From the Diary of Anne Frank Extra Questions and Answers Class 10 English
From the Diary of Anne Frank Class 10 Extra Questions & Answers are available here. Class 10 English From the Diary of Anne Frank extra questions and answers are prepared by our expert teachers. All these questions are divided into two or three sections. They are short type questions answers, long type question answers and extract based questions. Learning these questions will help you to score excellent marks in the board exams.
From the Diary of Anne Frank Extra Questions and Answers
Very Short Answer Questions
1. What prompted Anne to maintain a diary?
Answer: Anne maintained a diary because he had no friends.
2. Who became Anne’s friend and the what was the friend’s name?
Answer: Anne’s diary became her friend and her name was Kitty.
3. For whom was Anne’s “a birthday present” and why?
Answer: She was a birthday present for her sister because she went to Holland later.
4. When did she make her first entry in her diary?
Answer: She made her first entry in her diary on 20th June 1942.
5. Which subject did Anne find difficult?
Answer: Anne found Mathematics difficult.
6. Why was Mr Keesing annoyed with Anne?
Answer: He was annoyed with Anne because she talked in the class.
7. What was a strange experience for Anne?
Answer: Writing in a diary was a strange experience for Anne.
8. How old was Anne?
Answer: She was thirteen years old.
9. According to Anne What has more patience than people?
Answer: According to Anne paper has more patience than people.
10. What was the name of Anne’s sister?
Answer: Her name was Margot.
11. What was the name of Anne’s maths teacher?
Answer: His name was Mr Keesing.
12. What was the topic of the first essay? Mr Keesing asked Anne to write?
Answer: ‘A Chatterbox.’
13. What was the name of the essay on which Anne had to write the second time?
Answer: ‘An Incorrigible Chatterbox.’
14. Who helped Anne to write the essay in poetry?
Answer: Anne’s friend Sanne.
15. What was the title of the third essay?
Answer: ‘Quack. Quack. Quack. said Mistress Chatterbox.’
16. What was the name of Anne’s mother?
Answer: Her mother’s name was Edith Hollander Frank.
17. Who was Mrs. Kuperus?
Answer: She was as the headmistress of Anne’s school in both standards.
18. Where did Anne’s family migrate from Germany too?
Answer: Her family migrated from Germany to Holland.
19. Who was Kitty?
Answer: It was the name went to her diary by Anne.
Short Answer Type Questions
1. What does Anne write in her first essay?
Answer: 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 argued that talking was a student’s trait and she would do her best to keep it under control.
2. Mr. Keesing is a kind, but strict teacher. Explain.
Answer: Mr. Keesing is a kind but strict teacher. He was annoyed with Anne as she was a very talkative girl. He warned her several times but she didn’t change. So, he punished her by giving an essay to write.
3. How did Sanne help Anne Frank in writing the third essay?
Answer: Senile was Anne’s close friend, and 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.
4. Why did Anne prefer confiding in her diary?
Or
Why does Anne want to keep a diary? Why does she feel she can trust a diary more than the people?
Answer: Anne did not have a true friend to whom she could confide, hence she started writing a diary. Moreover, she knew that paper had more patience than people and her secrets would be safe in a diary. She could trust a diary more than people.
5. How does Anne feel about her father, grandmother, Mrs. Kuperus and Mr. Keesing?
Answer: Her father was the most adorable father, she loved him very much. She also loved her grandmother and often thought of her with reverence after her death. She was deeply attached to her teacher, Mrs. Kuperus and was in tears when she left her. Anne did not have a good impression of Mr. Keesing, her maths teacher and often called him ‘old fogey’.
6. ‘Paper has more patience than people.’ Do you agree/disagree? Give reason.
Answer: I do agree with the above statement. People sometimes get bored, tired or have no mood or time to listen to you. They can get irritated, grudge or complaint about forcing them to listen to you but paper never grudges. It definitely has more patience than people.
7. How did Anne want her diary to be different?
Answer: 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. She called it a kitty. She wrote about her feelings and experiences in it. It was a mature work, reflecting deep insight.
8. Explain ‘teachers are the most unpredictable creatures’.
Answer: Anne and her classmates thought that teachers were the most unpredictable creatures’ as nobody would know what there was in their minds and what their next step would be.
