From the Diary of Anne Frank

Textual Solutions for Class 10 English

Chapter 4 – From the Diary of Anne Frank

The lesson "From the Diary of Anne Frank" tells about Anne, a German Jewish girl, who starts writing a diary for the first time. Even though she has a loving family and many friends, she feels lonely and wants someone to share her thoughts with. Anne chooses to write in a diary because she thinks papers can listen better than people. She calls her diary "Kitty" and begins writing about her life in Holland, where she starts school. Anne likes most of her teachers, especially Mrs. Kuperus, but she often talks too much in class and annoys her math teacher, Mr. Keesing. He gives her extra homework as punishment, but eventually, he stops and starts joking with the students instead. Anne learns from her mistakes and tries to behave better in class.

Activity (Page 49)

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.)

A	B
Journal	A full record of a journey, a period of time, or an event, written every day
Diary	A book with a separate space or page for each day, in which you write down your thoughts and feelings or what has happened on that day
Log	A written record of events with times and dates, usually official
Memoir(s)	A record of a person’s own life and experiences (usually, a famous person)

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.

(i) 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?

Diary

(ii) 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

Log

(iii) 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.

Journal

(iv) This is how Raj Kapoor found me — all wet and ragged outside R.K.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!

Memoir

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 51)

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

Anne Frank got a diary for her thirteenth birthday, and it was a new experience for her because she hadn't written anything before. She thought of the diary as her best friend where she could write down all her thoughts and feelings. Even though she felt that no one would care about what a thirteen-year-old girl had to say, she still found comfort in writing freely in the diary to express her worries.

2. Why does Anne want to keep a diary?

Anne felt lonely and was upset as she had no friends. She wanted to get rid of all the burdens and worries. So she decided to keep a diary where she could keep her secrets and treat it as a true friend.

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

Anne believed that paper could listen to her thoughts better than people could. She found it easier to write down all her thoughts and desires in a diary. She thought of her diary as her closest friend, where she could share her secrets without worrying about anyone else reading them.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 51)

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

Anne shared a little about her life in her diary because she wanted to tell about her family, school, and herself. She thought that by reading her diary, people could understand her better and know what was going on in her life.

2. What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother?

Anne stayed with her grandmother in Aachen while her parents lived in Holland. She was very fond of her grandmother and often wrote about her in her diary. But when her grandmother passed away in January 1942, Anne expressed, "I still think of her a lot and love her deeply." She wanted to show how much she cared for her grandmother. On her thirteenth birthday, she lit one candle among the others to show her love and appreciation for her dear grandmother.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 54)

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

Mr Keesing was annoyed with Anne because she was very talkative. He often punished her by giving her extra homework to write essays on topics that were related to her nature to keep her silent.

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

Anne justified her being a chatterbox in her essay by clearly saying that she had inherited it from her mother, who was also as talkative as her or even more. She also said that nobody could do anything about such inherited traits.

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

Mr. Keesing wasn't too strict, but he wanted his class to be quiet and orderly while he taught. Like any teacher, he cared about his students' well-being. It's natural for a teacher to feel frustrated if students talk too much during class. Mr. Keesing was annoyed with Anne because she talked a lot. As a consequence, he would assign her extra homework and ask her to write essays about her chattiness. However, he also laughed at Anne's amusing arguments, showing that he wasn't excessively strict.

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

Anne’s last essay, entitled ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, Said Mistress Chatterbox’ and written in the form of a poem, showed Mr Keesing the lighter side of Anne. He was impressed with the way she presented her arguments in a rhythmic manner. It helped bridge the gap between Mr Keesing and Anne, and thereafter she was never given extra homework by him. Later on, he allowed her to talk in class for her language abilities.

Thinking about the Text (Page 54-55)

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

Anne, being just thirteen, felt like adults didn't take kids seriously. She believed that grown-ups thought children were too young to understand the world. But her diary proved them wrong! It became famous worldwide, even in different languages. Anne became well-known as one of the Holocaust victims, and people talked a lot about her.

