A novel for class 10- English CBSE
By Anne Frank
Chapter 9- Notes and Study Material
Following is the novel of CBSE class 10 – The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. All the aspects like chapter wise summary in simple words, downloadable pdf files, short story of the novel, book review, Anne Frank Biography, Important Extra questions and Answers for SA 1 and SA 2, short Summary, main characters, Anne Frank autobiography, solutions of the diary of a young girl,Chapter wise Notes and Study Material, Introduction, Analysis, Understanding the Theme, main characters, Chapters in short, Conclusion and much more you will find below. Just get dive in-
Letters from 16 March 1944 —11 April 1944
1. Explain the impact of the “break-in” in the Annexed.
Ans. The two attempts of the burglars reiterate how vulnerable their situation was that g they could be inadvertently discovered during the burglaries. The first attempt was carried out when the Frank family were sitting together. Sub Suddenly, Peter burst forth with the news of i attempted break-in with a barrel falling over in the warehouse and someone trying to open the door from outside. The drained faces of the men were expressive of the tension, but they realized the burglary had been aborted, possibly due to the fact that the burglars were alarmed by footsteps in a quiet building that was supposed to have been abandoned at this time. The second break-in was far more daring. When Peter went down in the morning at seven, he noticed that both the warehouse door and street doors were open. This was an immediate signal to issue orders for others to create minimum noise as possible. The burglaries had a jarring effect on all the Annex members including Anne because it such acts would jolt them suddenly and make them more anxious about their safety.
2. What does the book ‘Men against Death’ talk about? How does it affect Ann?
Ans. The book Men against Death talks about gender inequality. Anne was greatly struck by the fact that in childbirth alone, women commonly suffer more pain, illness and misery than any war hero ever does. And what’s her reward for enduring all that pain? She gets pushed aside when she’s disfigured by birth, her children soon leave, her beauty is gone. Women, who struggle and suffer pain to ensure the continuation of the human race, make much tougher and more courageous soldiers. She goes on to condemn the prevalent value system whereby men do not acknowledge how great and beautiful women’s share in society is. She ends the entry with the prediction that the notion that it’s a woman in appreciation of their capabilities. Anne herself expresses a desire to be a journalist or famous writer, unlike her mother, sister or even Mrs Van Daan who wished to lead their life as homemakers.
3. Do you feel that Anne believes she is going to survive the war? Why or why not?
Ans. From her own entries in the diary, Anne Frank reveals to us much about her character. She is a courageous and optimistic girl, who yearns to be independent. She openly lets out her opinions to her readers. Her optimism is revealed every now and then when she writes about the situation in the ‘Secret Annexed’ as well as the world outside. After they go into the hideout, she gives herself holidays, which shows her relaxing tendency. All keeps track of all the happenings outside and at one place she declares, “the war goes on just the same whether or not they quarrel, or long for freedom and fresh air; so they should try to make the best of their stay in the hideout”. As things improved by the end of March 1944, Anne feels her life improved, that God will not leave her alone. By the end of June 1944, Anne declares that everything is alright around her and tempers are improving as the super-optimists are triumphing. Finally, she herself agrees that she has lots of courage and has always felt strongly that she is going to survive the war.
4. Describe the life at the ‘Secret Annexed’.
Ans. Usually, Hermann Van Peels gets up around 6:45 AM, followed by the others. Between 8:30 and 9:00 AM the people in hiding must not make a single sound, because then the warehousemen start arriving. Their workday begins at 9:00 AM. That is when the people in hiding go upstairs to eat breakfast. Mie takes a peek in the Secret Annex to see how things are going on and picks up the shopping list. Around 12:30 PM, the warehousemen go home and the people in hiding can breathe a sigh of relief. The mid-day meal is prepared and at 1:00 PM the people in hiding listen to the Eric news from London. Everybody returns to work at 1:45 PM. The dishes are washed and then it is time for an afternoon nap. Anne seldom sleeps, instead, she uses this time to write in her diary. The time of dinner depends on the time the news is broadcasted on the radio. After 10:00 Pm, it is peaceful in the Secret Annex, but the people in hiding often have trouble falling asleep. Especially, when there are shots being fired at Allied aeroplanes.