9. Why did Anne think that she was alone? Give reasons.
Answer: Anne had losing parents and an elder sister she had lost aunts and a good home She had a member of blends also Rut there was no one in whom she could confide So she thought that she was alone.
10. How do you know that Anne was close to her grandmother?
Answer: Anne lived with her grandmother for some months when her parents went to Holland. She loved her deeply. When her grandmother died, Anne felt sad. She often thought about her. So she was close to her grandmother.
11. Why was Anne in tears when she left the Montessori School?
Answer: When Anne was in the sixth form in the Montessori School, her teacher was Mrs. Kuperus, the headmistress. Anne loved her teacher deeply. She also showed affection to Anne. So when Anne left the Montessori school, she was in tears.
12. Why was the entire class quaking in its boots?
Answer: The time for declaring the annual results were coming closer. Soon a meeting would be held. The teachers would decide whom to pass and whom to retain in the same class. That is why the whole class was quaking in its boots.
13. Why does Anne feel that writing in a diary is really a strange experience?
Answer: It must be remembered that Anne Frank was just a thirteen-year-old girl. She was in hiding and cut off from the larger world. She was hesitant that no one would be interested in the musings of a young girl. She had never written anything before. So, it was naturally a strange experience for her.
14. What motivated Anne Frank to write in a diary?
Or
Why did a thirteen-year-old girl start writing a diary? Did her suffocation lead her to it?
Answer: It should not be forgotten that Anne was living in hiding. She couldn’t have normal dealings with the people outside. She could talk about ‘ordinary things’ with her family and friends. She couldn’t talk highly personal and intimate issues with them. She didn’t have any real friends. She felt utterly lonely and depressed. Writing in a diary could get all kinds of things off her chest.
15. Give a brief life-sketch of Anne Frank.
Answer: Anne was born on 12 June 1929. She lived in Frankfurt until she was four. Her father emigrated to Holland in 1933. Her mother went with him to Holland in September. Anne and her elder sister, Margot, were sent to Aachen to stay with their grandmother. Margot, went to Holland in December and Anne followed in February. She started right away at the Montessori nursery school. She stayed there until she was six, where she started in the first form. His grandmother died in January 1942, when she was thirteen.
16. Why does Anne say: “Paper has more patience than people”?
Answer: Anne doesn’t seem to have much faith in the people around her. She was living in hiding and couldn’t trust people so easily. Moreover, people do react. Sometimes people react rather negative, unpleasant, vulgar and violent manners. Paper is an impersonal and non-reactive object. Whatever you write on it, it receives it without giving any such reactions.
17. Why doesn’t Anne want to jot down facts as most people do in a diary? Why does she call it her friend ‘Kitty’?
Answer: For Anne Frank, a diary writing is a highly personal and intimate experience. He is not like other diary writers who load it with facts and non-personal matters. She wants to compensate her loss of having no ‘true friends’ with opening out of her heart in the pages of her diary. She wants the diary to be her true friend and calls it `Kitty’.
18. Why does Anne think it prudent and wise to provide a brief sketch of her life?
Answer: Anne Frank calls her diary ‘Friend Kitty’. She addresses all her writings to Kitty. For readers, it would be rather difficult to understand ‘the word’ of her stories to Kitty. So, instead of plunging ‘right in’, she thinks it wise to provide a brief sketch of her life. Though she dislikes doing so.
19. Why did Anne Frank feel suffocated?
Answer: Anne Frank was a very sensitive girl. She was cut off from the mainstream of life, her friends and her people. She was living in a hiding to escape being arrested by the Nazi agents in Holland. Moreover, even with so-called friends, she could not share her intimate and personal feelings and problems. She felt suffocated. She was left with no alternative than opening out her heart through the pages of her diary. ‘Kitty’ her diary became her most intimate friend
20. Give a brief description of Anne Frank’s family.
Answer: Anne confesses that she has ‘lovely parents’. Her father Otto Frank is ‘the most adorable father’ she has ever seen. Her elder sister Margot was born in Frankfurt in Germany in 1926. Her mother Edith was 25 when she married her father. She and her elder sister stayed with their grandmother before they were sent to live with their parents in Amsterdam.
