From the Diary of Anne Frank

About the Authoress

Anne Frank (12 June 1929—February/March 1945) was a German Jew. The twelve-year-old Jewish girl wrote ‘The
Diary of Anne Frank” while in hiding with her family and four friends in Amsterdam during the Nazis’ occupation of
the Netherlands in World War II. After two years in hiding, the group was betrayed and transported to a
concentration camp in Bergen where Anne and her elder sister Margot died of typhus in 1945. Her father, Otto, the
only survivor of the group found her diary and got it published in English under the name ‘The Diary of a Young
Girl”
Introduction of the lesson- From the Diary of Anne Frank
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.
Summary in English- From the Diary of Anne Frank
This chapter is a part of Anne Frank’s diary. Here she tells us about the early days of her life. She says that she
decided to start writing a diary because she did not have a friend. Anne was born on the 12th of June. 1929. She
had a sister three years older to her. She lived in Frankfurt until she was four. Her father immigrated to Holland in
1933.
Anne Frank was sent to the Montessori school and stayed there until she was six. She started in the 1st form. When
Anne was in the sixth form, her teacher was Mrs Kuperus, the headmistress. Both had a great love for each other.
Anne had no one in whom she could confide the feelings of her heart. So she decided to make her diary to her
friend. She called it ‘Kitty’. On Saturday 20th June 1942, Anne Frank made her first entry in her diary. It was in the
form of a letter and was addressed to her diary ‘Kitty’. Anne describes her experiences with her Mathematics
teacher, Mr Keesing.
Anne writes that one day, Mr Keesing punished her for talking in the class. He gave her extra homework. He asked
her to write an essay on ‘A Chatterbox.’ Anne wrote it, but she again talked in the class. Now Mr Keesing asked her
to write an essay on ‘An Incorrigible Chatterbox.’ Mr Keesing liked the essays written by Anne Frank.
But Anne could not give up the habit of talking in the class. So. as a punishment, Mr Keesing asked her to write an
essay on an unusual title. “‘Quack, Quack, Quack.’ said Mistress Chatterbox.” Anne wrote this essay in the form of a
poem. It was about a mother duck and the father swan. The father bit the three ducklings to death because they
quacked too much. It was a satire on Mr Keesing. But he took the joke in the right way. He read the poem to Anne’s
class and other classes also. He allowed Anne to talk in the class and never again gave her extra homework.
Main Points of the Story – From the Diary of Anne Frank
1. Writing in a diary is a strange experience for Anne Frank.
2. She writes only to lighten the burden on her heart.
3. She feels that paper has more patience than people.
4. She wants to keep a diary as she doesn’t have a friend.
5. She wants the diary to be her true friend, and she is going to call this friend, ‘Kitty’.
6. She got her education in Amsterdam.
7. She started writing her diary on 20 June 1942.
8. She feels that a quarter of students are worthless and deserve to be kept back.
9. The maths teacher, Mr Keesing, is an old-fashioned teacher.
10. He is annoyed with Anne as she talks too much in the class.
11. He gives her extra homework to write an essay on ‘A Chatterbox.’
12. She writes that she has inherited the habit of talking from her mother.
13. Mr Keesing has a good laugh at her arguments and gives to write another essay on ‘An Incorrigible Chatterbox’.
14. Mr Keesing was trying to play a joke on Anne by giving such an essay.
15. She finished the essay in verse with the help of her friend Sanne.
16. Mr Keesing reads the poem and the message in the right way.
17. After that, he has allowed Anne to talk in class.
18. Since then a change has come in Keesing and he has started making jokes.

Multiple Choice Question – From the Diary of Anne Frank

1.Anne Frank is___________ old.