5. Describe the food-cycle of the residents of the Annexe.
Ans. By food cycle, Anne meant a shortage of some food items leading to dependence on some particular eatables that bored the residents of the Annexed. For example, they had eaten so many kidney beans and haricot beans that Anne could not bear the sight of them any more. Due to a meagre supply of food items, sometimes, they had nothing to eat but one particular dish or kind of vegetables. Anne writes, “The mere thought of them makes me feel sick.”
The members of the Annexed did not get enough supply of food items. It was disagreeable to eat a lot of sauerkraut for lunch and dinner daily. They did not get fresh vegetables daily. For dinner, they had beans, pea soup, potato-chalet, rotten carrots, beans etc. In the evening they always had potatoes with gravy substitutes, beetroot salads, or dumplings made from government flour, water and yeast. Due to regular use, they were no more liked by the members of the Secret Annexed. These lie like stones in their stomach. Each week, there was a slice of liver sausage and jam on dry bread. Overall the dwellers of the Annexed were now losing their appetite for the quality of food available in the Secret Annexe.
6. What did the evening war-correspondents report?
Ans. Being shut from the outside world, the inmates of the Secret Annexed had only the radio for their means of communication with the outside world. The BBC and German news on the radio helped them get updates of the wanton world outside. There were the “special air-raid announcements” that alerted people during air attacks, the radio started from early in the morning and kept inmates occupied till late in the evening. Every evening the war correspondents gave news directly from the battlefield, telling about the difficulties, courage and enthusiasm of the army. The people of the Annexed managed to get hold of the most incredible stories. These stories kept them engaged till eleven o’clock in the evening. They herd that Churchill wanted to land with the troops on the D-day. It was a great news that created hope in them. Just as if German News Bulletins and the BBC were not enough, they had “Special Air-Raid Announcements”. To continue with listening to the radio all the day was the sign that the grown-up had infinite patience, but it also meant that the power of absorption of their brains was pretty limited. One of two news bulletins would be ample per day! But the old ones listened to the news all the time.
7. Anne was never close to Margot, yet she admired a few things about her as stated in her letter. Explain.
Ans. Margot was the eldest child of Franks. She was reserved in nature. She won her mother’s confidence, unlike Anne. Margot never interfered into anyone’s matter, while Anne was outspoken. Margot always liked to share her feelings with her mother while Anne was very close to her father. Margot was also on good terms with her father.
Anne points out that Margot and Peter were always allowed to read nearly all the books brought by Mr Kowhais, while Anne was allowed to read only a few. Being the eldest and mature child, Margot had the privilege and freedom to read books that she enjoyed. This pinched Anne as she felt that her parents favoured Margot because she was sweet, pretty and intelligent But it is also true that both the sisters were kind to and loved each other. Whenever necessary and required, Margot gave her suggestions to Anne. She was friendly to Anne. In her letter to Anne, she opined that Anne and Peter could only gain by the ongoing friendship. While in her reply to Margot, Anne accepted her letter to be sweet. She hoped a sisterly affection from Margot for Peter. Anne admired Margot for her goodness. She found Margot as sensible as her father was towards her.
8. Why does Peter want Anne to smile?
Ans. Peter was a young, vibrant and loving guy. He was not much assertive like Anne Like Anne, he also wanted someone to share his feelings with. He was a cool and slug boy. It. took him a long time to express his feelings about Anne. Sometimes, he looked as innocent as a child. When he was open to Anne, he frankly shared many things with her.
Peter used to ask Anne to smile very often. Once Anne asked him why he always wanted her to smile, Peter’s reply was very innocent. He replied that when she smiled, she got dimples in her cheek that he liked very much and wondered how Anne did that. Anne told him that she had it right from her birth. She also informed him that she had one more in her chin. According to Anne, it was the only mark of beauty that she possessed. Peter argued that it was not true that she was not beautiful. In fact, she was more beautiful than anyone else. Peter suggested Anne to keep smiling always. At this, Anne realized that she seldom smiled, but now she would try to keep it on her face all the time.
9. According to Anne, what is the best part of the invasion?
Ans. D-day was the day of the invasion. At eight in the morning, the British reported heavy bombing. As precautionary measures for those in occupied territories, everyone living within a zone of twenty miles from the coast had been warned to get prepared for bombardments. The British would drop pamphlets an hour ahead of time where possible. This was the turning point in the war which people caught in the crossfire had been waiting for with bated breath. The liberation that they had talked about so much could possibly come true if the invasion was successful. The arrival of D – the day was the cause of great excitement for the annexe members because it was the beginning of their liberation. The best part about the invasion for them was that it brought with it a feeling of friends being on their way to rescue them. The oppression and threat that they had suffered from the German had left them with no hope but to turn to friends for help and salvation.
