Activity
(Page 49)

Question 1.
Do you keep a diary? Given below under A are some terms we use to describe a written record of personal experience. Can you match them with their descriptions under ‘B’?
(You may look up the terms in a dictionary if you wish.)

Answer:

Question 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.
1. I woke up very late today and promptly got a scolding from Mum! I can’t help it — how can I miss the FIFA World Cup matches?
2. 10:30 a.m. Went to the office of the Director 01:00 p.m. Had lunch with Chairman 05:45 p.m. Received Rahul at the airport 09 : 30 p.m. Dinner at home
3. The ride to Ooty was uneventful. We rested for a while every 50 km or so and used the time to capture the magnificent landscape with my HandyCam From Ooty we went on to Bangalore. What a contrast! The noise and pollution of this once-beautiful city really broke my heart.
4. This is how Raj Kapoor found me – all wet and ragged outside RK Studios. He was then looking for just someone like this for a small role in ‘Mera Naam Joker and he cast me on the spot. The rest, as they say, is history.
Answers:
(1) Diary
(2) Log
(3) Journal
(4) Memoir

Oral Comprehension Check
Page 51

Question 3.
What makes writing in a diary a strange experience for Anne Frank?
Answer:
Writing in a diary was a strange experience for Anne Frank as she never had a diary and it was a gift on her 13th birthday. She considered it her best friend on which she relied the most and with whom she shared all her ups and downs.

Question 4.
Why does Anne want to keep a diary?
Answer:
Anne always feels lonely and distressed so to get off all the burden and pain she wants to keep a diary in which she finds a true friend as she has hardly any friends whom she could confide in.

Question 5.
Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people.
Answer:
Anne felt that paper had more patience than people to listen to her plight. So, it was easier for her to write all kind of thoughts which she had in her mind. Her personal diary was not meant for any one else to read.

Question 6.
Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life?
Answer:
By providing the brief sketch of her life, Anne wants to give an overview of her family, relatives and her age. This helps the reader to develop a connection with the author.

Question 7.
What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother?
Answer:
Anne lived with her grandmother for sometime while her parents setded down in Holland. She was very close to her Grandmother. She writes in her diary . “No one knows how often I think of her and still love her”. On her 13th birthday by lightening up one candle for Grandmother she shows her love for her.

Page 54

Question 8.
Why was Mr Keesing annoyed with Anne? What did he ask her to do?
Answer:
Mr Keesing was annoyed with Anne because she was very talkative. He punished her by giving her extra homework to write essays to keep her silent and the topics always related to her nature.

Question 9.
How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?
Answer:
Anne justified her being a chatterbox in her essay by explaining that it is due to her mother who was also very talkative and nobody could do anything about their inherited traits.

Question 10.
Do you think Mr Keesing was a strict teacher?
Answer:
No, Mr Keesing was not a bad or strict teacher because a teacher did something for the welfare of his students. Any teacher would be annoyed if children keep on talking in the class. Secondly, if he had been strict he would not have laughed at Anne’s funny arguments.

Question 11.
What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in class?
Answer:
Anne’s last essay in the form of a poem showed Mr Keesing the lighter side of a naughty child. It helped bridge the generation gap between the teacher and the student.

Thinking about the Text
(Page 54)

Question 1.
Was Anne right when she Said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a 13 year old girl?
Answer:
Yes, Anne was right when she said so because most of the people don’t want to give importance to a child’s perspective toward the world because they are too immature for the world. But Anne Frank has become one of the most discussed of all holocaust victims. Her ‘diary’ has been translated into many language

Question 2.
There are some examples of diary or journal entries in the ‘Before You Read’ section. Compare these with what Anne writes in her diary. What language was the diary originally written in? In what way is Anne’s diary different?
Answer:
Anne’s diary was entirely different from most of the examples given before the text. It was somewhere closer to the memoir in which the name of Raj Kapoor has been mentioned. It was originally written in Dutch. It has informal tone which exudes the careful nature of a teenager.

