4. From the Diary of Anne Frank

1. “I woke up very late today…” — Diary
2. “10:30 a.m. Went to the office of the Director…” — Log
3. “The ride to Ooty was uneventful…” — Journal
4. “This is how Raj Kapoor found me…” — Memoir

Anne had never written anything before. She also felt that later no one would be interested in the thoughts of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl. So writing a diary was a strange experience for her.

Anne did not have a true friend to share her feelings with. So she wanted the diary to be her friend. She called it ‘Kitty’.

Anne believed that ‘paper has more patience than people’. She could not talk to her friends about anything except ordinary things. So she felt she could share her inner feelings more freely with her diary.

Anne thinks that no one would understand her stories to Kitty if she started directly. So she gives a brief sketch of her life and family first.

Anne says, “No one knows how often I think of her and still love her.” On her birthday in 1942, Grandma’s candle was lit along with the rest. This shows her love.

Mr Keesing was annoyed because Anne talked too much in class. As a punishment, he asked her to write an essay on ‘A Chatterbox’.

Anne wrote that talking is a student’s trait. She said she would try to control it. But she could never cure herself completely, because her mother talked as much as she did. She said there is not much one can do about inherited traits.

No, he was not very strict. He punished Anne with extra homework, but he enjoyed her answers. He laughed at her arguments and read her poem to the class. Later he started making jokes himself.

Anne wrote her third essay as a funny poem about a mother duck, a father swan and three baby ducklings. Mr Keesing took the joke the right way. After this, he allowed Anne to talk in class.

No, she was wrong. Her diary was published as ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’. It has been translated into many languages. It is one of the most widely read books in the world.

The diary was originally written in Dutch.

The entries in ‘Before You Read’ are short records of facts. Anne’s diary is different. She writes to her diary as a friend, ‘Kitty’. She shares her personal thoughts and feelings in detail.

Anne gives a brief sketch so that Kitty can understand her stories. She treats Kitty as an outsider at first, because she introduces her family to her. But she shares her secrets with Kitty like a close friend.

She calls her father “the most adorable father”. She loves her grandmother and still thinks of her. She was very fond of Mrs Kuperus and cried when she said goodbye to her. She finds Mr Keesing an “old fogey”, but she likes him in the end.

This shows that Anne is loving, sensitive and emotional. She values relationships.

In her first essay on ‘A Chatterbox’, Anne wrote that talking is a student’s trait. She would try to control it but could never cure the habit. Her mother talked as much as she did, and inherited traits cannot be changed much.

Yes, he is unpredictable. He punished Anne for talking by giving her essays to write. But later he laughed at her arguments and read her poem to other classes. In the end he allowed her to talk and started making jokes himself.

(i) We don’t seem to be able to get any closer, and that’s the problem. Maybe it’s my fault that we don’t confide in each other.

Anne is honest. She can look at her own faults. She wants a deep and true friendship.

(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.

Anne is imaginative and lonely. She wants a friend to share her feelings with.

(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.

Anne has a good sense of humour.

(iv) If you ask me, there are so many dummies that about a quarter of the class should be kept back, but teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth.

Anne is frank and confident. She gives her opinion without fear.

(v) Anyone could ramble on and leave big spaces between the words, but the trick was to come up with convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking.

Anne is intelligent and thoughtful. She knows how to argue her point well.

Sentences:

1. The news of the accident was heartbreaking.
2. Rahul felt homesick in the hostel.
3. Don’t be a blockhead; read the question carefully.
4. We should be law-abiding citizens.
5. Do not overdo your exercise on the first day.
6. She often daydreams in the class.
7. Our bus had a breakdown on the highway.
8. The output of the factory has increased this year.