10. Describe Anne’s horror of war. How love was the countermeasure against the horror of war?
Ans. War brought its fair share of anxiety, misery and brutality. People were always under compulsion to do something during a war, either to enlist for killing others or to cope with the pain of loss and separation from those who had been killed. The horrors of war can only be dealt with if there is love that blossoms such as the love between Peter and Anne. Amidst the horrors of war, something as pure and beautiful as love blossoms between Peter and Anne. It is the war that has brought them together but it is their beautiful friendship which helps them to Cope up with the war and survive in the annexed. If love had been the guiding principle of people the world over, especially those in power, then there would have been no need for war and hatred. The predominant idea is to establish one’s superiority over another instead of embracing differences and divergent opinions.
11. What did Anne and Peter discuss on the ‘most wonderful evening’ that she had in the ‘Secret Annexed’ How did the grown-ups react when Peter and Anne spent evenings together in the room upstairs?
Ans. On Saturday, March 18, 1944, Anne had a wonderful evening as she spent time with Peter. After the dishes were done, Anne stood by the window in his parents’ room for a while. Soon Peter joined her. He stood on the left side of the open window, while Anne stood on the right. Then they talked. It was much easier to talk beside the open window in semidarkness than in bright light, according to Anne. She believed that Peter too had the same feeling. Then Peter and Anne had talked to each other so much that Anne did not feel like repeating it in her diary. However, Anne briefly describes that they talked about the quarrels at home and the estrangement between them and their parents. Then Anne had told Peter about daddy, mummy, Margot and about her own self. They had also talked about how neither of them confided in their parents, how she cried her heart out in bed, how he went up into the loft and swore and how Anne and Margot never told everything to each other.
Whenever Van Daan and Dussel saw Anne disappear into Peter’s room, they made feeble remarks like calling it “Anne’s second home” or, “Is it suitable for young gentlemen to receive young girls in semi-darkness?” Even Anne’s mummy became curious to know what Anne and Peter talked about.
12. Which country does Anne want to live in, after the war?
Ans. As days rolled by at the ‘Secret Annexed’ hideout, hopes went high and low among its inmates. Those who were in the hideouts were assisted by the volunteers of the ‘Free Netherlands’. But things became challenging with the news of the British invasion of Germany. From the beginning, Anne had admired the Dutch. She had the opinion that Dutch people were good, honest and upright people and would never lose their sense of right. Anne reveals her patriotism in every opportunity she finds. Though born in Germany, she had moved to Holland after her father went there to join a company. Naturally, Anne is more attached to this nation. However, when news came that German Jews who emigrated to Holland might not be allowed to return, it aggrieved Anne. She loved Holland, which she calls ‘beautiful country’ and even though that it might become her fatherland. She was thus shocked to hear that after Hitler had gone, they would have to go back to Germany again. Anne desperately hoped that after the invasion, once the War was over, she could go back to school to meet her old friends and pursue her studies.
13. Anne is confused about Peter. Explain.
Ans. Peter was a young and loving boy but at the same time, he was shy and cool. It took him some time to open with another. Under the circumstance of the Secret Annexe, Anne badly needed someone to share her feelings with. Like Anne, Peter also needed someone to share his own feelings frankly. Very soon, they were open and frank to each other.
After sharing her feelings with Peter, Anne felt great. They realized the difference in their nature and thinking, but they needed each other to share their joys and sorrow. Anne felt very light and joyful in being with Peter. But she never felt that she was in love with Peter. She could not even discover whether Peter wanted to be a good friend, or whether Anne attracted to him as a girl. When Peter said that she always helped him over his parents’ quarrel, Anne felt to be glad. This, Anne points out, was one step towards making her believe in Peter’s friendship. When Peter asked her about the dimples in her cheek, she was unused. Peter said to her that she was more beautiful than anyone else. These words of praise made Anne believed that he liked to see her. Peter was hospitable to Anne.
Despite becoming quite close to Peter, Anne was always in a dilemma about him. After the initial influence, she lunged for him to take her feelings, seriously. She longed for him but called it over ‘exaggerated’ and then negated it. This shows her confusion about Peter.
