Class X- First Flight Lesson 4- "From the Diary of Anne Frank"- "Anne Frank"
From the Diary of Anne Frank
“Laziness might be attractive, but work gives satisfaction.”
-Anne Frank
From the Diary of Anne Frank Introduction
This lesson is an excerpt from “Diary of a Young Girl” or “The Diary of Anne Frank”. It is an autobiography that was first published in 1947. In this, Anne expresses her thoughts in a diary which was gifted to her on her thirteenth birthday. She names the diary “kitty” which she considers as her only true friend. She mentions about her childhood, her family and a lot other things that she told no one else.
About the Characters
SUMMARY
After the homework, Anne started thinking on the essay. An idea flashed in her mind. She wrote “Talking is a student’s trait and I would do my best to control it. But I won’t be able to cure this habit since my mother is also talkative. So moving from the inherited trait cannot be done.” Hearing her arguments, Mr. Keesing had a good laugh.
Then the teacher gave her another essay. ‘An Incorrigible Chatter Box’. Thus,
passed two lessons. During the third lesson, he asked her to write on “Quack,
Quack, Quack, said Mistress Chatter Box.” It was a sort of punishment for Anne
for talking in class. At this topic, the whole class roared. Anne too laughed.
Though Anne tried for this essay but her friend Sanne became ready to help her.
In a way the teacher was playing a joke on her but in other words it was a joke
on him. So Anne wrote this essay like a poem. Anne read the poem in the class.
It stated, “There was a mother duck and a father Swan with three ducklings. The
ducklings were beaten to death by the father since they quacked too much”. It
was Anne’s good luck that the teacher took it in the right way. He read the
poem, gave his own comments. After that Anne was allowed to talk and no extra
work was given. Since then, Mr. Keesing too started making jokes.
From the Diary of Anne Frank Lesson & Explanation
WRITING in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me. Not only because I’ve never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year -old schoolgirl. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I feel like writing, and I have an even greater need to get all kinds of things off my chest.
Musings- a period of reflection or thought
The author feels that it is strange and unusual for her to write in a diary about her feelings and experiences because it was the first time she was doing it. She feels this because she thinks that in the future, no one would be interested in reading about a young school going girl’s past. She thinks that later, even she will not be interested in reading it. But then she puts these thoughts away and decides that she should write if she feels like doing so. She feels the need to write because there were a lot of thoughts she had been holding on to lately and she needed to get them off her mind. It is known that writing one’s thoughts act as therapy; she makes the decision of writing a diary.
‘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. Now I’m back to the point that prompted me to keep a diary in the first place: I don’t have a friend.
Listless- with no energy or interest
Let me put it more clearly, since no one will believe that a thirteen-year-old girl is completely alone in the world. And I’m not. I have loving parents and a sixteen-year-old sister, and there are about thirty people I can call friends. I have a family, loving aunts and a good home. No, on the surface I seem to have everything, except my one true friend. 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.
She then goes on explaining why she feels the need for a friend. She feels that no one is going to believe that a young girl like her is so alone, which practically, she is not because she has a loving family, near about 30 people that can be called “friends”, loving aunts and a good place to stay. This depicts a clear picture of a happy family but the one thing that lacks in her life is the presence of a true friend with whom she can share everything. She does have a good time with friends; they talk about stuff but not real stuff that is actually going on in their lives. Despite trying hard, they are unable to get closer. She feels that maybe it is her who is not able to trust anyone with her private stuff that she is not able to come any close to her friends. She feels that the current situation can not be changed and thus, she needs to write her feelings in the diary.
To enhance the image of this long-awaited friend in my imagination, I don’t want to jot down the facts in this diary the way most people would do, but I want the diary to be my friend, and I’m going to call this friend ‘Kitty’. 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.
Usually, when someone is writing in a diary, they list down all the facts about them in a formal manner which the author does not want to do. This is because she wanted to give her need for a friend a shape and thus, decides to name the diary as “kitty”. Hoping that someone would read her diary one day, she thinks that writing without giving details about the background story would be ineffective. So, despite not wanting to do so, she gives brief details about her life.
My father, the most adorable father I’ve ever seen, didn’t marry my mother until he was thirty-six and she was twenty-five. My sister, Margot, was born in Frankfurt in Germany in 1926. I was born on 12 June 1929. I lived in Frankfurt until I was four. My father emigrated to Holland in 1933. My mother, Edith Hollander Frank, went with him to Holland in September, while Margot and I were sent to Aachen to stay with our grandmother. 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.