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?

Anne’s diary was originally written in Dutch. It was different from other entries in several aspects. She had named her diary ‘Kitty’. She wrote in an informal tone that showed a teenager’s carefree nature. She wrote her feelings and secrets in it as she considered her diary to be her best friend. She wrote a lot of personal events and memories in her diary, which made it different from other diaries.

3. Why does Anne need to give a brief sketch of her family? Does she treat ‘Kitty’ as an insider or an outsider?

Anne introduced her family in her diary because she wanted to show that even though she was just a teenager, she could write about serious things like loneliness and what was happening around her. She talked about her dad, mom, grandma, and sister, who she loved very much. She called her diary "Kitty," a gift from her parents on her thirteenth birthday. To Anne, Kitty was more than just a diary; it was like a close friend she could share all her thoughts and feelings with by writing 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 remembered her lovely dad, her grandma Mrs. Kuperus, and her math teacher Mr. Keesing with a lot of love. They meant a great deal to her and influenced her life a lot. When she wrote about them in her diary, it showed how close she was to each of them and how well she understood people. Anne had a strong and lasting connection with each of them.

5. What does Anne write in her first essay?

Mr. Keesing gave Anne a task to write an essay about "A Chatterbox" because she talked too much. In the essay, she talked about how being talkative affects people and argued that she got it from her mom, who was also chatty. She said that since it's inherited, it's hard to change, and being talkative is just a natural part of being a student. Mr. Keesing found her argument funny and laughed heartily.

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

Anne thought Mr. Keesing was a bit unpredictable as a teacher because he seemed not to care much about her behavior and always scolded her for talking too much. At first, he punished her by giving her extra work, but after reading her essays, he found them funny and stopped punishing her. Instead, he let Anne talk in class without any more trouble.

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 Anne did not have any close friends in whom she could confide her secrets. Therefore, she blamed herself for her reserved nature.

(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 implies that Anne considered her diary ‘Kitty’ to be her best friend and wrote all her emotions and secrets on it rather than simply jotting down facts like other people do.

(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 implies the humorous nature of Anne. She had a witty personality and wrote the line in a funny tone. The words ‘plunked down’ exhibit 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.

Anne thought that some of her classmates weren't very smart, but she believed she was smart enough to move on to the next class. She also thought that teachers were very unpredictable because it was hard to tell who would fail or pass and move on to the next grade.

(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.

Anne was talking about writing. Mr. Keesing gave her extra essays to write as a punishment for talking too much. Even though it was more work for her, she wanted to do it with energy. She didn't want to fill the page with big spaces between words just to make it look longer. Instead, she wanted to write strong arguments to show the importance of talking. This made her writing style different from others.

Thinking about Language (Page 55,56,57)

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

A	B
1. Heartbreaking	obeying and respecting the law
2. Homesick	think about pleasant things, forgetting about the present
3. Blockhead	something produced by a person, machine or organisation
4. Law-abiding	producing great sadness
5. Overdo	an occasion when vehicles/machines stop working
6. Daydream	an informal word which means a very stupid person
7. Breakdown	missing home and family very much
8. Output	do something to an excessive degree

Answers:

A	B
1. Heartbreaking	producing great sadness
2. Homesick	missing home and family very much
3. Blockhead	an informal word which means a very stupid person
4. Law-abiding	obeying and respecting the law
5. Overdo	do something to an excessive degree
6. Daydream	think about pleasant things, forgetting about the present
7. Breakdown	an occasion when vehicles/machines stop working
8. Output	something produced by a person, machine or organisation

Find the words used in the sentences below:

Her friend’s departure was heartbreaking news to her.
Staying in the hostel away from her parents, Riya felt homesick.
Rihan is such a blockhead that he is the object of everyone’s ridicule.
One of the objectives of education is to nurture law-abiding citizens.
If you are trying to please someone, never overdo it; most people wouldn’t like it.
The little girl sat daydreaming in class, unaware that the teacher was noticing her.
There was a traffic block as a car had a breakdown in the middle of the road.
The government took several steps to increase agricultural output.