14. Why did Anne want to be a writer?
Ans. Anne had a passion for writing and she wanted to be the Secret Annexed, she could not During pursue this passion of h and the disturbances inside made her feel utterly hers for too long. The atmosphere outside because of terry miserable. Later she felt that her work must go on. She wanted to become a journalist aware that there was a lot in her diary et ‘ because she knew that she could write well. She was stories were good, as for example, her fn. entries that “spoke” a lot. She knew that a couple of her herself the best and sharpest critic of her tale `Eva’s Dream’. Anne also knew that she was well and what she had not. Anne also observes town work. She could even say what she had written that anyone who does not write, does not know how wonderful it is. Anne revealed that aril ‘ err she used to bemoan the fact that she could not draw, but then she became happy that she could at least write. Though she had no talent for writing books or newspaper articles, she had the satisfaction that she could always write for herself. So much was her interest in’ writing, that she found it the right tool for expressing her true feelings.
15. What was the difference between the ways Peter and Anne dealt with others, especially when they were upset?
Ans. Anne found an opportunity to talk things out with Peter. When she asked Peter in private if he would like to spend time with her, Peter agreed. As they shared their ideas, Anne came to know a lot about Peter. She then analyzed how she and Peter differed, especially in 1942. Now, after two years, they still could not o recognize themselves as the same any more. Anne realized how they could simply not bear each other in the be engineering. When they met each other, Peter had thought Anne to be too talkative and unruly. As for Anne, she could not understand why Peter did not flirt with her; but then, after two years, she was glad that Peter, unlike Anne, had isolated himself. Anne then told him that there was not much difference between her noise and his silence. Like Peter, Anne too loved peace and quiet, and had nothing for herself alone, except for her diary. They talked about how neither of them truly trusted their parents; how Peter hesitated to confide in his parents; and how Anne would cry in bed while Peter would go to the loft and swear. Eventually, Peter was glad that Anne’s parents had children there; so also, Anne was glad about his parents’ presence there.
16. “I think it’s awfully annoying, the way they ask if you have got a headache?” What does it reveal about Margot’s character?
Ans. While Anne was getting a bit tired and upset about her parents’ possessive and dominating attitude towards her, Margot too agreed with her. She too felt it really annoying to find her parents treating her as a kid. Margot was reserved in nature and never interfered in anyone’s matters, while Anne was outspoken. Margot always seemed to share her feelings with her mother, whereas Anne was comfortable with her father. At one point, Margot revealed her true opinion about her parents. Anne told Margot how she never felt like giving lots of kisses to her parents to please them. This meant Anne was undergoing a big transformation in her Personality. She really liked to be rid of them for a while to enjoy her private thoughts. Margot too expressed a similar feeling saying how annoyed she was when her parents showed their concern every now and then. In other words, Margot too was sick of her parents’ interference in her privacy. However, she differed from Anne in the way that she suppressed her feelings by while she was with her parents. That is one of her traits which putting up a different attitude w shows her to be more mature than Anne.
17. The diary is a great source of support and strength in the secret annexed for Anne. Explain.
Ans. The diary documents Anne’s experiences especially in hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands during the Second World War. It is a collection of honest thoughts and expressions of a young girl living in extraordinary situations. Anne says that in the Secret Annexed, there was so much quarrelling among the occupants that one forgot “With whom one was quarrelling and with whom one had made up.” In such a situation, the only way to get away from all his was to get busy in studies and Anne did the same. For Anne, her diary Kitty was like a very close friend to whom she revealed every aspect of her life viz., her joys, sorrows, anxieties, fears and disappointments. It was perhaps the friend she never had, and thus became her pillar of strength. It is through the diary that we come to know of her hopes and aspirations too.
Once when somebody from the members of Secret Annexed suggested burning the diary to ashes, Anne immediately protested saying, “Not my diary, if my diary goes, I go with it!” This shows that the diary is a great source of support and strength for Anne.
18. Comment on the sisterly relationship between Anne and Margot through their letters.
Or
Comment on the relationship that Anne shared with her sister.
Ans. The relationship between Anne and Margot was good, friendly and sympathetic. Margot was kind and loving to Anne.