She refers to her father as the most lovable father one could get. He father married her mother when he was at the age of 36 and she was 25. She and her sister Margot were both born in Frankfurt. As soon as Anne turned 4, her father moved to Holland followed by her mother in September while both the sisters stayed with their grandmother in Aachen. Margot was also sent to Holland in December followed by Anne in February who was brought as a birthday present for Margot.
I started right away at the Montessori nursery school. I stayed there until I was six, at which time I started in the first form. In the sixth form my teacher was Mrs Kuperus, the headmistress. At the end of the year we were both in tears as we said a heartbreaking farewell. In the summer of 1941 Grandma fell ill and had to have an operation, so my birthday passed with little celebration.
Farewell- an act of parting or of making someone’s departure
In Holland, Anne was sent to Montessori nursery school. (It was her first school) She started from first form. She had Mrs Kuperus, the headmistress, as her teacher in sixth form who even cried at the time of farewell. In 1941, the author’s birthday could not be celebrated well because her grandmother fell ill and underwent an operation.
Grandma died in January 1942. No one knows how often I think of her and still love her. This birthday celebration in 1942 was intended to make up for the other, and Grandma’s candle was lit along with the rest. The four of us are still doing well, and that brings me to the present date of 20 June 1942, and the solemn dedication of my diary.
Unfortunately, her grandmother left them in January, 1942. Anne misses her grandmother more than anyone knows. This year’s birthday was to be celebrated with great zeal so as to compensate for last year’s. She then mentions that her family is doing well which sums up her background and brings her to the present date of June 20, 1942 when she is writing her diary.
Saturday, 20 June 1942
Dearest Kitty,
On June 20, 1942, Anne begins writing in her diary addressing it as her friend “kitty”. She mentions how her entire class is nervous about their results. It is unpredictable and will be decided by a meeting of teachers in which they will select students to be moved to next class or kept back. Many students were making bets. Some had put in their entire summer savings at stake. She and her friend, G, also made fun of the nervous boys. They kept on saying to each other that “I am not going to pass!” while others would console them and say, “Yes, you would”. G was polite as she tried to stop them from making noise while Anne scolded them, but none of it worked. According to Anne, about a quarter of class should not be allowed to pass because they hardly respond or take part in any of the activities. She refers to them as “dummies”. But this may not be the case because teachers’ decisions can’t be predicted.
I’m not so worried about my girlfriends and myself. We’ll make it. The only subject I’m not sure about is maths. Anyway, all we can do is wait. Until then, we keep telling each other not to lose heart.
Not to lose heart- not be discouraged
The author says that she is not bothered about her friends because she is sure that they will pass. The only thing subject that she is unsure about is mathematics. She seems to be having a tough time with the subject. But all they could do was wait for the results and not lose their hope.
I get along pretty well with all my teachers. There are nine of them, seven men and two women. Mr Keesing, the old fogey who teaches maths, was annoyed with me for ages because I talked so much. After several warnings, he assigned me extra homework. An essay on the subject, ‘A Chatterbox’. A chatterbox — what can you write about that? I’d worry about that later, I decided. I jotted down the title in my notebook, tucked it in my bag and tried to keep quiet.
She tells how she has a great relationship with all her teachers except the maths professor. He was constantly irritated by the author’s talkativeness. Despite several warnings, Anne did not stop talking in his classes which prompted him to give her extra homework as punishment. The first one was to write an essay on “Chatterbox” which she thought was a weird topic to write on because what could one write about that.
That evening, after I’d finished the rest of my homework, the note about the essay caught my eye. I began thinking about the subject while chewing the tip of my fountain pen. 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. I thought and thought, and suddenly I had an idea. 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 do my best to keep it under control, but that 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.
The author came across the note she made as reminder for the essay after she had finished the rest of her homework. She began thinking about the topic. “While chewing the tip of my fountain pen” is a gesture that signifies a person is in deep thinking. While anyone could mention random stuff written for the sake of filling pages, she wanted to present concrete arguments in support of talking. She mentioned that she will try to better herself as a student but talking is something that cannot be eliminated completely. This is because she got it as an inherited trait from her mother and this is how she ended up writing 3 pages on the topic.
Mr Keesing had a good laugh at my arguments, but when I proceeded to talk my way through the 2next lesson, he assigned me a second essay. This time it was supposed to be on ‘An Incorrigible Chatterbox’. I handed it in, and Mr Keesing had nothing to complain about for two whole lessons. 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 professor found Anne’s arguments to be amusing but when she did not stop talking in the next lesson also, he gave her yet another assignment as punishment. The topic was “An incorrigible chatterbox”. Incorrigible refers to a bad habit that is difficult to change. He gave her this topic because he was annoyed of her unstoppable chattering during his lessons. On receiving this assignment, the professor did not say anything to her for a while but when he lost his patience, he handed her yet another assignment as punishment on the topic ‘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 beginning to end in verse and I jumped for joy. Mr Keesing was trying to play a joke on me with this ridiculous subject, but I’d make sure the joke was on him.
