Chapter 4: From the Diary of Anne Frank

Activity

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:

	A	B
(i)	Journal	A full record of a journey, a period of time or an event, written every day
(ii)	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
(iii)	Log	A written record of events with times and dates, usually official
(iv)	Memoir(s)	A record of person’s own life and experiences (usually, a famous person)

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: 1

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: 2

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: 3

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.

Page 51

Question: 1

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: 2

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: 1

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: 2

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: 3

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: 4

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

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. Anne is reserved.
2. She is self-confident and inventive.
3. She is humorous as well.
4. Anne is intelligent.
5. She has a sense of propriety and convincing attitude.

Thinking about the Language

Question: I

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

S.No.	A		B
1.	Heart-breaking	(a)	Obeying and respecting the law
2.	Homesick	(b)	Think about pleasant things, forgetting about the present
3.	Blockhead	(c)	Something produced by a person, machine or organisation
4.	Law-abiding	(d)	Producing great sadness
5.	Overdo	(e)	An occasion when vehicles/machines stop working
6.	Daydream	(f)	An informal word which means a very stupid person
7.	Breakdown	(g)	Missing home and family very much
8.	Heart-breaking	(h)	Do something to an excessive degree

Answers:

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

Question: II Phrasal Verbs

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.)

1.	Plunge in	(a)	Speak or write without focus
2.	Kept back	(b)	Stay indoors
3.	Move up	(c)	Make (them) remain quiet
4.	Ramble on	(d)	Have a good relationship with
5.	Get along with	(e)	Give an assignment (homework) to a person in authority (the teacher)
6.	Calm down	(f)	Compensate
7.	Stay in	(g)	Go straight to the topic
8.	Make up for	(h)	Go to the next grade
9.	Hand in	(i)	Not promoted

Answers:

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

Question: III Idioms

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.)

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.

2. 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

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.

Question: II Idiomatic Expressions

1. Break somebody’s heart
2. Close/Dear to heart
3. From the (bottom of your) heart
4. Have a heart
5. Have a heart of stone
6. Your heart goes out to somebody .

Answer:

1. Break somebody’s heart It is not a good habit to break somebody’s heart.
2. Close to heart I am very close to my father’s heart.
3. From the (bottom! of your) heart I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being my mentor.
4. Have a heart I request you to have a heart and look again at my application.
5. Have a heart of stone It is said that people like Hitler have a heart of stone.
6. Your heart goes out to somebody As I looked at shabbily dressed up children, my heart went out to them.

Listening

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.

Summary

This entry in the diary has been made on 2nd September by Samuel Pepys. The person who told Pepys about the fire was called Jane. She called at about three in the morning. Pepys went back to sleep because the fire was on the backside of Marke-Lane at the farthest. Pepys rose again at Seven in the morning. By then about 300 houses had been burned down. The fire had spread to all fish streety by London Bridge. Pepys then walked to the tower along with sir J. Robinson’s little son.