II: Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb is a verb followed by a preposition or an adverb. Its meaning is often different from the meanings of its parts. Compare the meanings of the verbs get on and run away in (a) and (b) below. You can easily guess their meanings in (a) but in (b) they have special meanings.

(a) She got on at Agra when the bus stopped for breakfast.

Dev Anand ran away from home when he was a teenager.

(b) She’s eager to get on in life. (succeed)

The visitors ran away with the match. (won easily)

Some phrasal verbs have three parts: a verb followed by an adverb and a preposition.

(d) The government wants to reach out to the people with this new campaign.

1. The text you’ve just read has a number of phrasal verbs commonly used in English. Look up the following in a dictionary for their meanings (under the entry for the italicised word).

(i) plunge (right) in (iii) ramble on

(ii) kept back (iv) get along with

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 of 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.)

Phrasal Verb	Meaning
plunge in	go straight to the topic
kept back	not promoted
move up	go to the next grade
ramble on	speak or write without focus
get along with	have a good relationship with
calm down	make (them) remain quiet
stay in	stay indoors
make up for	compensate
hand in	give an assignment (homework) to a person in authority (the teacher)

plunge in: “Since no one would understand a word of my stories to Kitty if I were to plunge right in, I’d better provide a brief sketch of my life, much as I dislike doing so.”
kept back: “The reason, of course, is the forthcoming meeting in which the teachers decide who’ll move up to the next form and who’ll be kept back.”
move up: “The reason, of course, is the forthcoming meeting in which the teachers decide who’ll move up to the next form and who’ll be kept back.”
ramble on: “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.
get along with: “I get along pretty well with all my teachers.”
calm down: “Even G.’s pleading glances and my angry outbursts can’t calm them down.”
stay in: “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.”
make up for: “This birthday celebration in 1942 was intended to make up for the other, and Grandma’s candle was lit along with the rest.”
hand in: “I handed it in, and Mr. Keesing had nothing to complain about for two whole lessons.”

III:Idioms

Idioms are groups of words with a fixed order, and a particular meaning, different from the meanings of each of their words put together. (Phrasal verbs can also be idioms; they are said to be ‘idiomatic’ when their meaning is unpredictable.) For example, do you know what it means to ‘meet one’s match’ in English? It means to meet someone who is as good as oneself, or even better, in some skill or quality. Do you know what it means to ‘let the cat out of the bag’? Can you guess?

1. 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.)

(i) Our entire class is quaking in its boots. _____ shaking with fear and nervousness

(ii) Until then, we keep telling each other not to lose heart. ___ not to lose hope or expectation

(iii) Mr Keesing was annoyed with me for ages because I talked so much. ___ for a long time

(iv) Mr Keesing was trying to play a joke on me with this ridiculous subject, but I’d make sure the joke was on him. ________ he was outwitted by her

2. Here are a few more idiomatic expressions that occur in the text. Try to use them in sentences of your own.

(i) caught my eye

(ii) he’d had enough

(iii) laugh ourselves silly

(iv) can’t bring myself to

(i) The shiny red car caught my eye as it zoomed past.

(ii) After hours of playing outside, Tommy decided he’d had enough and went home.

(iii) When Sarayu told her funny joke, we laughed ourselves silly until our stomachs hurt.

(iv) Even though I know it’s important, I can’t bring myself to eat broccoli because it tastes funny.

IV: You have read the expression ‘not to lose heart’ in this text. Now find out the meanings of the following expressions using the word ‘heart’. Use each of them in a sentence of your own.

