NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English (First Flight) Chapter 4 From the Diary Of Anne Frank; Amanda!

NCERT
SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 10th

aglase .co

Class : 10th
Subject : English
Chapter : 4
Chapter Name : From the Diary Of Anne Frank

Q1 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.

Page : 49 , Block Name : Activity

Q2 Here are some entries from personal records. Use the de nitions 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?

(ii) 10:30 a.m. Went to the of ce 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

(iii) The ride to Ooty was uneventful. We rested for a while every 50 km or so, and used the time to
capture the magni cent 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.

(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!

Answer. (i) Diary
(ii) Log
(iii) Journal
(iv) Memoir

Page : 49 , Block Name : Activity

Q1 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.

Page : 51 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q2 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 nds a true friend as she has hardly any friends whom she could con de
in.

Page : 51 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q3 Why did Anne think she could con de 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 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q1 Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life?

Answer. Even though she disliked doing so, Anne provides a brief sketch of her life since no one
would understand a word of her musings if she were to jump right in.

Page : 51 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q2 What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother?

Answer. Anne's grandmother had fallen ill and had to be operated upon. Therefore, Anne's
birthday passed with little celebration. Her grandmother died the next year. Anne wrote in her
diary that no one knew how often She thought of her grandmother and still loved her.

Page : 51 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q1 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.

Page : 54 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q2 How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?

Answer. Anne justi ed 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.

Page : 54 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q3 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.

Page : 54 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q4 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.

Page : 54 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q1 Was Anne right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a
thirteen-year-old girl?

Answer. No, Anne was not right when she said that the world would not be interested in the
musings of a thirteen year old girl. Her diary was published under the name 'The Diary of a young
girl'. It was translated from its original Dutch into many languages and it became one of the
world's most widely read books. There have also been several lms, television and theatrical
productions, and even an opera based on the diary. It was described as the work of a mature and
insightful mind. It provides an intimate examination of life under Nazi occupation. Anne Frank
became one of the most renowned and discussed of the Holocaust victims.

Page : 54 , Block Name : Thinking About The Text

Q2 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 originally written in Dutch. Her diary is different from the others in
many aspects. She had named her diary 'Kitty'. She thought of it as her only true friend whom she
could con de in. She treated it as another person who was listening to her daily accounts. She
wrote all her stories in it. She started by writing 'Dearest kitty' and ended the account by writing,
'Yours, Anne'. Her diary was a lot more personal than other diaries.

Page : 54 , Block Name : Thinking About The Text

Q3 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 a brief sketch of her life since no one would understand a word of her stories to
her diary if she were to plunge right in. She, therefore, wrote a brief sketch of her life, even though
she disliked doing so. She treated Kitty as an insider because she called it her best friend and was
ready to con de in it.

Page : 54 , Block Name : Thinking About The Text

Q4 How does Anne feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing? What do
these tell you about her?

Answer. Anne felt that her father was the most adorable father she had ever seen. Anne
remembered her grandmother even after her death. She wrote in her diary that no one knew how
often she thought of her grandmother and still loved her. In the sixth form at the Montessori
nursery school, her teacher was Mrs Kuperus, who was also the headmistress. At the end of the
year, they were both in tears as they said a heartbreaking farewell. Mr Keesing was her Maths
teacher. He was annoyed with her because she talked too much. However, Anne was able to justify
her talkative nature every time she was punished by Mr. Keesing. On each occasion he was
impressed by the manner in which she presented her arguments. All these incidents show how
lovable and smart Anne was. Everybody was attached to her, and even Mr Keesing could not help
but laugh at her essays and acknowledge her smart mind.

Page : 54 , Block Name : Thinking About The Text

Q5 What does Anne write in her rst essay?

Answer. In her rst essay, titled 'A Chatterbox', Anne wanted to come up with convincing
arguments to prove the necessity of talking. She began thinking about the subject. She wrote three
pages and was satis ed. She argued that talking was a student's trait and that she would do her
best to keep it under control. She further wrote that she would never be able to cure herself of the
habit since her mother talked as much as she did. There was not much that one could do about
inherited traits. Mr Keesing too had a good laugh reading her arguments.

Page : 54 , Block Name : Thinking About The Text

Q6 Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable? How?

Answer. Anne felt that a quarter of her class was dumb, and should be kept back and not promoted
to the next class. However, she also felt that teachers were the most unpredictable creatures on
earth. Mr Keesing could be termed as unpredictable. The way Anne always talked while the class
was going on, any teacher would lose his temper. However, after several warnings, all Mr Keesing
did was to assign her extra homework. She had to write an essay on 'A Chatterbox'. In this way, he
tried to play a joke on her. Each time that he asked her to write such essays, she wrote very well.
She kept countering his jokes. One could not have predicted that he would take all the jokes in the
right spirit. Finally, he accepted her talkative nature and actually allowed her to
talk in class. He did not even assign her any more extra homework. That iS Why it can be said that
Mr Keesing was unpredictable.

Page : 54 , Block Name : Thinking About The Text

Q7 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 con de in each other.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.