Question 3.
Why does Anne need to give a brief sketch about her family? Does she treat ‘Kitty’ as an insider or an outsider?
Answer:
Anne gave an introduction of her family in the ‘diary’ because it was hard to make other realise that a 13 years old teenager could write about her loneliness. Kitty was an ‘outsider’ which was gifted by her parents on her 13th birthday but she considered it her best friend and treated it as an insider.

Question 4.
How does Anne feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing? What do these tell you about her?
Answer:
Anne has fond of memories of her father, grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing, who have left indelible impressions on her mind and affected her life a lot. The way she represents all of them in her diary reveals that Anne was very good at understanding people and at developing interpersonal relations.

Question 5.
What does Anne write in her first essay?
Answer:
Mr Keesing asked her to write an essay on the topic ‘A Chatterbox’ as punishment. In the essay : she accepted the drawbacks of being talkative but argued that it was in her genes as her mother was also very talkative. It was difficult to give up the habit and it was also a student’s trait. Even Mr Keesing laughed at the argument she had given.

Question 6.
Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable?
Answer:
Anne took perfect example of Mr Keesing as an unpredictable teacher because Mr Keesing seemed to be indifferent towards Annes’ behaviour. Earlier he laughed but later he allowed Anne to talk in the class post reading her essays.

Question 7.
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. Maybe it’s my fault that we don’t confide in each other.
2. I don’t want, to jcft; down the facts in this diary the way most people would, but I want the diary to be my friend.
3. 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.
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.
Answers:
1.A. Anne is reserved.
2.A. She is self-confident and inventive.
3.A. She is humorous as well.
4.A. Anne is intelligent.
5.A. She has a sense of propriety and convincing attitude.

Thinking about Language
(Page 55,56,57)

Question 1.
Match the compound words under A with their meanings under ‘B’. Use each in a sentence.

Answers:
1. (d),
2. (g),
3. (f),
4. (a),
5. (h),
6. (b),
7. (e),
8. (c).

Question 2.
Now find the sentences in the lesson that have the phrasal verbs given below. Match them with their meanings. (You have already found out the meanings for some of them.) Are their meanings the same as that of their parts? (Note that two parts of a phrasal verb may occur separated in the text.)

Answers:
1. (g),
2. (b),
3. (h),
4. (a),
5. (d),
6. (c),
7. (b),
8. (f),
9. (e).

Question 3(a).
Here are a few sentences from the text which have idiomatic expressions. Can you say what each means? (You might want to consult a dictionary first.)
1. Our entire class is quacking in its boots.
2. Until then, we keep telling each other not to lose heart.
3. Mr Keesing annoyed with me for ages because I talked so much.
4. Mr Keesing was trying to play a joke on me with this ridiculous subject, but I’d make sure the joke was on him.
Answers:
1. Shaking with fear and nervous.
2. Not to think about negative side, but hope for the best.
3. For quite a long time.
4. Joke would be on him only.

Question 3(b).
Here are a few more idiomatic expressions that occur in the text. Try to use them in sentences of your own.
1. Caught my eye
2. He’d had enough
3. Laugh ourselves silly
4. Can’t bring myself to
5. Break somebody’s heart
6. Close/Dear to heart
7. From the (bottom of your) heart
8. Have a heart
9. Have a heart of stone
10. Your heart goes out to somebody .

Answer:
1. Caught my eye While I was in the market, a beautiful purse had caught my eye.
2. He’d had enough The teacher said that they’d had enough and he wanted all the notebooks by Wednesday.
3. Laugh ourselves silly He laughed ourselves silly on his stupid jokes.
4. Can’t bring myself I can’t bring myself to terms with this tragedy.
5. Break somebody’s heart It is not a good habit to break somebody’s heart.
6. Close to heart I am very close to my father’s heart.
7. From the (bottom! of your) heart I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being my mentor.
8. Have a heart I request you to have a heart and look again at my application.
9. Have a heart of stone It is said that people like Hitler have a heart of stone.
10. Your heart goes out to somebody As I looked at shabbily dressed up children, my heart went out to them.

