Navigating through the English Language and Literature curriculum for Class 10 requires a precise understanding of autobiographical narratives, historical context, and textbook exercises designed to evaluate a student’s analytical, inferential, and linguistic capabilities. The chapter extract, “From the Diary of Anne Frank”, taken from The Diary of a Young Girl, stands as a cornerstone text in the CBSE Class 10 syllabus. It presents poignant personal reflections, mature introspections, adolescent psychology, and witty classroom interactions during one of history’s darkest periods—the Holocaust. To help students master every aspect of this unit, this comprehensive solutions guide offers textbook-accurate, highly structured, and pedagogically sound responses designed to align with the latest CBSE evaluation standards and marking schemes.
Every question presented in the official NCERT textbook—ranging from the initial pre-reading activities and oral comprehension checks to detailed chapter-end inquiries, vocabulary categorization, phrasal verbs, idioms, and board-level writing tasks—has been solved with extreme care. Key scoring terms, historical references, and core arguments have been highlighted to emphasize essential vocabulary that examiners look for during evaluation. By reviewing these model answers, students will gain clarity on how to structure their responses, incorporate textual evidence, and demonstrate high-level writing skills required to secure top marks in their board examinations.
NCERT Class 10 English From the Diary of Anne Frank Solutions
The introductory portion of this chapter introduces students to the nature of personal diary writing and the tragic yet inspiring life of Anneliese Marie “Anne” Frank. Before delving into her intimate entries, the NCERT textbook prompts students to reflect on different forms of personal records—such as diaries, journals, logs, and memoirs—and engage with contextual vocabulary through pre-reading activities. Understanding these foundational literary forms is crucial for contextualizing Anne Frank’s unique bond with her diary, which she affectionately named “Kitty”.
In the initial activity, students are asked to distinguish between various types of autobiographical and daily writing records based on their purpose, frequency, and personal intimacy. Diary writing, as practiced by Anne, transcends a mere factual record of daily routines; it represents an emotional outlet, a trusted confidante, and a profound philosophical reflection of a young girl coming of age under the shadow of Nazi persecution. Below are the complete and detailed solutions for the pre-reading activities and vocabulary exercises.
Before You Read
Question 1 Given below are some definitions of the different kinds of personal records people keep. Match each term in the box with its correct definition. (Page No. 49) [Box: Journal, Diary, Log, Memoir]
(i) A book with a separate space or page for each day, in which you write down your thoughts and feelings, or what has happened on that day. (ii) A full record of a journey, a period of time, or an event, written every day. (iii) A record of a person’s own life and experiences (usually, a famous person). (iv) A written record with a collection of all sorts of information relating to your life, or related to a particular subject.
Answer: Based on standard literary and lexicographical definitions, the terms correspond to the descriptions as follows:
- Diary: A book with a separate space or page for each day, in which you write down your thoughts and feelings, or what has happened on that day.
- Log: A full record of a journey, a period of time, or an event, written every day.
- Memoir: A record of a person’s own life and experiences (usually, a famous person).
- Journal: A written record with a collection of all sorts of information relating to your life, or related to a particular subject.
Question 2 Here are some compound words that use the word ‘heart’. Match the compound words in Column A with their meanings in Column B. (Page No. 49)
Answer: The correct matching of the compound words with their contextual meanings is detailed below:
- Heartbreaking: Producing great sadness or grief; causing extreme emotional distress.
- Homesick: Missing home and family intensely while being away.
- Heart-to-heart: A frank, candid, and intimate conversation between two people.
- Heartless: Completely devoid of compassion, empathy, or feeling; cruel.
- Heartfelt: Deeply and sincerely felt; strongly genuine.
- Warm-hearted: Kind, affectionate, friendly, and sympathetic towards others.
Oral Comprehension Check (Page No. 51)
The Oral Comprehension Check sections are strategically placed throughout the chapter to monitor the student’s immediate recall, character analysis, and understanding of shifting emotional tones. Answering these questions requires a close reading of Anne’s motivations for diary writing, her deep emotional attachment to her family members, and her clever interactions with her mathematics teacher, Mr. Keesing.