21. Anne Frank had a great attachment with her grandmother. Justify your answer.
Answer: There is no doubt that Anne Frank had a great attachment with her grandmother. When her parents migrated to Holland, she along with her elder sister Virago were sent to live with her grandmother in Aachen. The grandmother died in January 1942. She thought of her quite often and still loved her.
22. Why was the entire class quaking in its boots?
Answer: It is true that the whole class was shaking with fear. The teachers were to decide about the fate of the students. They were to decide who would go up in the next class or not. Half of the class was making bets. The verdict of the teachers could go either way. They were quite unpredictable creatures on earth.
23. Why did Anne Frank says that teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth?
Answer: Anne Frank felt that nothing could be predicted about the mood of the teachers. They were the most ‘unpredictable creatures on earth’. It depended on their choice who would go up in the next class. Only they could decide who would be kept back. Half the class was making bets.
24. How was Anne getting along with her teachers? Why was Mr. Keesing annoyed with her?
Answer: No doubt, Anne Frank was getting along well with all her nine teachers— seven men and two women. Mr. Keesing was an old-fashioned man who taught them math. He was annoyed with her for a long time. The reason was simple. He didn’t like Anne as she talked so much in the class.
25. Why did Mr. Keesing assign Anne to write an essay entitled ‘A Chatterbox’?
Answer: There was only one teacher with whom Anne was not getting along well. He was Mr. Keesing. The maths teacher was annoyed with her because she talked too much in the class. After several warnings, he gave her extra homework like a sort of punishment. She was assigned to write an essay on the topic, ‘A Chatterbox’.
26. How did Anne justify her habit of talking in her first essay on ‘A Chatterbox’?
Answer: Anne Frank wrote three pages on the topic, ‘A Chatterbox’. In the essay, she justified her habit of talking. She argued that talking was a student’s trait. She would never be able to cure herself of the habit. Her mother talked as much as she did, if not more. She would do her best to keep it under control. However, it was very difficult to control her inherited trait.
27. What were the second and third essays assigned to Anne Frank as punishment?
Answer: Mr. Keesing had a good laugh at Anne’s arguments in the first essay on ‘A Chatterbox’. He assigned her a second essay on ‘An Incorrigible Chatterbox’. She did write on the subject. Mr. Keesing was not satisfied. He said, “Anne Frank, as punishment for talking in class, write an essay entitled — ‘Quack, Quack, Quack’, said Mistress Chatterbox’.
28. How did she write the last essay “Quack, Quack, Quack, said Mistress Chatterbox”?
Answer: The third essay assigned to Anne Frank was also related to ‘Chatterboxes’. She had lost her originality on the subject. Her friend Sanne was good at poetry. She offered to help Anne in writing the essay in verse. The poem was about a mother duck and a father swan with three ducklings. The poor ducklings were bitten to death by the father because they quacked too much.
29. How did Mr. Keesing take Anne’s third essay in verse? How did he react? Do you find a change in him?
Answer: Mr. Keesing took Anne’s joke the right way. He got the message Anne wanted to give to him by narrating the death of three ducklings. He read the poem to the class, adding his own comments. Since then, she had been allowed to talk and hadn’t been assigned any extra homework as he was transformed man now.
Long Answer Type Questions
1. “Paper has more patience than people.” Elucidate.
Answer: Anne Frank felt lonely in the world. She had loving parents, an elder sister and a number of friends. But she was not intimate with anyone. She could talk to them about common everyday matters. But she could not express her inner feelings to them. She wanted a patient listener with a sympathetic heart. But she found that people had no patience to listen to her. She could not relieve the feelings of her heart to anyone. Anne wanted to lighten the burden of ideas in her heart. So she decided to maintain a diary. A diary is not a human being. It has a lot more patience than man. One can express one’s thoughts freely. The diary does not get bored. It is a true friend. It never rejects the offer of friendship. That is why Anne Frank says that paper has more patience than people.
2. Give a brief sketch of Anne’s life.
Answer: 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 shelters 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.
3. (i) Why did Mr Keesing punish her?
(ii) What was the punishment?