Class 10 English Chapter 4 From the Diary of Anne Frank Important Questions

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1. Describe Anne’s Feelings about having a diary.

Answer: Anne feels it is silly for a 13 years old teenager to have a diary as it would seem she has many friends and other people to talk to, but in reality, she states she feels very lonely in the world. She wishes her diary to become her friend.

Question 2. Why did Anne feel like writing?

Answer: 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.

Question 3. Anne was not alone in this world. How?

Answer: 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.

Question 4. What did Anne think of having a true friend?

Answer: Anne thought that one could have 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.

Question 5. Why does Anne Frank think that ‘paper’ has more patience than ‘people’?

Answer: Anne believes that paper has more patience than people because it listens to her more patiently and silently it does not react like other people and also because she can confide in her diary all her secrets.

Question 6. What does Anne Frank tell about her family in her diary?

Answer: Anne Frank tells that she has very lovely and caring family.
Her parents and her elder sister love her a lot. There are about thirty people near by her whom she can call friends. She has loving aunts and a good home but she wants to have a true friend with whom she can share her feelings and thoughts.

Question 7. Describe your views about Mr Keesing as a teacher.

Answer: Mr Keesing seems to be a strict teacher but he actually believes taking actions with good intention and for the development of children. He tries to control her bad habit of talking too much but as soon as he is convinced that her habit does not affect her studies, he overlooks her shortcoming.

Question 8. What does Anne write in her first essay to support her habit of talking so much?

Answer: Anne Frank supports her nantte by stating that talking is a student’s trait and she will try to control it. But she also says that she has got it from her mother and such inherited traits cannot be curbed.

Question 9. What was Mr Keesing’s reaction after reading Anne’s poem on the third essay that he had given to her to write?

Answer: When Mr Keesing read Anne’s poem on the third essay that he had given her to write, he took the joke the right way. He understood the intention of Anne and felt it in good humour. After that he allowed her to talk and did not punish her by assigning her extra work.

Question 10. Why was Anne’s entire class anxious and nervous?

Answer: Anne’s class was anxious and nervous about the result. It was yet to be decided who would be promoted to the higher class or who would not because many deserved it.

Question 11. Describe Anne’s love for her grandmother. [CBSE2016]

Answer: When Anne’s grandmother died, she stated that no one could understand her intensity of her love for her grandma. She also said that no one could imagine how much she thought of her. Lighting up extra candle for her during her birthday showed her love for grandmother.

Question 12. Describe about Anne Frank’s early education.

Answer: Anne Frank got her early education at the Montessori Nursery School until she was six. She started in the first form and in the sixth form, she had developed such a good relation with her headmistress Mrs Kuperus that both of them were in tears on the farewell.

Question 13. Why was Anne’s entire class quacking in the boots?

Answer: 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.

Question 14. Why was Anne in tears when she left the Montessori school?

Answer: 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’.

Question 15. Where did Anne stay before going to Holland?

Answer: 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.

Question 16. Why did Anne feet alone?

Answer: 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.

Question 17. How did Mr Keesing stop punishing her?

Answer: 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 jokes. He read the poem to the class. He never punished her after that.

Question 18. What punishment was given to Anne?

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

Question 19. Why does Anne want to keep a diary?

Answer: Anne has got no friend with whom she can confide in (her secrets) and pass time. She feels herself alone in this world.

Question 20. Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people?

Answer: It is because of the fact that she can have a good time with her diary. She may be able to confide more with her diary by remaining quite close with it. She can even have heart to heart talk with her.

Question 21. Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life?

Answer: Anne has named her diary ‘Kitty’. She is her friend now. She will address and talk to her throughout. No one would understand her directly if she fails to give her brief sketch to the people.

Question 22. What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother?

Answer: 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 I for the grandma was also lit.

Question 23. How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?