Margot was the eldest child of the Franks. She was reserved in nature. She never interfered into anyone’s matter, while Anne was outspoken. Margot always liked to share her feelings with her mother, while Anne was very close to her father. Margot was also on good terms with her father.
Both the sisters were brilliant girls. They always scored good marks in their exams. Margot was a voracious reader.
Both the sisters were kind to and loved each other. Whenever necessary and required, Margot gave her suggestions to Anne. She was friendly with Anne. Margot in her letter to Anne opined that Anne and Peter could only gain by the ongoing friendship. While in her reply to Margot, Anne accepted her letter to be sweet. She hoped for a sisterly affection from Margot for Peter. Anne admired Margot for her goodness. She found Margot as sensible as her father was towards her.
19. Why were Anne and Margot tired of their parents?
Or
Describe Margot and Anne’s relationship with their parents.
Ans. Anne was a sensitive girl. She always took a comparative view of their parent’s treatment towards herself and her elder sister, Margot. Anne always felt ignored and miserable. She felt that her parents loved and favoured Margot, her elder sister, more because she was sweet, pretty and intelligent. She finds a various shortcoming in her mother’s behaviour towards her. As Anne mentioned in her diary, her mother, Mrs Frank was frightfully irritable and always heralded unpleasantness for her. She writes in her diary that she and her mother were the exact opposite in everything and so naturally they were bound to run up against each other. Anne had some better degree of emotional attachment with her father. In her diary, she praised him. She said about her father, “He is the one I look up to. I don’t love anyone in the world, but him.”
Margot was a humble and matured girl. Mrs Frank had a better understanding and she treated her like a friend. Also, in her diary, Anne described how her Daddy loved Margot, though Anne was not jealous of her.
20. What was Anne’s relationship with her family members? What did this result into? Comment on her relationship with Peter.
Ans. Anne does not enjoy a good relationship with her family members except her father. In fact, Anne was fighting within herself. She tried to improve her relations with the family members, but it never resulted. The time and circumstances made Anne mature in her thought, but she was always taken as a child. This was the reason for her tense relationship with her family members. Anne had to hear horrible words from the grown-ups. She had to face the mocking looks and accusations levelled against her repeatedly every day. All this put her at discomfort. This disturbed her very much. She formed an opinion that no one could understand her, the Anne inside.
Anne loved Peter to the depth of her heart. Peter also liked Anne very much. They walked hand-in-hand. When Peter crossed Anne’s path, she really fell in love with him. But due to age difference and adverse circumstances, this relationship could not run long and Peter gave her up but she could not forget him.
21. How did the air raids disrupt the Dutch public life?
Or
Describe the effect of war on the people of Holland. Focus on the increasing prices of commodities and lawlessness in the land.
Or
The moral of the Dutch became low with each passing day. Discuss.
Ans. The Dutch areas were under the control of Germans. Some people favoured the controlling authorities and some were against them. During the wartime, it remained one of the major targets of the British attack. The British were making a non-stop business of their air attacks on the Dutch people. This badly disrupted their public life. The women became scared of the heavy air-attacks. Sometimes, bombs of half a million kilos each were dropped. Various epidemics were raging in war-trodden places. The morale among the people went very low. There were burglaries and thefts. The doctors did not visit their patients for the fear of car theft. Electric clocks in the streets were dismantled, public telephones were pulled to pieces. Little children of eight to eleven years broke windows and stole things. Children were ill and undernourished. Everyone wore old clothes and shoes. A new sole would cost 7.50 florins in the black market. Hardly, any of the shoemakers would accept shoe repairs. If they accepted, the shoes often disappeared. There was also a scarcity of coal and winter became unbearable. Food got worse. The relation between the general people and the authorities also became worse. But fortunately, only a small percentage of Dutch people were on the wrong side.
22. Describe Anne’s hobbies and interests.
Or
What are Anne’s hobbies?
Ans. Anne Frank discussed many of her hobbies and interests in her diary. She said that first of all, she had a flair for writing. But, she hardly counted it as a hobby. Besides, she had much interest in making family trees of royal families. She had been searching for family trees of the French, German, Spanish, English, Austrian, Russian, Norwegian and Dutch royal families in all the newspapers, books and pamphlets that she could find. She had made great from all the biographies and history books that she read. She even copied out many passages of history. Her fourth hobby was Greek and Roman mythology. She had various books about that too. Her other hobbies were film stars and family photos. She was mad about books and reading. She was much interested in the history of art, poets and painters. She had some introit in music also.