(iii) How did Anne finally stop Mr Keesing from punishing her?
Answer: Anne Frank was in the habit of talking in the class. Mr Keesing was her Maths teacher. He was annoyed with Anne as she talked much in the class. He gave her several warnings but it had no effect. One day, he punished her by giving her extra homework. He asked her to write an essay on the subject “A Chatterbox’. Anne wrote the essay, giving very amusing arguments in it. Mr Keesing liked the essay. But Anne again talked in the class. So he gave the task of writing another essay. This time, the subject was, An Incorrigible Chatterbox.’ After that. for two lessons, Anne did not get any punishment.
But during the third lesson. Mr Keesing saw Anne talking again He was very annoyed. He asked her to write another essay. The subject of this essay was, “Quack. Quack. Quack. Said Mistress Chatterbox.” The whole class laughed. Mr Keesing was trying to play a joke on Anne. But she wrote the essay in an amusing way. Mr Keesing liked the essay and did not punish Anne after that.
4. How do you assess Anne’s character? You can choose appropriate words from the following box and write a paragraph. Responsible; caring and loving; humorous; talkative; sensible; patient; mature for her age; lonely; accurate in her judgement; childish; intelligent?
Answer: Anne was a girl of thirteen years. She was very intelligent. She had a sharp brain. She was different from the other girls of her age. She could think clearly and deeply. She had deep thoughts and ideas that she wanted to share with someone. But she found that her friends were not able to understand her completely. Their mental level as not equal to that of Anne. They could talk to Anne about the ordinary everyday matter only.
She had loving parents, an elder sister and loving aunts also. But she could not share her deep thoughts with anyone. So she decided to make her diary to her friend. She wrote down her inner thoughts and feelings in a diary. Anne had an argumentative mind. She argued in her first essay that parental trans arc inherited by children. She had a good sense of humour. Her Maths teacher. Mr Keesing tried to play a joke on her. But she wrote the essay in verse in such a way that the Joke was turned on him.
5. Why did Anne Frank maintain a diary?
Answer: Anne decided to keep a diary, as she had no “true” friend. She figured paper had more patience than humans did. She felt that there was no one with whom she could share her thoughts and feelings. She had caring parents, a sixteen-year-old sister, and about thirty people she could call her friends. She could not talk about anything except ordinary everyday matters. She could have a good time with them. However, she did not have any true friends. She did not confide in any of her friends. She knew the situation would never change so she decided to keep a diary.
6. What does Anne say about her parents, elder sister and her stay in the Montessori School?
Answer: Anne calls her father very adorable. When her parents were married, her father was thirty-six and the mother was twenty-five. Margot was Anne’s elder sister. She was born in Frankfurt in 1926. Three years later, Anne was born. She lived in Frankfurt until she was four. Her father migrated to Holland in 1933. Her mother, Edith Hollander Frank, went with him. Anne and her sister Margot were sent to Aachen to stay with their grandmother.
Margot went to Holland in December and Anne went three months later. Anne started studying at the Montessori School. She stayed there until she was six at which time she was in the first form. When was in the sixth form, her teacher was Mrs Kuperus. the headmistress. Both loved each other. When she left school, both Anne and her teacher were in tears.
7. Anne had loving parents and a number of friends. Even then she thought that she was alone. Why?
Answer: Anne Frank was a thirteen-year-old girl. She had loving parents and an elder sister. She had loving aunts and lived in a good home. She had about thirty friends also. Even then she felt that she was alone in the world. She had no intimate person. She had no true friend with whom she could share her feelings. She could not confide in anyone. She had a number of thoughts that she wanted to express to someone.
But she could not get close to anyone. She could have a good time with them. She could talk to them about ordinary everyday matters of life. But there was no one with whom she could share the deepest thoughts of his heart. Thus she felt lonely in the world. She wanted a true friend so she decided to make the diary her friend.
8. Why was the whole class shaking in its boots? How does Anne Frank describe the behaviour of her classmates?
Answer: The time of the declaration of the annual results was. coming closer. The teachers were going to hold their annual meeting. In that meeting, they were going 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 because of the worries of their future. Half the class was making bets.