(A) 10 years (B) 11 years
(C) 12 years (D) 13 years
Ans. (D) 13 years
2. What does Anne decide?
(A) writing a diary (B) making friends
(C) not to write a diary (D) not to make any friend
Ans. (A) writing a diary
3. Who helped Anne to write the essay in verse?
(A) Shiny (B) Sanne
(C) Sandra (D) Sony
Ans. (B) Sanne
4. Flow many real sisters did Anne have?
(A) one (B) two
(C) three (D) none
Ans. (A) one
5. Anne had everything on this earth; except
(A) a friend (B) loving parents
(C) a true friend (D) a loving sister
Ans. (C) a true friend
6. What name does Anne give to her Diary?
(A) Margot (B) Same
(C) Kitty (D) Edith
Ans. (C) Kitty
7. Find out the name of Anne’s elder sister.
(A) Margot (B) Sanne
(C) Kitty (D) Edith
Ans. (A) Margot
8. Anne was born in Frankfurt in Germany when she was four, her father emigrated to
(A) France (B) Holland
(C) England (D) Belgium
Ans. (B) Holland
9. When was Anne born?
(A) in 1929 (B) in 1933
(C) in 1934 (D) in 1935
Ans. (A) in 1929
10. Who was Mrs Kuperus?
(A) Anne’s mother (B) Anne ‘s Neighbour
(C) Anne’s friend (D) Anne’s teacher in the sixth form
Ans. (D) Anne’s teacher in the sixth form
11. What date did Anne make her first entry in her Diary?
(A) 20 June 1942 (B) 20 June 1941
(C) 20 June 1943 (D) 20 June 1939
Ans. (A) 20 June 1942
12. Why was Anne’s whole class quaking in boots?
(A) the teacher was going to check the homework
(B) the teachers were going to announce their annual result
(C) the teacher was going to punish them
(D) the Headmistress was going to visit their class
Ans. (B) the teachers were going to announce their annual result
13. In what subject was Anne not sure about her performance?
(A) Literature (B) Science and Technology
(C) Computer Education (D) Maths
Ans. (D) Maths
14. Who was Mr Keesing?
(A) Anne’s English teacher (B) Anne’s Maths teacher
(C) Anne’s father (D) Anne’s new neighbour
Ans. (B) Anne’s Maths teacher
15. Why did Mr Keesing give extra homework to Anne?
(A) she did not do her homework (B) for talking in Maths period
(C) she was very poor in Maths (D) the teacher was biased for her
Ans. (B) for talking in Maths period

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

Question 1.
To enhance the image of this long awaited friend in my imagination, I don’t want to got 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. (1×4=4)
(a) Why does ‘Anne call ‘her’ a long awaited friend?
(b) How does she want to begin her diary?
(c) Find out a word from the extract which means the same as ‘to increase to improve’.
(d) Who was Anne’s true friend?
Answer:
(a) Anne called her so because she since long wanted to have a friend in which she could confide in kitty, her diary
served her purpose.
(b) She wanted to begin her diary by giving an introduction.
(c) ‘To enhance’ means ‘to increase to improve’.
(d) The diary
Question 2.
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’. (1×4=4)
(a) Who is I here ?
(b) Who is her long-awaited friend?
(c) What do most people do?
(d) Which word in the passage means the same as ‘record’?
Answer:
(a) I here refers to Anne Frank.
(b) Her long – awaited friend is her diary.
(c) Most people write only facts in their diary.
(d) Jot down.
Question 3.
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 12th 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. (1×4=4)
(a) Why were the narrator and her sister sent to Aachen?
(b) When was the narrator born?
(c) Find the word from the passage which means’ to leave one’s own country to live in another country’.
(d) How does the narrator explain his father?
Answer:
(a) The narrator and her sister were sent to Aachen as her father had emigrated to Holland along with her mother
and there was no one to look after them.
(b) The narrator was born on 12th June, 1929.
(c) ‘Emigrated’ means ‘to leave one’s own country to live in another country’.
(d) Most adorable father.
Question 4.
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
quite. (1×4=4)
(a) In the passage whom does I stand for?
(b) Who was Mr. Keesing?
(c) Trace a word in the passage which means ‘old fashioned’.
(d) What was the topic of the ‘essay’
Answer:
(a) I stands for Anne Frank.
(b) Mr. Keesing was her maths teacher.
(c) ‘Fogey means ‘old fashioned’.
(d) ‘A chatterbox’
Question 5.
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. (1×4=4)
(a) What was the subject on which she had to write?
(b) What was the trick in writing the essay?
(c) Find out a word from the passage which means ‘contended’.
(d) What is a student’s trait?
Answer:
(a) She had to write on the subject ‘Necessity of talking’.
(b) The trick was to come up with convincing arguments in favour of talkativeness.
(c) ‘Satisfied’ means ‘contended’.
(d) Talking
Question 6.
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 the essay from the begnning 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. (1×4=4)
(a) Who is he and he had had enough of what?
(b) Explain: “exhausted my ingenuity”.
(c) How would this essay be different from the one written earlier?
(d) Which word in the passage means the same as ‘to laugh?
Answer:
(a) He is Mr. Keering and he had enough of Anne’s talking a lot.
(b) “Exhausted my ingenuity” means used up all my activity resulting left.
(c) This essay was different from the one written earlier, as it was written in poetry form.
(d) Joke.
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
‘Paper has more patience than people’. Elucidate. [Board Term I, 2012; Set-EL2 – Oil]
Answer:
According to Anne Frank, people are not always interested in listening to what you are telling them. They get bored
and lose patience, but it is not so with paper. You can go on writing whatever you like, and as long as you like.
Question 2.
How did Anne regard her diary and what name did she give to it? [Board Term I, 2012; Set-EL2 – 062]
Answer:
Anne regarded her diary as her long awaited friend. She named her diary as ‘Kitty’.
Question 3.
Why does Anne want to keep a diary? Why does she feel she can trust a diary more than the people? [NCERT]
Answer:
She wanted to keep a diary because she felt that people change and can’t be trusted but paper doesn’t change and
patiently documents one’s experiences
Question 4.
Grandma had a significant place in Anne’s heart. Explain. [Board Term I, DDE-2014]
Answer:
Anne loved her grandma very much. She died in January 1942. Her death was all the more troublesome to Anne. At
Anne’s birthday, a separate candle was lit for grandmother.
Question 5.
The class-mates of Anne Frank were shaking with fear and nervousness. Why? [Board Term I, 2012; Set-EL2 –
021]
Answer:
The class mates of Anne Frank were shaking with fear and nervousness because it was time to move to the next
class. The students did not know who would be kept back and who would be promoted.
Question 6.
Who taught Anne Frank maths? Why did the maths teacher always get annoyed with her? [Board Term I, 2012;
Set-FL2 – 024]
Answer:
Mr. Keesing taught her maths. He always got annoyed with her because she talked too much in the class.
Question 7.
What does Anne write in her first essay? [NCERT][Board Term I, 2012; Set-EL2 – 034]
Answer:
Anne wrote that talking is a student’s trait. She would not keep talking under control because her mother talked a
lot. She had inherited this trait from her mother.
Question 8.
How did Sanne help Anne Frank in writing the third essay? [Board Term I, 2012; Set-EL2 – 037]
Answer:
Sanne was one of Anne Frank’s friends. She suggested Anne to write the essay in verse form. She also advised her
to put up the example of a swan and ducklings in it.
Short Answer Type Important Questions – From the Diary of Anne Frank