23. Describe the role of dairy in Anne’s life.
Or
Anne wrote, “That I love peace and quiet too, and have nothing for myself alone, except my diary.” How important was the diary ‘Kitty’, for Anne and why?
Ans. The diary played a commendable role in Anne’s life. It was a great source of support and strength in the Secret Annexe for Anne. When her family was in hiding, writing her diary and making entries of her day-to-day life at the ‘Secret Annexe’ had taken on an important part for Anne. It is a collection of honest thoughts and expressions of a young girl living under extraordinary conditions. The diary tells us much more about the private side of adolescence and brings us close to Anne’s experience in a humorous way.
The diary records the first-hand experience of Anne as a victim of the anti-Jewish decree of Nazis under the leadership of Hitler. Anne Frank thus, records her hopes, frustrations, misunderstandings, the attitudes of others and feelings of her own as well as of those staying in the ‘Secret Annexe’. For Anne, this was just an outlet for painting out her feelings and thoughts. This includes even trivial and mundane aspects of her life.
24. How were the Jews treated as described by Anne?
Ans. ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ records the first-hand experience of Anne as a victim of the anti-Jewish decree of Nazis under the leadership of Hitler. Hitler hated Jews and this hatred brought misery for the Jews in the regions ruled by the Germans. Anne’s family, therefore, moved into a hiding place, called the ‘Secret Annexe’. Besides the miserable news about the tortures meted out to the Jews, the circumstances in the enclosed ‘Secret Annexe’ had made the inmates’ lives tumultuous. People had to lead a life filled with anxiety. They had to abide by several anti-Jewish laws :
(i)Jews had to wear a yellow star and had to hand in their bicycles.
(ii) They were banned from trams and were forbidden to drive.
(iii) They were allowed to do shopping only in ‘Jew shops’.
(iv) They were forbidden to visit theatres, cinemas and other places of entertainment.
(v) They could not take part in public sports.
(vi) Jewish children were permitted only in the Jewish schools.
25. What action of the Germans angered the citizens of Amsterdam?
Ans. Things were running more or less normal in the ‘Secret Annexe’. Their ‘coupon men’ were out of prison again. For example, Mie returned. Elli was better. One day a plane crashed near ‘Secret Annexe’ on 22 March 1944. But, the occupants were able to jump out in time by parachute. The machine crashed into a school, but there were no children there at the time. As a result, there was a small fire and two people were killed. The Germans shot at the airmen terribly as they were coming down. The Amstar dimmers who saw it nearly exploded with rage and indignation at the cowardliness of such a deed. So, this was the action of the Germans that angered the citizens of Amsterdam. All men and women were very enraged. They loathed the shooting.
26. Is it possible for anybody to be jealous of Anne and why?
Ans. No, I don’t think so. It is not possible for anybody to be jealous of Anne. This is because,’ Anne is a transparent and sympathetic girl. She is a girl with self-confidence. She is loving and expressive. She loves to enjoy freedom right from school. She is a sociable girl. She had many friends both boys and girls in her school. But there was none to share her feelings during hiding period. So, she slowly developed a friendship with Peter. Margot, her elder sister was friendly with Anne. Whenever necessary and required, she gave her suggestions to Anne. Margot once said Anne was fortunate to have a boyfriend to share her feelings with. She patiently bore the difficulties of life in hiding and never said a word of complaint. She lived a sorrowful life, and it was not one that anybody could be jealous of.
27. How did Otto Frank and others face attempt at burglary in the warehouse April 1944?
Ans. Everything was going on almost smoothly when one Sunday evening at about 9:30 p.m., burglars were in the act of breaking into the warehouse. Menfolk went downstairs and the frightened ladies remained at upstairs. They heard a loud noise downstairs. In fact, when the menfolk had gone downstairs, burglars were in the act of enlarging the hole. All the men were perplexed at such impudence of the thieves. And both Mr Van Daan and Peter felt murder welling up within them. Mr Van Daan beat on the ground with a chopper, and all was quiet again. When Mr Van Daan shouted “Police,” the burglars thought that the police had arrived. So, they fled away. The menfolk quickly switched over from their role of the police to that of burglars. The four of them quietly went upstairs. Later, Mr Frank expected the police to be in the house. So, with battered breath, all waited for the police to come.