Anne and her friend G.N. laughed heartily like their classmates, C.N. and Jacques 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. There were many dummies in Anne’s class. She felt that at least half of them should not be promoted to the next class. But she also felt that teachers are the most unpredictable persons on earth.
9. Describe the three essays written by Anne Frank.
Answer: Anne Frank was in the habit of talking in the class. Her Maths teacher, Mr Keesing was annoyed with her. One day, Mr Keesing gave her extra homework as a punishment. He asked her to write an essay on the subject, ‘A Chatterbox’. She gave amusing arguments in her essay. She wrote that it was a trait of a student to talk. Moreover, she could not cure herself of this habit as her mother also talked as much as she did. It was an inherited trait. Mr Keesing liked the essay. But Anne talked again for the class. So he asked her to write another essay on the topic, ‘An Incorrigible Chatterbox.’ Now for two lessons, she did not get any punishment. But she talked again. This time, Mr Keesing asked her to write an essay on the topic, ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, Said Mistress Chatterbox.’ Anne wrote this essay in verse form. She wrote about a mother duck and father swan. They had three ducklings. But the father killed the ducklings because they quacked too much. Mr Keesing liked the essay greatly. He read it out to the class. He read it to other classes also. After that, he stopped punishing Anne.
OR
Anne Frank was a young girl who lived during World War II and was known for her diary, which chronicled her life during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. In addition to her diary, Anne Frank also wrote several essays, which provide insight into her thoughts and feelings during this difficult time. Here are three of her essays:
1. My Ideas on Ghosts
In this essay, Anne Frank explores her beliefs about ghosts and the afterlife. She begins by describing her own experiences with ghosts, including a dream in which she saw her deceased grandmother. Anne then goes on to discuss different theories about ghosts, including the idea that they are the spirits of dead people and the idea that they are simply figments of our imagination. Ultimately, Anne concludes that she cannot say for sure whether ghosts exist or not, but that she believes in the power of the human spirit to live on after death.
2. A Letter to a Friend
In this essay, Anne Frank writes a letter to a friend, in which she shares her thoughts and feelings about the war and the occupation of the Netherlands. She describes the fear and uncertainty that she and her family feel, and expresses her frustration with the restrictions placed on them by the Nazis. Anne also talks about her hopes for the future, and her belief that the war will eventually end and that she will be able to live a normal life again.
3. The Importance of Reading and Writing
In this essay, Anne Frank reflects on the importance of reading and writing in her life. She describes how reading and writing have provided her with an escape from the difficult realities of the war, and have allowed her to express her thoughts and feelings in a way that she cannot do in other ways. Anne also talks about her love of books, and how they have opened up new worlds and ideas to her. Finally, she encourages others to read and write, and to never take the power of words for granted.
Overall, these essays provide a glimpse into the mind of a young girl trying to make sense of the world around her in the midst of war and turmoil. They show her curiosity, her intellect, and her hope for the future.
10. Anne believed that paper has more patience than people. She could confide more in her diary than in people. Why did she feel so? Was she free from bias and stereotypes? Explain in 100-120 words the values we need to imbibe from the diary as a friend.
Answer: Anne was a sensible and intelligent girl. She believed that paper has more patience than people as it can confine secrets and shared confidence better than people. Anne didn’t have a true friend hence she shared her thoughts and feelings with her diary. She felt people may not be interested in what you have to say. They also may not be there when you need them. However, paper can never show disinterest and is free from bias and stereotypes. It can’t talk and hence can keep your secrets. She felt paper was more dependable than people and hence treated her diary as her friend.
11. Mr Keesing punished Anne by giving her an essay to write. Did he lack empathy and compassion? Was it not in his attitude to respect differences among the students? What values would you like to inbuilt in him and why? Write in 100-120 words.
Answer: Mr Keesing was annoyed with Anne as she was a very talkative girl. He warned her several times, but when she didn’t change, he punished her by giving an essay to write. I think he lacked empathy and compassion. As a teacher, he should be more patient and considerate and should have understood Anne’s condition. He lacked the qualities of a good teacher. A good teacher understands that all students are not the same, and there are different ways to teach different students. But Anne was able to change his attitude through her essays. She taught him that talking was a student’s trait and that it was the teacher’s responsibility to change it.