1. plunge (right) in — start doing or saying something directly
2. kept back — not promoted to the next class
3. ramble on — talk or write for a long time without a clear focus
4. get along with — have a friendly relationship with someone

The sentences from the lesson are:

1. Since no one would understand a word of my stories to Kitty if I were to plunge right in…
2. …the teachers decide who’ll move up to the next form and who’ll be kept back.
3. Anyone could ramble on and leave big spaces between the words…
4. I get along pretty well with all my teachers.
5. Even G.’s pleading glances and my angry outbursts can’t calm them down.
6. …wondering whether to stay in or go out.
7. This birthday celebration in 1942 was intended to make up for the other…
8. I handed it in, and Mr Keesing had nothing to complain about…

1. quaking in its boots — very nervous and afraid
2. not to lose heart — not to lose hope or courage
3. for ages — for a very long time
4. play a joke on me … the joke was on him — to trick someone to make others laugh … to turn the trick back on the person who started it

1. caught my eye: A beautiful painting on the wall caught my eye.
2. he’d had enough: After waiting for two hours, he’d had enough and went home.
3. laugh ourselves silly: We laughed ourselves silly at the clown’s tricks.
4. can’t bring myself to: I can’t bring myself to tell her the sad news.

1. break somebody’s heart — make someone very sad. His harsh words broke his mother’s heart.
2. close/dear to heart — very important to someone. This school is very dear to my heart.
3. from the (bottom of your) heart — very sincerely. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
4. have a heart — be kind; show pity. Have a heart and help the poor old man.
5. have a heart of stone — be cruel and without feeling. Only a man with a heart of stone can beat an animal.
6. your heart goes out to somebody — feel great pity for someone. My heart goes out to the flood victims.

1. I’ve = I have
2. I’m = I am
3. I’d = I had / I would
4. he’d = he had
5. don’t = do not
6. doesn’t = does not
7. didn’t = did not
8. can’t = cannot
9. won’t = will not
10. haven’t = have not
11. it’s = it is
12. that’s = that is
13. there’s = there is
14. they’re = they are
15. you’re = you are
16. we’ll = we will
17. who’ll = who will
18. who’s = who is
19. Mr Keesing’s = Mr Keesing is

1. I’d = I had (“I’d better provide a brief sketch”, “after I’d finished”, “I’d nearly exhausted”) and I would (“I’d worry about that later”, “I’d make sure the joke was on him”).
2. he’d = he had (“he’d finally had enough”) or he would.
3. ’s = is or has. In the text, “Mr Keesing’s always making jokes” means Mr Keesing is.

HOB: Now where’s your husband, mistress?

MARY: In his bed. He’s sick, and weary. You wouldn’t harm him!

HOB: We’re going to smash his evil work to pieces. Where’s the machine?

SECOND MAN: On the table yonder.

HOB: Then here’s the end of it! [HOB smashes the model. MARY screams.] And now for your husband!

MARY: Neighbours, he’s a sick man and almost a cripple. You wouldn’t hurt him!

HOB: He’s planning to take away our daily bread… We’ll show him what we think of him and his ways!

MARY: You’ve broken his machine… You’ve done enough…

This entry in the diary has been made on 2 September (1666) 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 he thought the fire was far enough off. Pepys rose again at about seven in the morning. By then about 300 houses had been burned down. The fire had spread to Fish Street by London Bridge. Pepys then walked to the Tower along with Sir J. Robinson’s little son.

Amanda seems to be a girl of about eleven to fourteen. She is told to finish her homework, tidy her room and not eat chocolate because of her acne. Acne usually appears in early teenage years.

Her mother (or a parent) is speaking to her.

These stanzas show Amanda’s thoughts and daydreams. She does not say them aloud. So they are given in brackets.

Amanda is the speaker in these stanzas. No, she is not listening to her mother. She is lost in her own dream world.

As a mermaid, she could drift happily in a calm, green sea. She would be alone and free, with no one to give her orders.

No, Amanda is not an orphan. She imagines being one because an orphan has no parents to scold her. She would be free to roam the streets.

Rapunzel was a girl with very long hair. A witch locked her in a tall tower. A prince climbed up the tower using her hair.

Amanda wants to be Rapunzel so that she can live alone in a tower, far from everyone. She says she would never let down her hair, so no one could come up and disturb her.

Amanda yearns for freedom and peace. The poem shows that she is tired of being nagged all the time. She is a sensitive and imaginative girl who escapes into daydreams.

No, she is not really sulking or moody. She is only lost in her thoughts. Her mother misunderstands her silence. The constant nagging makes her withdraw into her own world.