Answer: 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.

Question 24. What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in-class?

Answer: Mr Keesing thrice gave Anne a writing job 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.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1. Anne called 26th July a ‘tumultuous’ day. Explain the reasons behind it.

Answer: Anne called 26th July a tumultous day as it was full of tension and fright. The first warning siren was sent off in the morning but nobody paid any attention to it because it only meant that the planes were crossing the coast. The siren alarmed again around 2 O’clock in the afternoon. Anne and her sister went upstairs but after five minutes they heard loud gunshots. After half an hour, drone of engines faded and life became normal. The city was enveloped in thick fog. But after dinner time, there was another gun-fire round and swarms of planes. The air was buzz with the drone of engines. Nobody was able to sleep that night because it repeated again at midnight.

Question 2. Why did Anne think that she could confide more in her diary than in the people?

Answer: Anne Frank did not have a friend with whom she could share now. Although she had spent a good time with her friends but she was unable to share her views and thoughts with them. When she got her diary, she decided to share everything with it because she believed that nobody would be interested enough in her musings. So, she treated her diary as her best friend. It would keep her life a secret and would not react like people. She confided everything in the diary; her family, her fear, her loneliness, her life and considered it her best friend.

Question 3. Who helped Anne in writing the essay and how?

Answer: Anne was fond of talking a lot. Mr Keesing punished her and gave her essays to write one after another as she didn’t stop talking in the class. When she was asked to write the essay on Ans. the topic ‘Quack, Quack, Quack said Mistress Chatterbox’ she decided to make it original. Her friend Sanne helped her as she was good at poetry and suggested her to write the entire essay in verse. Anne tried to play a joke on Mr Keesing with the essay. Mr Keesing took it in the right way and read it in the class. He understood that she was not a dull student, but talkative so he allowed her to talk and did not punish her again.

Question 4. Write the character sketch of Anne Frank.

Answer: Anne Frank was born on 12th June 1929 in Frankfurt Germany. She was four years old when her father went to Holland to find a better place for his family to live. She was very intelligent and always wanted to become a writer. She loved Peter even when she had to face opposition from her family in this regard.
She was a very good reader as well, she continued reading books, translated chapters, wrote down the vocabulary and worked hard on her skills. Like any child, she loved her parents but later grew a dislike towards her mother as she compared Anne to Margot. She was always jealous with her. She believed that time would come when the problems would be over. She felt alone although there were thirty people around her but she hardly could call anyone a true friend. Anne died of typhus in the concentration camp at Berger-Belsen in late February or early March of 1945.

Question 5. ‘Paper has more patience than people’. Justify.
(or)
‘Paper has more patience than people’. Do you agree with the statement?

Answer: Anne believes that people are not interested in other’s life as they are stuck with their own problems so it is really hard to get someone who can give importance to her diary. People feel bored and become impatient when we talk about our problems.

On the other hand when we write our feelings and thoughts on paper , we can write as long as we want without thinking of anyone, intention as it doesn’t react. We can share our feelings, both sad and happy. It never gets bored or stops us to write. It behaves like a true friend who keeps your secret and listens to you patiently. So she thinks that paper has more patience than people.

Question 6. “From the diary of Anne Frank’ throws light on teacher-student relationship, class atmosphere and discipline.
Write a paragraph oh the values of these aspects of school and how far these values are necessary for learning and life. [CBSE 2016]

Answer: “The diary of Anne Frank” clearly describes the teacher-student relationship, class atmosphere and discipline. Anne who talks a lot in the class gets punished by Mr Keesing her Maths teacher. He asks her to write essays as punishment which is learning in disguise because he wanted her to focus on studies. He cannot be blamed for the punishment as he did it for the development of Anne. The teacher-student relationship is very respectful and sacred. It is about discipline and classroom manners which are essential for every student as well as teacher, otherwise both teaching or learning could hamper. This relationship is clearly shown in Mr Keesing and Anne Frank actions as they both try to joke on 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.