12. Anne wanted to write convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking. What does this tell you about her? Did she possess a sense of freedom? Explain the values she possessed to justify herself in 100-120 words.
Answer: Mr Keesing punished Anne by giving her an essay to write on the topic, ‘A Chatterbox’. Anne, in her essay, argued that talking was a students’ trait. The only thing that she could do was to try to control. But that would not be very effective. Her mother talked as much and hence nothing could be done about an inherited trait. Then in her next essay, which she wrote in verse, she expressed her quality of talking through a story. In the poem, a father swan bites his three ducklings to death as he could not bear their excessive quacking. This changed Mr Keesing’s attitude and he never punished her after that. This shows that besides being talkative, Anne was an intelligent, and sensible girl and had a good sense of humour.
13. Anne justified her being a chatterbox in her essay. Do you agree that she has the courage to defy the injustice? What values do you learn from Anne’s character through this? Write in 100-120 words.
Answer: Anne was a 13-year old intelligent and sensible girl. She was very talkative and hence her maths teacher punished her and asked her to write an essay on ‘A Chatterbox’. She expressed her ‘talking’ as a students’ trait. She defied the injustice through her three essays on the same topic. She said that she could do nothing with her inherited trait. Finally, she wrote her third essay in verse. It was about three ducklings bitten to death by their father swan because they quacked too much. This changed Mr Keesing and he never punished her after that. This showed the power of the pen to express her feelings and the sense of injustice done to her, without annoying others.
14. What made Anne Frank write a diary? Did she think that people would be interested in her writings? Why did she feel that paper has more patience than people?
Answer: Ant Anne Frank was a highly sensitive girl. She was a thirteen-year-old girl. She didn’t find herself very comfortable in the society she was growing up. It should be remembered that she and her family were made to live in hiding to escape arrests. They were Jews. Those were horrible times. Nazis had let loose untold atrocities on the Jews. Living in such unpleasant circumstances, the young girl could not confide in the people around her.
She couldn’t share her personal and intimate issues with her so-called friends. She needed to get all kinds of things off her heart. She realised that `paper has more patience than people’. She wanted the diary to be her friend. She called this friend ‘Kitty’. She knows it clearly that people would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl.
15. On the one hand, Anne Frank says that she is not all alone in the world. On the other hand, she says that she seems ‘to have everything, except my one true friend’. Why can’t she confide in and come closer to her friends?
Answer: Anne Frank seems to be a split personality. On the surface, there are about thirty people she can call her friends. She doesn’t seem to be alone in the world. She has loving parents and a sixteen-year-old elder sister. She has loving aunts and a family. She has the ‘most adorable father’. However, she feels very lonely. She can’t talk about but ordinary things with them. Personal and intimate issues can’t be shared with them. She can’t confide or repose complete trust in them. She has reasons to believe that `paper has more patience than people’. Therefore, she wants her diary to be her only true friend. She can power out her heart and express her most intimate emotions through her writings in her diary.
16. Give a brief character-sketch of Anne Frank highlighting the contradictions and conflicts she faced in her short life.
Answer: Anne Frank was a very sensitive, sharp and mature girl of thirteen. Actually, unpleasant circumstances she was living in, made her mature and wise beyond her years. Being a Jew, she was constantly hounded by the Nazis. She was living in terrible times. Born in Germany, she and her family had to migrate to Amsterdam to escape persecution. They were forced to live in hiding when the Nazis occupied Holland.
No doubt, she had a family, relatives, and friends. But she was an introvert. She felt utterly lonely and couldn’t confide in others. She needed a true friend before whom she could open out her heart and share her innermost feelings. She found that true friend in ‘Kitty’, her diary. She was very emotional. She loved her grandmother very much. She was in tears as she said a heartbreaking farewell to the headmistress, Mrs Kuperus. She was `a Chatterbox’ and annoyed her maths teacher, Mr Keesing as she talked too much in the class. He punished her by giving extra homework to write essays on this subject. But her joke pleased him very much.
