Questions from the textbook.
Thinking about the Text
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.)
2. Here are some
entries from personal records. Use the definitions above to decide which of
the entries might be from a diary, a journal, a log or a memoir.
Thinking
About the Text
1. Was Anne
right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of
a thirteen-year-old girl?
No, Anne was not right when she said that the world would not be
interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl. Her diary was
published under the name ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’. It was translated from
Dutch into many languages and it became one of the world’s most widely read
books. There have also been several films, television and theatrical
productions, and even an opera based on the diary. It was described as the
work of a mature and insightful mind. It provides an intimate examination of
life under Nazi occupation. Anne Frank became one of the most renowned and
discussed of the Holocaust victims.
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 dairy different?
Anne’s diary was originally written in Dutch. Her
diary is different from the others in many aspects. She had named her diary
‘Kitty’. She thought of it as her only true friend whom she could confide in.
She treated it as another person who was listening to her daily accounts. She
wrote all her stories in it. She started by writing ‘Dearest Kitty’ and ended
the account by writing, ‘Yours, Anne’. Her diary was a lot more personal than
other diaries.
3. Why does Anne
need to give a brief sketch about her family? Does she treat ‘Kitty’ as an
insider or an outsider?
Anne gave a brief sketch of her life since no one would understand a
word of her stories if she were to plunge right in. She treated Kitty as an
insider because she called it her best friend and was ready to confide in it.
4. How does Anne
feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs. Kuperus and Mr. Keesing? What do
these tell you about her?
Anne felt that her father was the most adorable father she had ever
seen. Anne remembered her grandmother even after her death. She wrote in her
diary that no one knew how often she thought of her grandmother and still
loved her. In the sixth form at the Montessori nursery school, her teacher was
Mrs Kuperus, who was also the headmistress. At the end of the year, they were
both in tears as they had a heartbreaking farewell. Mr Keesing was her Maths
teacher. He was annoyed with her because she talked too much. However, Anne
was able to justify her talkative nature every time she was punished by Mr.
Keesing. On each occasion, he was impressed by the manner in which she
presented her arguments. All these incidents show how lovable and intelligent
Anne was. Everybody was attached to
her, and even Mr. Keesing could not help but laugh at her essays and
acknowledge her intelligence.
5. What does
Anne write in her first essay?
In her first essay, titled ‘A Chatterbox’, Anne wanted to come up with
convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking. She wrote three pages
and was satisfied. She argued that talking was a student’s trait and that she
would do her best to keep it under control. She further wrote that she would
never be able to cure herself of the habit since her mother talked as much as
she did. There was not much that one could do about inherited traits. Mr
Keesing too had a good laugh reading her arguments.
6. Anne says
teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable? How?
Anne felt that a quarter of her class was dumb, and should not be promoted
to the next class. However, she also felt that teachers were the most
unpredictable creatures on earth. Mr Keesing could be termed as
unpredictable. The way Anne always talked while the class was going on, any
teacher would lose his temper. However, after several warnings, all Mr
Keesing did was to assign her extra homework. She had to write an essay on ‘A
Chatterbox’. In this way, he tried to play a joke on her. Each time that he
asked her to write such essays, she wrote very well. She kept countering his
jokes. One could not have predicted that he would take all the jokes in the
right spirit. Finally, he accepted her talkative nature and actually allowed
her to talk in class. He did not even assign her any more extra homework.
That is why it can be said that Mr Keesing was unpredictable.
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.
These lines show that though Anne was friendly,
she did not have a friend in whom she could confide in. She even blames
herself for not trusting people enough to confide in them.
(ii)
I don’t want to jot down the facts in this diary
the way most people would, but I want the diary to be my friend.
This line shows that Anne wasn’t interested in
keeping records. Instead, she wanted a friend who could patiently listen to
her.
(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.
This statement shows that Anne was a fun-loving.
She was witty and knew how to present things in a funny way. The use of
‘plunked down’ shows her sense of humour.
(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.
This statement shows that she considered herself
intelligent enough to make it to the next class while a quarter of her class
was stupid in her opinion.
(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.
This statement shows that Anne took the punishment
as a challenge. She was intelligent enough to come up with arguments for
talking.
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Summary
Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl. She lived with her
parents in Germany. But Hitler’s Nazi Party was against the Jews. The Nazis
were killing the Jews or forcing them to work in the concentration camps. The
Frank family fled from Germany in 1933 and took shelter in the Netherlands.
But in 1940, Germany attacked the Netherlands and captured it. Now the Nazis
started arresting the Jews and sending them to the concentration camps. The
Frank family went into hiding. They lived secretly in the upper floors of
their business premises. They hid there for 25 months. Their non-Jewish
friends gave them food.
Anne had started writing her diary before going into
hiding. In August 1944, the Germans came to know of their hiding. They were
arrested and sent to Germany. Anne, her sister, Margot and her mother soon
died in a concentration camp. Her father survived and published part of
Anne’s diary. In this diary, Anne gives a moving and tragic account of the
difficulties faced by her family and the other Jews. The part of the diary
reproduced in this chapter is about the days when Anne was a schoolgirl and
she and her family had not yet moved to the secret quarters.
Vocabulary
Comprehension Questions
Answer
the following questions in 30-40 words:
1. Mr. Keesing is a kind, but strict
teacher. Explain.
Mr. Keesing was
annoyed with Anne as she was a very talkative girl. He was kind enough to
warn her several times but she didn’t change. So, he punished her by giving
an essay to write.
2. How did Sanne help Anne Frank in
writing the third essay?
Anne’s friend
Sanne was good at poetry. She helped Anne write the third essay in verse. It
turned out to be a good poem, and even the teacher, Mr. Keesing, took it in
the right way.
3. How did Anne want her diary to be
different?