When the professor scolded her for the third time and punished her, the whole class started laughing. As a result, she had to pretend to be amused too. After writing twice on similar topics, she ran out of thoughts. Thus, her friend Sanne who was good at poetry offered to help her write in rhyme. This whole assignment scenario was to make Anne feel ashamed but she made sure that she gave an effective reply.
I finished my poem, and it was beautiful! It was about a mother duck and a father swan with three baby ducklings who were bitten to death by the father because they quacked too much. Luckily, Mr Keesing took the joke the right way. He read the poem to the class, adding his own comments, and to several other classes as well. Since then I’ve been allowed to talk and haven’t been assigned any extra homework. On the contrary, Mr Keesing’s always making jokes these days.
Contrary- opposite in nature, direction, or meaning
She finally wrote her third assignment in the form of a poem which turned out to be great. She wrote a satire that a father swan bit his three baby ducklings to death because of their noisy nature. To her good luck, the professor took it lightly. The professor recited the entire poem in front of the class while giving his own remarks simultaneously. The author being fortunate enough, talked uninterruptedly after this incident without any further homework as punishment. Also, Mr keesing, the professor started cracking jokes every now and then in front of the class.
TEXT BOOK - Question and Answers
Q1. What makes writing in a diary a strange experience for Anne Frank?
A. It was the first time Anne was writing in a diary. She felt that later no one would be interested in reading about the thoughts of a young girl. Both these facts made it a strange experience for her.
Q2. Why does Anne want to keep a diary?
A. Anne wanted to keep a diary and write in it because she had a lot going on in her head. She had no friend with whom she could talk about such personal stuff. Thus, she decided to maintain a diary.
Q3. Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people?
A. According to Anne Frank, “paper has more patience than people”. She chose to confide more in her diary because she felt there was no friend who could listen to her with enough patience.
Q4. Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life?
A. Anne feels it would be weird to just simply jot down facts without giving her background. In case someone might read it in future, he/she won’t be able to understand vaguely stated facts. Thus, she decided to provide a brief sketch of her life.
Q5. What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother?
A. The fact that Anne spent some part of her childhood with her grandmother is self-sufficient to imply connection between the two. Also, she explicitly mentioned in her diary that she misses her grandmother more than anyone is aware of is evident enough that she loved her grandmother.
Q6. Why was Mr Keesing annoyed with Anne? What did he ask her to do?
A. Mr Keesing, Anne’s maths professor was annoyed with her because she would not stop talking during his lectures as a result of which, he gave her assignments as punishments.
Q7. How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?
A. Anne explained that she got this habit of speaking too much from her mother, mentioning that it was inherited.
Q8. What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in class?
A. On being given the third assignment as punishment, Anne wrote a satirical piece which was quite promising. Thus, finally, the professor allowed her to talk.
Q9. Was Anne right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl?
A. Yes, Anne was right in thinking that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen - year - old girl. As she was a common girl, no one would want to know her feelings and so, no one would read her diary.
Q10. 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?
A. Anne’s diary was actually written in Dutch. Her diary is different from that of others on various aspects. She had named her diary “Kitty”. She thought of it as her only true friend. She could confide in Kitty. She treated it as another person because according to her, “Paper has more patience than people”. She started by writing “Dearest kitty” and ended the account by writing, “Yours Anne”.
Q11. Why does Anne need to give a brief sketch about her family? Does she treat ‘Kitty’ as an insider or an outsider?
A. Anne feels it would be weird to just simply jot down facts without giving her background. In case someone might read it in future, he/she won’t be able to understand vaguely stated facts. Thus, she decided to provide a brief sketch of her life. She treates “kitty” as an insider as it was her only true friend with whom she could share each and everything.
Q12. How does Anne feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing? What do these tell you about her?
A. According to Anne, her father is the most lovable man one could ever come across. She loved and missed her grandmother more than she showed. She was on good terms with her teachers except the old fogey, Mr Keesing who taught them mathematics. The headmistress, Mrs Kuperus was her class teacher and both were very close to each other. Mr Keesing often punished Anne with extra assignments as a punishment for her talkative nature. These indicate that Anne was affectinate and a loving person.
Q13. What does Anne write in her first essay?
A. In her essay, Anne mentions that she will try her best to minimise talking between lectures but this is a trait she inherited from her mother and it is difficult to eliminate an inherited trait. Also, her mother talks as much as she does, if not more. She also stressed that talking was a necessary quality for a good student.
