Dear Kitty
by Anne Frank
(Let's Discover English)
Think About
"When I write, I can shake off all my care."
- Anne Frank (April 5, 1944)
What would you do if, for the sake of your safety, you were forced to...
❐ live in a hiding without making a sound from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Sunday;
❐ stay indoors in a cramped area for two years without stepping out of your hide-out even to breathe fresh air;
❐ live without meeting friends, relatives, acquaintances, or strangers for months together;
❐ stop all of such activities - going to school, playing, running, dancing, cycling, etc?
= Life would have been miserable if I were forced to abide by all those above mentioned terms and conditions. No natural growth of thinking and imagination would have developed in me as well as anyone. One would have become sick both physically and mentally.
Savour the Flavour
Comprehension
1. What does Anne mention first? Number these events in the right order.
a. The Frank family is shocked on receiving a call-up notice from the SS. [2]
b. It rains on the day the Franks walk with all their heavy bags to the warehouse. [3]
c. Margo has a bad cold, but is forbidden to cough in case the people in the warehouse become aware of their presence. [5]
d. Anne mentions that she is going to think of her diary as a friend called Kitty. [1]
e. Anne and her father unpack their boxes and straightened up the mess in their hideout. [4]
f. Anne shares the news about their Jewish friends and acquaintances being taken to big concentration camp in Drenthe. [7]
g. Anne mentions a bookcase which hides the entrance that leads to their annexe. [6]
h. Anne reveals that it is not simple to stop her mind from feeling self-pity and wanting to experience freedom. [9]
i. Anne mentions that no one talks to one another in the annexe to avoid being misunderstood. [8]
2. Complete these sentences in your own words.
a. Anne thinks that writing in a diary is a strange experience because she had never written anything before. And it seemed to her that later on no one would be interested in the thinkings of a thirteen-years-old school girl.
b. The Franks had to make do with less orderly rooms because of Margot's call-up notice from the SS, the plan of going into hiding had to be moved up ten days.
c. The occupants of the annexe had to whisper and tread lightly during the day because the people in the warehouse might hear them.
d. Relationships between the occupants were getting worse all the time and no one dared to open their mouths because whatever is said can either annoy someone or it is misunderstood.
e. Anne was happy that she could write because when she wrote, she could shake off all her cares.
Refer to the Context
Comprehension
Answer the following questions.
a. "When someone comes from outside, with the wind in their clothes and the cold on their faces, I could bury my head in the blankets to stop myself thinking: "When will we be granted the privilege of smelling fresh air?"
i. What season can you infer from the above lines? Write the phrases that indicate so.
= From the above lines, it can be inferred that it was the season of winter.
The phrases that indicate so, are - 'wind in their clothes', 'the cold on their faces' and 'my head in the blankets'.
ii. When did Anne make this entry in her diary?
= Anne made this entry in her diary on 24th December Friday, 1943.
iii. What thoughts does Anne share about self-pity?
= They had been hiding in the warehouse. They had no freedom to talk of walk making sound. They were devoid of maximum daily activities. They could not even cough. She longed for smelling fresh air. She wanted to do cycling, dancing, whistling, looking out into the world.
iv. Anne or the other occupants of the annexe had not stepped out of their hideout since they entered it. Who could the 'someone' be? Explain what could have happened if they did not have the 'someone'.
= The 'someone' could be any of the family members of Mr Kugler or Mr van Daan or any other who might have taken shelter in that warehouse.
If they did not have the 'someone', they could not have the little bit connect with the world outside. They might have been arrested very soon by the Nazi police.
b. "My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived! But, and that's a big question, will I ever be able to write something great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer?"
i. When does the diarist find that her sorrow disappears and spirits revive?
= When the diarist writes, she finds that her sorrow disappears and spirits revive.
ii. What does the diarist say earlier about her writing skills?
= The diarist says that she knew that she could write. She really had the talent.
iii. What is interesting about the second sentence in the quote given above? Think and answer.
= The second sentence in the quote gives us the information that the diarist had the ambition to be a great writer or a great journalist. She had the talent of writing. But as the contemporary world was of no good ambience, she was doubtful about her future. She did not know what was going to happen at the next moment. Whether they would ever be able to live freely. So raring such ambition was of no use.
iv. Why does the diarist mention the word 'sorrow'? Elaborate.
= The diarist mentions the word 'sorrow' to show the plight of their confined condition.
They had been hiding in the warehouse. They had no freedom to talk of walk making sound. They were devoid of maximum daily activities. They could not even cough. She longed for smelling fresh air. She wanted to do cycling, dancing, whistling, looking out into the world.
Think and Discuss
HOTS
1. Anne says "When I write I can shake off all my cares." What role did the habit of writing play in Anne's life during and after her death? Think and discuss.
= Anne says "When I write I can shake off all my cares." Anne could write. She had the talent of writing. She wanted to be a journalist or a great writer. She continued her school works in spite of being confined in that warehouse. She could not do her regular daily activities like cycling, dancing, whistling, looking out into the world. Life had become miserable. She find her freedom by expressing her feelings through writing.
2. Despite being so young, Peter, Margot, and Anne had to endure confinement in the small annexe for 25 months. Discuss the many normal things that they had to sacrifice to live safely in the hideout.
= Despite being so young, Peter, Margot, and Anne had to endure confinement in the small annexe for 25 months. They had to sacrifice cycling, dancing, whistling, looking out into the world, etc. They could not talk or walk making noise. They could not cough. This normal activities could make them arrested. So they had to live a life full of plight.
3. Are Anne Frank's thoughts about conflict, peace, and human dignity as relevant today as they were then? Discuss the political and social environment in your country to compare this.
= Yes, Anne Frank's thoughts about conflict, peace, and human dignity as relevant today as they were then. There are political conflicts and colonial aggression. All these are not for common people. These only stuck the regular life style of the mass. Common people suffer the most due to the political tensions and warfare. These are the foundation of chaos, suffering and death. The world becomes a place of wilderness that only brings destruction leading to the suffering of the millions.
About the Author :
Anne Frank was born in a family of the German Jews on June 12, 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany. In 1933, her family moved to Amsterdam. After the fascist Germany occupied Holland, Anne with her family were forced to go into hiding to escape the Holocaust - the systematic mass slaughter of European Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. She and her family, along with four others, spent over two years during the war hiding in an annexe of rooms above her father's office in Amsterdam untill they were found out and arrested on August 1, 1944 and sent to a concentration camp by the Nazi police. In March 1945, seven months after her arrest, Anne died of typhoid in the Bergen-Belson concentration camp at Lunenburg wasteland. From two days after her thirteenth birthday till the day before her arrest, Anne maintained a diary where her profoundly powerful words and insights covered a range of topics and emotions. Written in Dutch language, her diaries were found by her father's office assistant Miep Gies, one of the Dutch citizens who had helped them while the family was in the hideout. After the war, she handed the diaries over to Anne's father Otto Frank who got them published in 1947 to honour his daughter's desire to a writer. Since then, The Diary of a Young Girl has been translated in 67 languages and is the most widely-read personal document.