Anne did not
want to jot down the facts in her diary, the way most people do. She wanted
the diary to be her friend and she would address the diary as ‘Kitty’.
4. Explain ‘teachers are the most
unpredictable creatures’.
Anne believed
that a quarter of her class was stupid and should be kept back. However, she thought
that teachers were the most unpredictable creatures’ as nobody knew what
there was in their minds and whom would they pass or fail.
Answer the following questions in 100-120 words:
1. “Paper has
more patience than people.” Elucidate.
Anne had loving parents, an elder sister and a number of friends. She
could talk to them about common everyday matters. But she could not express
her inner feelings to them. So she felt depressed and lonely. She wanted a
patient listener to whom she could confide in. But she felt that neither did
people have the patience to listen to her nor could she trust them with her
secrets. So she decided to maintain a diary believing that it would be more
patient than anybody. Hence, Anne Frank says that paper has more patience
than people.
2. Why was the
whole class shaking in its boots? How does Anne Frank describe the behaviour
of her classmates?
The annual results were to be disclosed soon. The teachers were going
to hold their annual meeting to decide which of the students would be
promoted to the next class and which of them would be kept back in the same
class. As a result, the students were nervous and shaking in their boots.
Half the class was making bets. Anne and her friend G.N. laughed heartily at
their classmates C.N. and Jacques who had staked their entire holiday savings
on their bet. They were all the time speculating who would pass and who would
not. Anne was angry with many of them. But they would not calm down.
According to her, a quarter of her class was dummies and should be kept back.
But she also felt that teachers were the most unpredictable creatures on
earth.
Questions from the textbook.
Thinking about the Text
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.)
2. Here are some
entries from personal records. Use the definitions above to decide which of
the entries might be from a diary, a journal, a log or a memoir.
Thinking
About the Text
1. Was Anne
right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of
a thirteen-year-old girl?
No, Anne was not right when she said that the world would not be
interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl. Her diary was
published under the name ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’. It was translated from
Dutch into many languages and it became one of the world’s most widely read
books. There have also been several films, television and theatrical
productions, and even an opera based on the diary. It was described as the
work of a mature and insightful mind. It provides an intimate examination of
life under Nazi occupation. Anne Frank became one of the most renowned and
discussed of the Holocaust victims.
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 dairy different?
Anne’s diary was originally written in Dutch. Her
diary is different from the others in many aspects. She had named her diary
‘Kitty’. She thought of it as her only true friend whom she could confide in.
She treated it as another person who was listening to her daily accounts. She
wrote all her stories in it. She started by writing ‘Dearest Kitty’ and ended
the account by writing, ‘Yours, Anne’. Her diary was a lot more personal than
other diaries.
3. Why does Anne
need to give a brief sketch about her family? Does she treat ‘Kitty’ as an
insider or an outsider?
Anne gave a brief sketch of her life since no one would understand a
word of her stories if she were to plunge right in. She treated Kitty as an
insider because she called it her best friend and was ready to confide in it.
4. How does Anne
feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs. Kuperus and Mr. Keesing? What do
these tell you about her?
Anne felt that her father was the most adorable father she had ever
seen. Anne remembered her grandmother even after her death. She wrote in her
diary that no one knew how often she thought of her grandmother and still
loved her. In the sixth form at the Montessori nursery school, her teacher was
Mrs Kuperus, who was also the headmistress. At the end of the year, they were
both in tears as they had a heartbreaking farewell. Mr Keesing was her Maths
teacher. He was annoyed with her because she talked too much. However, Anne
was able to justify her talkative nature every time she was punished by Mr.
Keesing. On each occasion, he was impressed by the manner in which she
presented her arguments. All these incidents show how lovable and intelligent
Anne was. Everybody was attached to
her, and even Mr. Keesing could not help but laugh at her essays and
acknowledge her intelligence.
5. What does
Anne write in her first essay?
In her first essay, titled ‘A Chatterbox’, Anne wanted to come up with
convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking. She wrote three pages
and was satisfied. She argued that talking was a student’s trait and that she
would do her best to keep it under control. She further wrote that she would
never be able to cure herself of the habit since her mother talked as much as
she did. There was not much that one could do about inherited traits. Mr
Keesing too had a good laugh reading her arguments.
6. Anne says
teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable? How?
Anne felt that a quarter of her class was dumb, and should not be promoted
to the next class. However, she also felt that teachers were the most
unpredictable creatures on earth. Mr Keesing could be termed as
unpredictable. The way Anne always talked while the class was going on, any
teacher would lose his temper. However, after several warnings, all Mr
Keesing did was to assign her extra homework. She had to write an essay on ‘A
Chatterbox’. In this way, he tried to play a joke on her. Each time that he
asked her to write such essays, she wrote very well. She kept countering his
jokes. One could not have predicted that he would take all the jokes in the
right spirit. Finally, he accepted her talkative nature and actually allowed
her to talk in class. He did not even assign her any more extra homework.
That is why it can be said that Mr Keesing was unpredictable.
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.
These lines show that though Anne was friendly,
she did not have a friend in whom she could confide in. She even blames
herself for not trusting people enough to confide in them.
(ii)
I don’t want to jot down the facts in this diary
the way most people would, but I want the diary to be my friend.
This line shows that Anne wasn’t interested in
keeping records. Instead, she wanted a friend who could patiently listen to
her.
(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.
This statement shows that Anne was a fun-loving.
She was witty and knew how to present things in a funny way. The use of
‘plunked down’ shows her sense of humour.
(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.
This statement shows that she considered herself
intelligent enough to make it to the next class while a quarter of her class
was stupid in her opinion.
(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.
This statement shows that Anne took the punishment
as a challenge. She was intelligent enough to come up with arguments for
talking.
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