Q14. Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable? How?
A. Yes, Mr Keesing is an unpredictable person. He is angry with Anne for being talkative in class and gives her extra assignments as a punishment. But later, he finds her essays to be witty and amusing. This brings a change in him and he accepts her arguements. He develops a funny bone too and starts cracking jokes in the class. This change in Mr Keesing’s nature shows that he is unpredictable.
A. This shows that Anne does not confide in people very easily. It is difficult for her to make personal relations where she could share what’s going on in her mind.
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.
A. This statement indicates that Anne does not have a close friend she could confide in. She was lonely despite having family and friends. Thus, she wanted the diary to be her only true friend.
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.
A. This statement is indicative of the love between the sisters. On migration, Anne was the last one to be brought to Holland and it was done on the birthday of her elder sister to surprise her.
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.
A. Anne feels that there are many weak students in the class who should be detained. Almost one - fourth of the class did not deserve promotion but the teachers, decision could not be predicted.
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.
A. Anyone could write senseless stuff while leaving big gaps in order to fill up a number of pages and submit the assignment easily. But Anne wanted to give such arguements which could prove that it was necessary for her to talk. She wanted to write sensible stuff.
From the diary of Anne Frank Grammar Exercises
Match the compound words under ‘A’ with their meanings under ‘B’. Use each in a sentence.
| A | B |
Heartbreaking | -obeying and respecting the law |
Homesick | -thinking about pleasant things, forgetting about the present |
Blockhead | -something produced by a person, machine or an organisation |
Law-abiding | -producing great sadness |
Overdo | -An occasion where vehicles/machines stop working |
Daydream | -an informal word which means a very stupid person |
Breakdown | -missing home and family very much |
Output | -do something to an excessive degree |
Answers-
| A | B | Sentences |
Heartbreaking | -producing great sadness | It would be heartbreaking to see it all collapse. |
Homesick | -missing home and family very much | He was homesick for America after five weeks in Europe. |
Blockhead | -an informal word which means a very stupid person | He did not understand the lecture as he is a blockhead. |
Law-abiding | -obeying and respecting the law | The spirit of freedom turned Nelson Mandela from a law-abiding attorney into a criminal. |
Overdo | -do something to an excessive degree | I’d simply overdone it in the gym. |
Daydream | -thinking about pleasant things, forgetting about the present | He was lost in a daydream. |
Breakdown | -An occasion where vehicles/machines stop working | Breakdowns could totally disrupt production. |
Output | -something produced by a person, machine or an organisation | This machine gives a good output. |
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.)
- plunge in – speak or write without focus
- kept back – stay indoors
- move up – make (them) remain quiet
- ramble on – have a good relationship with
- get along with – give an assignment (homework) to a person in authority (the teacher)
- calm down – compensate
- stay in – go straight to the topic
- make up for – go to the next grade
- hand in – not promoted
Answers-
- 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)
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.)
- Our entire class is quaking in its boots.
- Until then, we keep telling each other not to lose heart.
- Mr Keesing was annoyed with me for ages because I talked so much.
- 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:
- Our entire class is quaking in its boots- Shaking with fear and nervousness
- Until then, we keep telling each other not to lose heart- not to lose hope
- Mr Keesing was annoyed with me for ages because I talked so much- Since a long time
- 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
Try to use them in sentences of your own.
- caught my eye
- laugh ourselves silly
- he’d had enough
- can’t bring myself to
Answers-
- Caught my eye- The scenic beauty of Taj Mahal caught my eye.
- Laugh ourselves silly- On hearing the joke, the audiences laughed themselves silly.
- He’d had enough- The teacher said that he’d had enough, and he wanted all the notebooks by Wednesday.
- Can’t bring myself to- After yesterday’s embarrassing incident, I can’t bring myself to face him.
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.
- Break somebody’s heart.
- close/dear to heart
- from the (bottom of your) heart
- have a heart
- have a heart of stone
- your heart goes out to somebody
Answers-
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
- I’ve – I have
- Doesn’t- Does not
- Won’t- Would not
- I’m – I am
- Don’t- Do not
- Can’t – Can not
- It’s- It is
- That’s- That is
- I’d- I would
- Didn’t- Did not
- Who’ll- who will
- You’re- You are
- We’ll- We will
- There’s – There is
- He’d- He had
- Who’s- Who is
- Haven’t- Have not
He’d – He had or He would
EXTRA QUESTION-ANSWERS
Extract
Based Questions
Long Answer
Type Questions (100-120 words)
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 very humorous and healthy manner. So this healthy relationship is
needed everywhere in the class for effective teaching and learning.
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