1. What does Anne write in her first essay?

Ans. 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.
Ans. 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?
Ans. 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?

Ans. 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?
Ans. 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.
Ans. 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?
Ans. 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’.
Ans. 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.
Ans. Anne had losing parents and an elder sister she had losing 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?
Ans. 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. Where did Anne stay before going to Holland?
Ans. Anne’s parents migrated to Holland. They did not take Anne with them. So Anne stayed with her grandmother
for some months.
12. Why was Anne in tears, when she left the Montessori School?
Ans. 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.
13. Why was the entire class quaking in its boots?
Ans. 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.
14. Why does Anne feel that writing in a diary is really a strange experience?
Ans. 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.
15. 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?
Ans. 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 friend. She felt utterly lonely and depressed. Writing in a diary
could get all kinds of things off her chest.
16. Give a brief life-sketch of Anne Frank.
Ans. 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.
17. Why does Anne say: “Paper has more patience than people”?
Ans. Anne doesn’t seem to have much faith in the people around her. She was living in a hiding and couldn’t trust
people so easily. Moreover, people do react. Sometimes people react rather in 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.
18. Why doesn’t Anne want to jot down facts as most people do in a diary? Why does she call it her friend
‘Kitty’?
Ans. 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’.
19. Why does Anne think it prudent and wise to provide a brief sketch of her life?
Ans. Anne Frank calls her diary ‘Friend Kitty’. She addresses all her writings to Kitty. For readers, it would be
rather difficult to understand ‘a 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.
20. Why did Anne Frank feel suffocated?
Ans. 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.
21. Give a brief description of Anne Frank’s family.
Ans. 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 at 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.
22. Anne Frank had a great attachment with her grandmother. Justify your answer.
Ans. 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.
23. Why was the entire class quaking in its boots?
Ans. 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.
24. Why did Anne Frank says that teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth?
Ans. 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.
25. How was Anne getting along with her teachers? Why was Mr Keesing annoyed with her?
Ans. 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 maths. 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.
26. Why did Mr Keesing assign Anne to write an essay entitled ‘A Chatterbox’?
Ans. 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’.
27 How did Anne justify her habit of talking in her first essay on ‘A Chatterbox’?
Ans. 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.
28. What were the second and the third essays assigned to Anne Frank as punishment?
Ans. 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 the class, write an essay entitled — ‘Quack, Quack, Quack’, said Mistress
Chatterbox’.
29. How did she write the last essay “Quack, Quack, Quack, said Mistress Chatterbox”?
Ans. 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.
30. How did Mr Keesing take Anne’s third essay in verse? How did he react? Do you find a change in him?
Ans. 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.
Question 1.
Was Anne an intelligent girl ? Support your answer giving instances ?
Answer:
Anne was indeed an intelligent girl. She was only 13 but her diary shows she was mature for her age. She decided
to write a diary because she felt that paper was more patient than people. Only an intelligent girl can think so
deeply and wisely. Moreover, she proved the necessity of talking; She defended her habit as hereditary. Finally, She
wrote a fine poem and turned the joke on her teacher.’ Only an intelligent girl could do it.
Question 2.
Why did Anne Frank think that she could confide more in her diary than in the people?
Answer:
Anne felt alone, bored and depressed, though she had loving parents, a sister and thirty other people. She was a
shy, introvert type of girl she did not have a friend. She had a happy family but somehow, she could not confide in
them. She wanted someone with whom she could share her secrets. At that time, her friend gifted her a red and
white dairy. She found a real friend in her diary ‘Kitty’. Moreover, she realized the truth lying in the fact that paper
has more patience than people. So she could confide more ideas in her diary than in people because people are not
always interested in listening to what you are telling them.
Question 3.
How did Anne respond to the punishment by Mr. Keesing ? What light does it throw on her nature ?
Answer:
When Mr. Keesing punished Anne for her talkativeness again and again and asked her to write essay, one after the
other, she composed a poem on ‘The incorrigible Chatterbox’ and gave a message through it to the teacher. The
teacher got so impressed by her little poem than he decided not to punish her. It shows that she was capable of
writing good essays and poems and to win the heart of Mr. Keesing and make him realize his mistake. It also
reflects her fearlessness, critical thinking humility and unbiased approach as well as her creativity and humorous
approach to deal with her strict teacher.