1. break somebody’s heart - to hurt or upset someone deeply
2. close/dear to heart - someone close to you
3. from the (bottom of your) heart - feel for someone genuinely
4. have a heart - to evoke feeling and help someone in pain
5. have a heart of stone - a person with no feelings or sentiments
6. your heart goes out to somebody- to sympathise with someone

1. When her best friend moved away, it broke Priya’s heart because she missed her so much.

2. My teddy bear is very close to my heart because my grandma gave it to me.

3. Priya wrote a thank-you card to her teacher from the bottom of her heart to show how much she appreciated her help.

4. Please have a heart and share your toys with your little brother, Arjun.

5. When Priya’s cat got lost, the neighbor who found it seemed to have a heart of stone and didn’t return it.

6. When Arjun saw the sad puppy in the shelter, his heart went out to it, and he wanted to adopt it and give it a loving home.

V:Contracted Forms

(i) I’ve – I have

(ii) Can’t – Cannot

(iii) I’m – I am

(iv) Won’t – Would not

(v) Don’t – Do not

(vi) Doesn’t – Does not

(vii) Didn’t – Did not

(viii) Who’ll – Who will

(ix) You’re – You are

(x) There’s – There is

(xi) I’d – I would

(xii) We’ll – We will

(xiii) He’d – He had

(xiv) That’s – That is

(xv) Who’s – Who is

(xvi) Haven’t – Have not

(xvii) It’s – It is

(xviii) Wouldn’t – Would not

2. (i) I’d – I had or I would

(ii) It’s – It is or It has

(iii) Who’s – Who is or Who has

(iv) That’s – That is or That has

Speaking (Page 58-59)

1. Here is an extract adapted from a one-act play. In this extract, angry neighbours who think Joe the Inventor’s new spinning machine will make them lose their jobs come to destroy Joe’s model of the machine.

You’ve just seen how contracted forms can make a written text sound like actual speech. Try to make this extract sound more like a real conversation by changing some of the verbs back into contracted forms. Then speak out the lines.

Do it yourself.

Writing (Page 59)

Now you know what a diary is and how to keep one. Can you keep a diary for a week recording the events that occur? You may share your diary with your class, if you wish to. Use the following hints to write your diary.

• Though your diary is very private, write as if you are writing for someone else.

• Present your thoughts in a convincing manner.

• Use words that convey your feelings, and words that ‘paint pictures’ for the reader. Be brief.

‘Diary language’ has some typical features such as subjectless sentences (Got up late in the morning), sentence fragments without subjects or verbs (…too bad, boring, not good), contracted forms (they’re, I’ve, can’t, didn’t, etc.), and everyday expressions which people use in speech. Remember not to use such language in more formal kinds of writing.

Dear Diary,

Got up late in the morning, rushed to school. Had a pop quiz in math - tough! Lunch with friends, fun chatting. After school, soccer practice - exhausting but exciting. Forgot to bring homework, oh no! Mom made my favorite dinner - yay! Watched a movie with family - relaxing. Weekend plans with friends - can’t wait!

Prerna

Listening (Page 59)

1. Your teacher will read out an extract from The Diary of Samuel Pepys (given on the next page) about the great fire of London. As you listen complete this summary of the happenings.

This entry in the diary has been made on ___________ by ____________. The person who told Pepys about the fire was called ___________. She called at __________in the morning. Pepys went back to sleep because _______. Pepys rose again at __________ in the morning. By then about ________ houses had been burned down. The fire had spread to _______ by London Bridge. Pepys then walked to the _____along with Sir J. Robinson’s _______.

Answer:

This entry in the diary has been made on 2nd September 1666 by Samuel Pepys. The person who told Pepys about the fire was called Jane. She called at three in the morning. Pepys went back to sleep because he thought it was far enough. Pepys rose again at seven in the morning. By then about 300 houses had been burned down. The fire had spread to Fish Street by London Bridge. Pepys then walked to the Tower along with Sir J. Robinson’s little son.