Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable? How?
Mr Keesing was seen as unpredictable because he seemed to be indifferent towards Annes’ behaviour. Firstly he laughed at her but allowed Anne to talk in the class after reading her essays.
What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in class?
Do you think Mr Keesing was a strict teacher?
What does Anne write in her first essay?
How does Anne feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing? What do these tell you about her?
How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?
What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother?
Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life?
Was Anne right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl?
What do these statements tell you about Anne Frank as a person?
(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.
Why was Mr Keesing annoyed with Anne? What did he ask her to do?
Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?
What was Valli’s favourite pastime?
What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for?
What did Lencho hope for?
When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?
Where did the ceremonies take place ? Can you name any public buildings in India that are made of sandstones?
What does Chubukov at first suspect that Lomov has come for? Is he sincere when he later says “And I’ve always loved you, my angel, as if you were my own son”? Find reasons for your answer from the play.
Why was the young seagull afraid to fly? Do you think all young birds are afraid to make their first flight, or are some birds more timid than others? Do you think a human baby also finds it a challenge to take its first steps?
Where does Wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is?
What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest desire?
How did Valli save up money for her first journey? Was it easy for her?
This play has been translated into English from the Russian original. Are there any expressions or ways of speaking that strike you as more Russian than English? For example, would an adult man be addressed by an older man as my darling or my treasure in an English play?
Read through the play carefully, and find expressions that you think are not used in contemporary English, and contrast these with idiomatic modern English expressions that also occur in the play.
Have you ever planned something entirely on your own, without taking grown- ups into your confidence? What did you plan, and how? Did you carry out your plan?
Would you agree that the “depths of oppression” create “heights of character”? How does Mandela illustrate this? Can you add your own examples to this argument ?
Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
There are nouns in the text (formation, government) which are formed from the corresponding verbs (form, govern) by suffixing – (at)ion or ment. There may be change in the spelling of some verb – noun pairs ; such as rebel, rebellion; constitute, constitution.
Make a list of such pairs of nouns and verbs in the text
Noun | Verb |
---|---|
rebellion | rebel |
constitution | constitute |
Why did such a large number of international leaders attend the inauguration ? What did it signify the triumph of?
How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did she find out about the bus, and how did she save up the fare?
Match, the italicised phrases in Column A with the phrase nearest meaning in Column B.
(Hint: First look for the sentence in the text in which the phrase in column A occurs.)
A | B |
---|---|
1. I was not unmindful of the fact | (i) had not forgotten; was aware of the fact (ii) was not careful about the fact (iii) forgot or was not aware of the fact |
2. when my comrades and I were pushed to our limits | (i) pushed by the guards to the wall (ii) took more than our share of beatings (iii) felt that we could not endure the suffering any longer |
3. to reassure me and keep me going | (i) make me go on walking (ii) help me continue to live in hope in this very difficult situation (iii) make me remain without complaining |
4. the basic and honourable freedoms of…earning my keep,… | (i) earning enough money to live on (ii) keeping what I earned (iii) getting a good salary |
Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?