Important Long Answer Type Questions – From the Diary of Anne Frank

Q.1. “Paper has more patience than people.” Elucidate.

Ans. 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.
Q.2. Give a brief sketch of Anne’s life. [H.B.S.E. March 2017 (Set-A)]
Ans. 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.
Q3. (i) Why did Mr Keesing punish her?
(ii) What was the punishment?
(iii) How did Anne finally stop Mr Keesing from punishing her?
Ans. 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.
Q.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
Ans. 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 was
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 the diary. Anne had an
argumentative mind. She argued in her first essay that parental traits are 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?
Ans. Anne had loving parents. She had loving aunts and uncles. She lived in a good house. She felt that there was
no one with whom she could share her thoughts and feelings. There were a number of things, which she wanted to
get out of her chest. But she had no true friend. She could not talk to about anything except ordinary everyday
matters. She could have a good time with them. But she had no intimate friend She had no friend in whom she
could confide her dope feelings. So she decided to maintain a diary. She thought that she would treat her diary-like
her. So she could note down all her thoughts and feelings in this diary. She named this friend. Kitty The first entry
that she made in the diary was dated 20th June. 1942.
Q.6. What does Anne say about her parents, elder sister and her stay in the Montessori School?
Ans. 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
Q.7. Anne had loving parents and a number of friends. Even then she thought that she was alone. Why?
Ans. 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.
Q.8. Why was the whole class shaking in its boots? How does Anne Frank describe the behaviour of her
classmates?
Ans. 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
Q.9. Describe the three essays written by Anne Frank.
Ans. 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.
Q.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 diary as a friend.
Ans. 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.
Q.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.
Ans. 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
quality 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.
Q.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.
Ans. 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.
Q.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.
Ans. 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.
Q14. 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?
Ans. 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 a 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.
Q 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?
Ans. 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 and true friend. She can power out her heart and express her most intimate
emotions through her writings in her diary.
Q16.Give a brief character-sketch of Anne Frank highlighting the contradictions and conflicts she faced in
her short life.
Ans. 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 inmost
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.
Q17. Give a brief character-sketch of Mr Keesing highlighting the transformation that comes in him in the
end.
Ans. 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 the 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.
Q18. Why was the whole class ‘quaking in its boots’? Why were teachers the most unpredictable creatures
on earth?
Ans. 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.
Q19. 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?
Ans. 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.
Q20. Do you agree that Anne Frank was far more intelligent, mature and witty than her age? Give a
reasoned answer.
Ans. 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.