a movement of nervousness for the entire class. They were uncertain about their fate. Even some of the students had staked their savings in bets. There were some of the dummies who could be kept back. All the students were confused about themselves. Even Anne was not sure due to mathematics So the entire class was quacking in its boots.

 Q8. “From the Diary of Anne Frank” throw light on teacher-student relationship, class atmosphere and discipline. Discuss.

OR

Write a paragraph on the values of these aspects of school and how far these values are necessary for learning and life.

Ans: From the Diary of Anne Frank describes the teacher-student relationship, class atmosphere and discipline. Anne Frank, who talks a lot in the class, gets punished by Mr Keesing, her maths teacher. He asks her to write essays as punishment 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 about discipline and classroom manners which is 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 actions as they both try to joke with each other but in a very humorous and healthy manner. So this healthy relationship is needed everywhere in the class for effective teaching and learning.

 Q9. “I hope I will be able to confide everything to you as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.” Explain.

Ans: Anne writes this on the inside cover of her diary just after she receives it for her thirteenth birthday. At the time, she feels that she does not have any true confidants, which makes her feel lonely and misunderstood. Anne does, however, have many friends and admirers, and she is a playful, amusing and social young girl.

Thus, her sentiments in this passage may seem odd and a bit exaggerated but she later explains that even though she has friends, she is never fully able to open up to them. Anne finds that she and her friends talk only about trivial things, even when she has deeper things on her mind that she wishes to share. Having a diary-which she addresses as “Kitty like a friend-enables her to express her thoughts without fear of being criticized by others Anne’s relationship with her diary helps in comforting her through her insecure, lonely, and fearful time in the hiding.

Q10. What do these statements tell you about Anne Frank as a person? 

1. We don’t seem to be able to get any closer, and that’s the problem. May be it’s my fault that we don’t confide in each other
2. I don’t want to jot down the facts in this diary the way most people would, but want the diary to be my friend
3. Margot went to Holland in December and I followed in February. When 1, I was plunked down on the table as a birthday present for Margot
4. 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.
5. 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.Ans. To Anne as a person these statements have different meanings: The first statement speaks the importance of having the need of a real friend. She had almost thirty people whom she could call family and friends but still she felt lonely. She had trouble sharing her feelings with others. The second statement speaks at Anne’s conviction of considering the diary as her real friend. She gives a brief introduction about herself because in case someone reads it in the future, they gey clarity about Anne. The third statement shows her profound love for her elder sister. The next statement indicates her opinion about the teachers that they are unpredictable. The last statement points out her skill in writing an essay. Thus Anne was a skilled girl having the decent qualities of mind, body and soul.

Q11. Kitty plays a vital role in Anne’s life. Elucidate. 

Ans. The journal Anne kept was called Kitty. Anne was a very private person who did not like to talk to people. She rarely used to divulge anything to her loved ones. She’s never gotten along with anyone well, but she’s always wanted someone to listen to her.

One of the nicest birthday presents she could have received was from Cat. This is nothing more than the diary she received for turning thirteen. She began recording everything in her diary. She utilises to describe every single event that has, in some way or another, affected her life. She expresses her feelings in her writing regarding many situations. She has a journal where she writes everything she is unable to share with anyone.

She also spoke about her love and wrote about what was right and bad in her diary. She is extremely knowledgeable about politics and the war, which she also detailed in her diary. This cat turned out to be her constant companion because she wrote extensively about both her good and bad moments. She developed a strong bond with her diary and never felt alone. She described all the events that no one else could have described. As a result, this diary started to play a significant role in her life.

Q12. In spite of the heartrending circumstances in which “The Diary‟ was written, it was not an inspiring rather a depressing book. Explore. 

Ans. The detailed account of anyone’s life can be found in their “diary,” which they keep for the duration of their lives. It covers everything that cannot be adequately articulated in words to anyone. Annie is in possession of the same diary that was given to her on her 13th birthday. This was the nicest gift she had ever received, and it completely changed her life.

She was a shy girl who struggled to express herself in front of others. She thus uses this channel to voice her regrets and grief. She uses this journal to record anything she is unable to say in public. As a result, my diary took on a more somber tone than anything motivational. In this journal, she discloses all of her life’s most sinister secrets. She wrote in this diary about her love. She recorded all of her thoughts, feelings, and observations.

She discussed her loneliness in this diary. She discussed the different events that affected her life. She also described how she cut off communication with her family. She also stated her political and military ambitions. In other words, the notebook was meant to describe sad and upsetting events rather than inspiring ones. Thus, in my opinion, people do keep diaries for the things they find difficult to express or to express their mood. It has more depressing tales than encouraging ones. Hence, in summary, it may be said that the novel is gloomy.