Question 1 What makes writing in a diary a strange experience for Anne Frank? (Page No. 51) [BOARD EXAM FAVORITE]
Answer: Writing in a diary was a strange and unprecedented experience for Anne Frank primarily due to two distinct reasons:
- Lack of Prior Writing Experience: She had never written anything substantive before receiving the diary for her thirteenth birthday.
- Perceived Lack of Interest: She felt that neither she nor anyone else would ever be interested in the intimate musings and daily introspections of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl in the future.
Question 2 Why does Anne want to keep a diary? (Page No. 51)
Answer: Anne wanted to keep a diary because she did not possess a true, intimate friend with whom she could share her innermost thoughts, joys, and anxieties. Although she had loving parents, a sixteen-year-old sister, caring aunts, a warm home, and approximately thirty acquaintances whom she called friends, her interactions with them were confined to ordinary daily chatter. She felt an urgent psychological need to get all kinds of things off her chest and pour out her deepest emotions without the fear of judgment.
Question 3 Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people? (Page No. 51) [BOARD EXAM FAVORITE]
Answer: Anne believed she could confide more in her diary because of her firm conviction that “paper has more patience than people.” She reasoned that human beings are often impatient, judgmental, easily distracted, or unwilling to listen to someone else’s emotional vulnerabilities. In sharp contrast, her diary was a silent, patient listener that would never betray her confidence, interrupt her thoughts, or share her secrets unless she decided to publish it.
Oral Comprehension Check (Page No. 54)
Question 1 Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life? (Page No. 54)
Answer: Anne provides a brief biographical sketch of her family background, her parents, and her early childhood because she realized that no one would comprehend a single word of her stories to ‘Kitty’ if she plunged right in without providing the necessary context. Although she disliked jotting down dry biographical facts like most people, she provided this background to establish a clear framework for her diary entries and introduce her imaginary friend to her world.
Question 2 What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother? (Page No. 54) [BOARD EXAM FAVORITE]
Answer: Several poignant details in the text illustrate Anne’s profound love, respect, and enduring affection for her maternal grandmother:
- Constant Remembrance: Anne explicitly writes that no one knows how often she thinks of her grandmother and how deeply she still loves her even after her death.
- Solemn Birthday Tribute: During Anne’s birthday celebration in 1942, her grandmother’s candle was lit alongside the rest to honor her memory, demonstrating that she remained an integral part of Anne’s emotional life.
Oral Comprehension Check (Page No. 57)
Question 1 Why was Mr Keesing annoyed with Anne? What did he ask her to do? (Page No. 57)
Answer: Mr. Keesing, the elderly mathematics teacher, was severely annoyed and frustrated with Anne for several days because she talked incessantly during his classes despite repeated verbal warnings. As a disciplinary measure and punishment, he assigned her extra homework in the form of an essay on the peculiar topic, ‘A Chatterbox’.
Question 2 How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay? (Page No. 57) [BOARD EXAM FAVORITE]
Answer: In her essay, Anne presented two clever and well-reasoned arguments to justify her talkative nature:
- A Student’s Inherent Trait: She argued that talking is a natural characteristic of a student and that while she would promise to keep it under control, total silence was unreasonable.
- The Factor of Heredity: She argued that her talkativeness was an inherited trait from her mother, who talked just as much as she did, if not more. Anne humorously noted that one cannot easily cure oneself of inherited family traits.
Question 3 Do you think Mr Keesing was a strict teacher, or did he have a sense of humour? Find instances from the text. (Page No. 57)
Answer: While Mr. Keesing appeared to be a strict disciplinarian initially because he demanded strict classroom decorum and assigned punitive essays, he undeniably possessed a wonderful sense of humor and broad-mindedness:
- Appreciation of Witty Arguments: He laughed heartily at Anne’s clever arguments regarding her inherited chatterbox traits in her first essay.
- Embracing the Joke: When Anne submitted her third punishment in the form of a humorous verse about a father swan biting his ducklings to death for quacking too much, Mr. Keesing appreciated the satire, read the poem aloud to the entire class with his own comments, and took the joke in the right spirit.
