From the Diary of Anne Frank — RBSE Class 10 English (First Flight)
"Paper has more patience than people." A thirteen-year-old girl wrote that line, alone, with no real friend to confide in — and turned a blank diary into the most famous record of one young life in history. This extract introduces Anne Frank, her loneliness, her humour and her remarkable honesty.
1. Who was Anne Frank, and why a diary?
Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl who, during the Second World War, hid with her family from the Nazis in Amsterdam. She kept a diary that later became one of the world's most widely read books. This extract is from the early part of the diary, before the worst of the hiding.
Anne found it strange to keep a diary because she had never written before and felt that "neither I — nor for that matter anyone else — will be interested in the unbosomings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl." But she wanted to write because she had no true friend — she had a loving family, friends and admirers, but no one to share her deepest thoughts. As she put it, "paper has more patience than people."
To make the diary feel like a real confidante, she named it "Kitty" and wrote to it as if to a friend. Before starting her real entries, she sketched a brief account of her life — her birth, her family, and her move to Holland because the Franks were Jews.
2. The classroom story — Anne and Mr Keesing
A large, lively part of the extract is set in Anne's school and reveals her wit and intelligence.
Anne's maths teacher, Mr Keesing, was annoyed because she talked too much in class. As punishment, he gave her extra homework: an essay on the subject "A Chatterbox." Anne argued cleverly in her essay that talking was a student's trait and that she would do her best to control it, but she could not cure herself entirely because her mother talked as much as she did — and "you can't expect much improvement in an inherited trait." Mr Keesing laughed but, when she kept talking, set a second essay: "An Incorrigible Chatterbox."
When she talked yet again, he assigned a third, harder essay: "Quack, Quack, Quack, Said Mistress Chatterbox." This time Anne, with a friend's help, wrote the essay in verse (a poem) — a story about a mother duck and a father swan with three baby ducklings who were bitten to death by the father for "quacking too much." Mr Keesing took the joke in good spirit, read the poem aloud to the class with his own comments, and stopped giving her extra homework, even allowing her to talk. He had learned to enjoy her humour.
3. Themes and what they reveal
- Loneliness and the need to confide. Despite a full life, Anne is deeply lonely for a true friend — which is why the diary becomes "Kitty."
- The diary as a friend. Writing offers honesty and patience that people cannot — a comfort and an outlet.
- Wit, humour and intelligence. The Keesing episode shows Anne's quick mind, courage and sense of humour, and how humour can win over even a strict teacher.
- Childhood and innocence against the backdrop of war. The reader knows the tragedy that lies ahead, which gives Anne's everyday concerns a poignant depth.
4. Why it matters
Part of the power of Anne Frank's diary is that it is so ordinary — a girl worrying about teachers, friends and being misunderstood — written by someone whose life would be cut short by one of history's greatest crimes. This extract shows the living Anne: funny, self-aware, brave and warmly human.
For the RBSE board, remember why Anne started the diary (no true friend; "paper has more patience than people"), the name "Kitty," and the full Mr Keesing episode with the three essay titles and the duck poem — the most-asked content of this chapter. Note her honesty and humour for value-based answers.