Answer. (i) These lines show that Anne had no true friend whom she could con de in. She even put
the blame on herself that the fault might be hers.
(ii) This line shows that Anne really considered her diary as a friend whom she could trust and
narrate all her stories to. She did not want just a diary in which she could write down the facts like
others did. She considered it as her friend and named her Kitty.
(iii) This statement shows that Anne was a fun-loving person. She was witty and knew how to
present things in a funny way. She narrated this incident with a lot of fun. The use of 'plunked
down' shows her sense of humour.

(iv) This statement shows that she had an opinion on everything. She thought that a quarter of her
class was full of dummies, signifying that she herself was intelligent enough to make it to the next
class. She thought of teachers as the most unpredictable creatures on earth because nobody could
say which students they would fail and which students would be passed on to the next class.
(v) This statement shows that Anne knew a lot about writing. She was given the task of writing an
essay as a punishment. She took it on with full vigour. She did not want to write it like others who
merely left big spaces between the words to make the essay look voluminous. She knew that the
trick was to come up with a convincing argument to prove the necessity of talking. She was
different in her approach from everybody else.

Page : 54 , Block Name : Thinking About The Text

Q1 Match the compound words under ‘A’ with their meanings under ‘B’. Use each in a sentence.

Answer.

Page : 55 , Block Name : Thinking About Language

Q1 How old do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?

Answer. Amanda is about a 9-10 year old school going girl. She is being scolded for things typical
for that particular age. Her parents are trying to inculcate in her good manners and etiquettes.
Amanda is very innocent and immature.

Page : 62 , Block Name : Thinking About The Poem

Q2 Who do you think is speaking to her?

Answer. One of her parents is speaking to her. Most probably it is her mother. In a traditional
household mother is held responsible for the conduct of child. In this case also, the range of
instructions suggests that the speaker is Amanda's mother.

Page : 62 , Block Name : Thinking About The Poem

Q3 Why are Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 given in parenthesis?

Answer. Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 are given in parenthesis because they re ect the inner thoughts of
Amanda They can be taken as the reaction of the child for the instructions given in stanzas 1, 3
and 5. Here, there is an alternate sequence of scolding of the mother, and corresponding reaction
to it given by the child. Also, parenthesis is used here to make the reading of ' the poem friendly

Page : 62 , Block Name : Thinking About The Poem

Q4 Who is the speaker in Stanzas 2, 4 and 6? Do you think this speaker is listening to the speaker
in Stanzas 1, 3, 5, and 7?

Answer. Speaker of the stanzas 2, 4 and 6 is the child, Amanda. No, she is not paying any attention
to the speaker of stanzas 1, 3 and 5 as she is lost in a world of her own. Her imagination provides
her an escape from her sorry reality.

Page : 62 , Block Name : Thinking About The Poem

Q5 What could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?

Answer. Amanda wishes to be a mermaid so she could carelessly move along on a languid emerald
sea. She just wishes to be carried away by the green sea waves slowly and gradually. Amanda longs
for a place where she is all by herself as her happiness is not dependant on any other human being.
Hence, she desires to be a mermaid because for a child, mermaid is a symbol of freedom and
wonder.

Page : 62 , Block Name : Thinking About The Poem

Q6 Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?

Answer. No, Amanda is not an orphan, though she wishes to be one She is so much stressed with
the continuous nagging of her parents that she imagines herself to be better without them. The
mere presence of her parents around her depresses her. Amanda is a little girl who seeks 'golden'

silence and 'sweet' freedom. She wishes to roam around streets and draw patterns with her bare
feet Indeed it is horribly depressing that Amanda expects being an orphan.

Page : 62 , Block Name : Thinking About The Poem

Q7 Do you know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel?

Answer. Story of Rapunzel — Rapunzel's story revolves around her life on a tower Rapunzel was
made to live on a high tower by a witch. She eventually got used to living there. She was happy and
satis ed with her life Rapunzel had very long golden hair, using which the witch used to pay her a
visit. The fate of Rapunzel took a turn when one day a prince came to meet her using her hair. The
witch had punished both of them by separating them. Finally they met after a couple of years only
to be united forever this time. Amanda Wishes to live like Rapunzel on a high tower away from
everyone She seeks peace and harmony. That is the reason Amanda wishes to be like Rapunzel.
However, she also makes a point that in order to avoid being disturbed she would never let her hair
down for anyone to climb to her. She needs no one to make her life happy.

Page : 62 , Block Name : Thinking About The Poem

Q8 What does the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?

Answer. A girl like Amanda yearns for freedom and space for herself. She is incapable to ful l the
expectations of her parents. Amanda is no less than a symbol for all the children who face similar
fate irrespective of class, colour or nationality Traditional societies demand a certain type of
behaviour from the individuals and the training to produce such begins at a very young age.
Parents ignore the innocence and understanding level of their children and thereby the young
ends up killing their imagination and thoughts.

Page : 62 , Block Name : Thinking About The Poem

Q9 Read the last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody?

Answer. No, Amanda is neither sulking nor moody. She is simply not interested enough in the
nagging business of her parents. Amanda cares more about her imagination and thought process
over the manners her parents are trying to inculcate into her.

Page : 62 , Block Name : Thinking About The Poem