Question 4 What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in class? (Page No. 57)
Answer: Mr. Keesing finally allowed Anne to talk in class without assigning any further punishment because he was thoroughly impressed by her intellectual wit, creativity, and persistent originality displayed in her third assignment—a satirical poem entitled ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, Said Mistress Chatterback’. Recognizing that her talkativeness was accompanied by harmless brilliance rather than insolence, he abandoned punitive essays and joined in the humor.
Thinking about the Text
The “Thinking about the Text” section contains analytical, evaluative, and character-based questions. These questions require students to examine Anne’s mature perspective, decode the complex interpersonal relationships within her household and school, and explore the psychological dimensions of her writing. CBSE board examiners assign high weightage to this section for 3-mark and 6-mark questions.
Question 1 Was Anne right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl? (Page No. 54) [BOARD EXAM FAVORITE]
Answer: No, Anne was completely mistaken in her initial assumption that the world would disregard her thoughts.
Although it is natural for an adolescent to feel that her private reflections hold no universal value, her diary—published posthumously as The Diary of a Young Girl by her surviving father, Otto Frank—became one of the most widely read, translated, and critically acclaimed historical documents in human history.
Her diary transcended the musings of a teenager to become an intimate and moving testimony of life under Nazi tyranny, providing an enduring voice to the six million victims of the Holocaust. Her observations on human nature, isolation, and hope continue to inspire readers worldwide.
Question 2 There are some examples of diary or journal entries in the ‘Before You Read’ section. Compare them with what Anne wrote in her diary. What language was the diary originally written in? In what way is Anne’s diary different? (Page No. 54)
Answer: A comparative study of traditional diary entries and Anne Frank’s writing highlights major structural and emotional distinctions:
- Original Language: Anne Frank’s diary was originally written in Dutch.
- Traditional Diary vs. Anne’s Diary: Standard diary or journal entries often record factual chronologies, appointments, daily schedules, or weather conditions in an objective, impersonal tone.
- Anne’s Unique Approach: Anne personified her diary by addressing it as an intimate companion named ‘Kitty’. She used an informal, conversational, and deeply introspective style, recording raw adolescent feelings, philosophical reflections, and psychological truths rather than merely listing daily occurrences.
Question 3 Why does Anne need to give a brief sketch about her family? Does she treat ‘Kitty’ as an insider or an outsider? (Page No. 54)
Answer: Anne provides a brief biographical sketch of her family because she felt that an abrupt narrative without background context would be incomprehensible to anyone who might read the diary later. It established the setting of her family’s migration from Germany to Holland and their domestic life.
Anne unequivocally treats ‘Kitty’ as an intimate insider and trusted confidante:
- She does not treat the diary as an inanimate notebook meant for jotting down cold facts.
- She shares her deepest vulnerabilities, fears, and adolescent observations with Kitty in the warm, conversational tone reserved exclusively for a closest personal friend.
Question 4 How does Anne feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing? What do these tell you about her? (Page No. 55) [BOARD EXAM FAVORITE]
Answer: Anne’s reflections on the significant adults in her life reveal a deeply sensitive, observant, and affectionate personality:
- Her Father (Otto Frank): She describes him as the “most adorable father” she has ever seen, demonstrating her boundless admiration, respect, and emotional reliance upon him.
- Her Grandmother: She loved her grandmother dearly, frequently reminiscing about her wisdom and holding her memory sacred long after her passing in January 1942.
- Mrs. Kuperus (Headmistress): Anne had a warm, loving bond with her sixth-form headmistress at the Montessori nursery school; their mutual affection was evident when both broke into heartbreaking tears during their emotional farewell.
- Mr. Keesing: Although initially annoyed by his disciplinary assignments, Anne respected his authority, understood his perspective, and used her intellect and humor to win his goodwill without resentment.
These relationships prove that Anne was an emotionally mature, highly perceptive, empathetic, and respectful young girl who possessed deep gratitude for the love and guidance she received.