17. Give a brief character sketch of Mr Keesing highlighting the transformation that comes to him in the end.
Answer: Mr Keesing was an old fashioned teacher of maths in Anne Frank’s school. He was rather strict with his students and didn’t allow much talking in class. He was annoyed with Anne as she talked too much in the class. Being irritated, he gave several warnings to her. Ultimately, he assigned her to write an essay on ‘A Chatterbox’. Anne wrote the essay justifying that talking is a student’s trait. She inherited this trait from her mother. Mr Keesing was not amused. He assigned her two more essays. They were: ‘An Incorrigible Chatterbox’ and ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, said Mistress Chatterbox’. Anne wrote the story of three ducklings who were beaten to death by their cruel father because they quacked too much. The essay gave the right message to Mr Keesing. By chance, the joke fell on him. He was a transformed man now. He allowed Anne talking and never assigned her any extra homework again.
18. Why was the whole class ‘quaking in its boots’? Why were teachers the most unpredictable creatures on earth?
Answer: It was the day of destiny for students. The reason was quite simple. In the forthcoming meeting, the teachers were going to decide who would move up in the next class. They were to decide who would be kept back in the same class. The entire class was ‘quaking in its boots’. Half the class was making bets. Two silly boys C.N. and Jacques had staked their entire’ holiday savings on their bets. One would encourage the other. “No, I’m not.” Anne felt that there were so many dummies or worthless students in the class. She felt that a quarter of the class should be kept back. Anne also felt that teachers were the most unpredictable creatures on earth. They work according to their whims. Naturally, the girls and boys were worried. They waited for the verdict with their fingers crossed.
19. How did Anne turn the table on Mr Keesing who tried to make a joke on her by asking her to write the third essay or the ridiculous subject: ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, said Mistress Chatterbox’?
Or
How did Anne Frank outsmart her maths teacher, Mr Keesing by giving the right message in her third essay to him?
Answer: In her first essay, Anne justified her habit of talking. She claimed that talking is a student’s trait. However, Mr Keesing was not amused by her arguments. He decided to punish her for talking in the class. He assigned her to write her third essay on rather a ridiculous subject: `Quack, Quack, Quack, said Mistress Chatterbox’. She class roared. Mt Keesing was trying to play a joke on her with this `ridiculous subject’. But Anne decided to pay him in the same coin.
Anne was lucky that a friend of hers, Sanne, was good at poetry. She helped her to write the essay in verse. The essay was about a mother duck and a father swan. They had three ducklings. The baby ducklings were beaten to death by the father because they quacked too much. Luckily, Mr Keesing took the joke in the right way. The message was very clear. He read the poem to the class, adding his own comments. He was a transformed man now. He allowed Anne to talk and never troubled her by assigning any extra homework.
20. Do you agree that Anne Frank was far more intelligent, mature and witty than her age? Give a reasoned answer.
Answer: There is no doubt that Anne Frank was mature and intelligent beyond her age. Just imagine a girl of thirteen writing a diary! She knew that not many people would be interested in her musings. Being a very sensitive girl, she was aware of the difference between a real friend and the so-called crowd of friends. Her diary didn’t describe facts and figures. But she opened out her suppressed self. Being an intelligent girl, she knew that paper has more patience than people. She couldn’t confide in everybody and anybody. Only ‘Kitty’, her diary was her true friend.
The highly emotional Anne could be witty and practical too. She knew how to defeat people in their own games. The argument she gave in favour of talking in her first essay spoke volumes of her practical wit. Mr Keesing who wanted to play a joke on Anne by giving her to write on a ridiculous subject was paid in the same coin. Luckily, Mr Keesing understood the message in the right way. Her writing transformed him. He allowed her to talk and stopped troubling her by assigning any extra work.
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.
Self- Assessment Test
Short Answer Questions
1. Why does Anne want to keep a diary?
2. Why, according to Anne, is writing a diary really a strange experience?
3. Why did Anne prefer confiding in her diary?
4. What was the impact of Anne’s first essay on Mr Keesing?
5. What information does Anne give about her family?
Long Answer Questions
1. Describe the three essays written by Anne Frank.
2. Why was the whole class shaking in their boots? How does Anne Frank describe the behaviour of her classmates?
3. Anne wanted to write convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking. What does this tell you about her? Did she possess a sense of freedom? Explain