28. How was Anne’s sister, Margot different from Anne?
Ans. Margot was Anne’s sister and the eldest child of the Franks. She was not an outspoken girl as Anne. She did not speak much. She was humble and of reserved nature. She always kept herself to her jobs. On the other hand, Anne was a sensitive and reactionary girl. She was outspoken. She never hesitated to give a bitter response to one who made unpleasant comments on her or whose acts she did not like.
Margot was the darling of her mother. She had won the confidence of her mother, Mrs Frank. She always liked to share her feelings with her mother. The opposite was the case with Anne. She was not at good terms with her mother. She did not share her feelings with her mother. She was of the view that her mother did not like her. Anne was almost insensitive to her mother. According to Anne, her mother was frightfully irritable and always heralded unpleasantness for her.
Being a girl of reserved nature, Margot never interfered anyone’s matter. She kept to herself. However, she wanted to have someone to share her feelings with. On the other hand, Anne had a boyfriend, Peter, with whom she shared her feelings.
Margot was brilliant. She was good in studies. She always fetched good marks. She was a voracious reader. However, Anne was also good in studies but she had a passion for writing. Both the sisters were at good terms with their father. They were kind and loving to each other also.
29. How does Anne describe herself in the story of March 17, 1944? What light does it throw on her relationship with her parents?
Ans. Anne describes herself in the entry of March 17, 1944, that she is able to take some decisions. She wants to be independent sometimes and to decide just a few things for herself. She is annoyed with her mother’s intervention in many aspects of life. For example, when she goes upstairs, she is asked what she is going to do. Every book that she reads, is inspected. She wants to be allowed to read almost everything and odes, not like the bad remarks and all whops questioning that goes on the whole day long. She claims to be mature enough to know who is right and who is wrong. She has her own ideas and principles. She feels quite independent of anyone. She feels that she is not prejudiced but, more precise, skilful and superior to her mother in a great many things.
Anne was not on good terms with her mother. But, she loves her father very much.
30. Why is Anne’s obsession with Peter a normal feature of a growing teenager? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans. Yes, of course. Anne’s obsession with Peter is a normal feature of a growing teenager. I This is because, in adolescence, teenagers develop their own opinions, ideas, principles and interests. They want to be independent of anyone.
Naturally, the teenager is attracted to the opposite sex. The teenager-like Anne needs to live someone with whom she could share her feelings. Anne liked Peter very much. They together in the same house. This also facilitated them an opportunity and they got attracted to each other. Secondly, in the Annexe, Peter was the only person who was in the same angel group as Anne. They felt comfortable in exchanging their ideas with each other. Also, Peter was frustrated with his parents who always kept passing harsh comments on each other. Peter too had many things to share with someone, that he found as Anne. This atmosphere had also a role to bring them close to each other as they were facing the same mental agony. They frequently walked hand-in-hand through the rooms together. The memory of Peter lived so strongly in Anne’s subconscious mind that she admitted to herself sometimes, she was jealous of the other girls. She was in a dilemma about Peter, revealing her immaturity.
In her letter to Anne, Margot expressed to be a little bit sorry because she had not found anyone till then with whom she could discuss her thoughts and feelings. She also wished to have a friend. She too, like Anne, was going through her teenage years and was confused.
31. Describe how Mr Van Daan’s birthday was celebrated by the residents of the Secret Annexe?
Ans. In her diary entry, Anne gives a brief picture of Mr Van Daan’s birthday celebrations. Mr Van Daan’s birthday was celebrated pleasantly but peacefully by the residents of the Secret Annexe. Frank family gave him a bottle of Good 1919 Wine. A bottle of piccalilli and a packet of razor blades were given to him. Mr Tinier presented him a jar of lemon jam. Mie gave him a book titled “Little Martin” A plant was presented by Elli. He was given two packets of tobacco, one serving of coffee, which Mrs Van Daan had managed to save, lemon punch from Mr Bugler, sardines from Mie.
Anne in her diary entry further wrote about a cake used in the celebration. She wrote that the cake was stuffed with raspberry that was slightly sticky due to the poor quality of flour and the lack of butter but was last anyway. Mr Van Daan treated each one of the guests with an egg. However, Anne did not classify this event as something special but mentioned it anyway.