Question 5 What does Anne write in her first essay? (Page No. 55)
Answer: In her first essay on the topic ‘A Chatterbox’, assigned by Mr. Keesing as a punishment for talking in class, Anne wrote three pages of structured and convincing arguments:
- She asserted that talking is an essential trait of a student and that while she would endeavor to control it, completely eradicating the habit was impossible.
- She cleverly introduced the argument of genetic inheritance, explaining that she had inherited her talkative nature from her mother, who was equally talkative.
- She concluded that there is very little one can do about inherited traits, framing her classroom habit as a biological predisposition rather than deliberate disobedience. Her structured reasoning made even Mr. Keesing laugh.
Question 6 Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable? How? (Page No. 55) [BOARD EXAM FAVORITE]
Answer: Yes, Mr. Keesing’s behavioral transformation throughout the narrative serves as a clear illustration of Anne’s assertion that teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth.
- Initial Strictness: He initially appeared as an uncompromising, stern, and irritable teacher who grew angry over Anne’s talkativeness and penalized her repeatedly with three consecutive extra essays.
- Unexpected Transformation: Instead of turning harsher when Anne submitted a satirical verse on her third punishment, Mr. Keesing embraced the humor, read the poem to the class, and permanently ceased punishing her. His sudden shift from an authoritarian instructor to a humorous, tolerant mentor highlights his unpredictable nature.
Question 7 What do these statements tell you about Anne Frank as a person? (Page No. 55)
(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.” (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: These specific textual excerpts offer deep psychological insights into Anne Frank’s character:
- (i) Self-Aware and Introspective: This statement shows that Anne is remarkably honest with herself. Rather than blaming her friends for superficial relationships, she is mature enough to accept that the emotional distance might stem from her own reservations.
- (ii) Imaginative and Emotionally Deep: This highlights Anne’s creative yearning for genuine emotional connection. She rejects conventional, dry record-keeping in favor of building a meaningful relationship with an imaginary companion.
- (iii) Humorous and Playful: This showcases her lively wit and self-deprecating humor. She describes her arrival in Holland with amusing lightheartedness.
- (iv) Observant and Candid: This reveals her sharp, critical intellect. She assesses her peers’ academic capabilities with blunt realism while recognizing the arbitrary nature of teacher evaluations.
- (v) Intellectually Rigorous and Dedicated: This demonstrates her commitment to excellence and logical integrity. Instead of producing careless filler to fulfill a punishment, she dedicated herself to formulating structured, sound arguments.
Vocabulary and Grammar Exercises Explained
The grammar and vocabulary section of “From the Diary of Anne Frank” focuses on vital linguistic components, including compound words, phrasal verbs, idioms, and stylistic variations in personal narratives. Mastery of these grammatical patterns is essential for tackling the integrated grammar and vocabulary questions in the CBSE Class 10 Board Examination.
Exercise 1: Compound Words (Page No. 55-56) Match the compound words under ‘A’ with their meanings under ‘B’.
Answer: The compound words and their accurate definitions are matched as follows:
- Headmistress: A female principal or head of a school.
- Homework: Schoolwork that a pupil is required to do at home.
- Notebook: A book with blank or ruled pages for writing notes on.
- Outbreak: A sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease.
- Schoolteacher: A person who teaches in a school.
- Daydream: A series of pleasant thoughts that distract one’s attention from the present.
Exercise 2: Phrasal Verbs (Page No. 56) Look at the following phrasal verbs used in the text. Find their meanings and use them in sentences of your own. [Phrasal Verbs: plunge in, kept back, move up, ramble on, get along with]
Answer: The definitions and illustrative sentences for each phrasal verb are detailed below:
- Plunge in: To begin something enthusiastically or abruptly without hesitation. Sentence: Without wasting any time on preliminaries, the speaker plunged in to discuss the main topic of the seminar.
- Kept back: To be retained in the same class or grade; not promoted to the next level. Sentence: Due to his poor attendance and low test scores, the student was kept back in the ninth grade.
- Move up: To advance or be promoted to the next higher grade, rank, or level. Sentence: After an impressive academic performance in the final exams, she was moved up to the senior batch.
- Ramble on: To talk or write at length in a confused, unstructured, or aimless manner. Sentence: The guest lecturer rambled on for over an hour without addressing the core subject.
- Get along with: To have a harmonious, friendly, or cooperative relationship with someone. Sentence: Despite having contrasting temperaments, the two roommates get along with each other exceptionally well.
Exercise 3: Idioms and Collocations (Page No. 56-57) Find sentences in the text where the following idioms are used, and understand their contextual meaning. (i) Quaking in its boots (ii) Bleat an old song (iii) As clear as daylight
Answer: The contextual meanings and textual applications of the given idioms are as follows:
- (i) Quaking in its boots: Shaking with extreme fear, anxiety, or nervousness. Context: Anne describes her entire class as “quaking in its boots” due to the suspense surrounding the upcoming teachers’ meeting regarding promotions.
- (ii) Bleat an old song: To complain or repeat an old grievance in an annoying, monotonous manner. Context: Used in informal conversation to describe someone persistently repeating known complaints.
- (iii) As clear as daylight: Extremely obvious, unmistakable, and easy to perceive. Context: Anne uses this to emphasize that certain academic truths or student abilities are entirely evident to anyone observing them.
Reflect and Respond & Writing Tasks
The final segment of this unit focuses on reflective and autobiographical writing tasks. Writing a diary entry or a descriptive reflection requires students to maintain a consistent first-person point of view, adopt an authentic emotional voice, and ensure logical coherence.
Question 1 Do you keep a diary? If you do, what are some of the things you write about? If not, what reasons do you have for not keeping one? Discuss in class. (Page No. 58)
Answer: Sample Structured Classroom Response: “Keeping a diary is a deeply personal choice that serves as both a mirror of self-reflection and an emotional sanctuary. While some individuals maintain a daily diary to record personal achievements, unresolved conflicts, and emotional dilemmas, others find it challenging due to time constraints or privacy concerns. In our modern digital age, many students document their thoughts through private digital blogs or notes apps rather than paper diaries. However, the timeless appeal of a traditional diary lies in its ability to offer an unfiltered space where one can express raw feelings without fear of social scrutiny or peer judgment.”
Question 2 Imagine you are Anne Frank. Write a diary entry recording your feelings on the day Mr Keesing gave you permission to talk in class after reading your poem. (Page No. 59) [BOARD EXAM FAVORITE]
Answer: Below is the structured, high-scoring model diary entry:
Thursday, 25 June 1942 Dearest Kitty,
Today was arguably the most triumphant and amusing day I have experienced at school in a very long time! You know how Mr. Keesing has been utterly exasperated with my persistent chatter during mathematics class. After punishing me with two essays—‘A Chatterbox’ and ‘An Incorrigible Chatterbox’—he thought he had cornered me when he assigned a ridiculous third topic: ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, Said Mistress Chatterback’.
The entire class roared with laughter, and I knew I had to come up with something entirely original to avoid repeating old arguments. Thankfully, my dear friend Sanne, who is wonderfully gifted at poetry, offered to help me write the assignment from beginning to end in verse.
We composed a magnificent, satirical poem about a mother duck, a father swan, and their three innocent ducklings who were bitten to death by the severe father simply because they quacked too much! The underlying message was impossible to miss, and I was holding my breath wondering how Mr. Keesing would receive it.
To my immense relief and delight, he took the joke in the best possible spirit! He read the poem aloud to our class, adding his own witty commentary, and even shared it with several other classes. Best of all, he has finally granted me permission to talk in class without assigning any further punitive homework. In fact, he has been making jokes ever since!
It feels wonderful to have won this little battle of wits with laughter rather than resentment.
Yours always, Anne
Mastering the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Chapter 4, “From the Diary of Anne Frank”, is essential for securing a high score in your board examinations. By thoroughly understanding the nuances of character motivations, phrasal verbs, idioms, and structured writing templates, students can approach both analytical literature questions and integrated grammar exercises with total confidence.