Name: ________________________________Date:____________

“The Diary of Anne Frank”

Act 1 Scene 1

1. “The Diary of Anne Frank” is about a group of people who are forced to leave the
outside world and retreat to a small, secret hiding place. What details of the set
indicate that this would be a true, lifelike story?

2. The play opens November 1945. But in what year does most of this act take
place? What prompts Mr. Frank’s thoughts to flash back in time?

Act 1 Scene 2

1. Anne’s entrance is an important moment in the play. How does the stage
direction before her entrance describe her personality? What does Anne do as
soon as she comes on stage?

2. Why do you think that Anne cannot destroy the Star of David, as Peter does?

3. When does Anne first realize what “going into hiding” means?

4. What does Mr. Frank say cannot be locked up? What does he suggest he and
Anne do to hold on to one kind of freedom?
Name: ________________________________ Date: ______________

“The Diary of Anne Frank”

1. After several months together in their enclosed world, the “family” members find
their tempers growing shorter. What do Anne and Peter argue about in this
scene? What do the Van Daans quarrel about?

2. Anne has grown lonely and frustrated in the last several months. What are
Anne’s dreams for the future? What does she accuse her family of feeling about
her?

3. Mr. Dussel brings the group harsh news that they have been ignorant of. What
does he tell them has been happening in the outside world?

Act 1 Scene 4

1. What is Anne’s nightmare? How is it completely different from the dreams of her
future that she expressed in Scene 3?

2. Anne says there is a person inside her that is different from the one that people
see. What kind of person remains hidden inside her? Why doesn’t Anne allow
this side of her nature to be shown?
Name: ________________________________ Date: ______________

“The Diary of Anne Frank”

Act 1 Scene 5

1. What gifts has Anne managed to gather together for members of her “family”?
How does the celebration help unite them in the midst of their suffering?

2. The Hanukkah song gives the characters hope and courage. Yet the words of the
song do not at all describe their true situation. Knowing what you do of the actual
circumstances, tell how their singing of the Hanukkah song makes you feel.

3. Act 1 ends with the characters (and the audience) in the state of worry and
suspense. What do the characters fear cause the noise downstairs?
Name: ________________________________ Date: ______________

“The Diary of Anne Frank”

Act 2 Scene 1

1. Anne’s voice reading from her diary provides basic information about the story.
What facts does the diary relate at the opening of Act Two?

2. Most of the characters own a few small possessions that are very precious to
them. What do you think Peter’s cat means to him? Why is Mrs. Van Daan’s
coat important to her?

3. The suspense in the play is increased by new worry. What fear does Mrs.
Kraler’s news bring?

Act 2 Scene 2

1. Love, which unites some characters, also divides them. How would you describe
Mrs. Van Daan’s reaction to the interest that Anne and Peter show in another?

2. Peter says that Anne has changed from the kind of girl she was when they first
met. How has Anne changed? How does she explain her new relationship with
Peter in her diary?
Name: ________________________________ Date: ______________

“The Diary of Anne Frank”

Act 2 Scene 3

1. Mr. Frank says, “We don’t need the Nazis to destroy us. We are destroying
ourselves.” The constant threat of the Nazis on the outside terrifies the characters.
What human fears and weaknesses attack them from the inside?

2. In one moment the “family” realizes that their quarrels are unimportant compared
to the greater evil in the outside world. What event changes their fear to hope,
and their hatred to forgiveness? What is the first reaction of Mrs. Frank and Mrs.
Van Daan?

Act 2 Scene 4

1. In spite of the great tension around her, Anne still has a way to escape to a happy
and beautiful world. What does she do? Where does she go?

2. How does Anne explain the war and the world’s madness? What belief, in spite
of everything, gives her hope?

3. At the beginning of the play, Anne is a girl just beginning to understand the world
around her. How has she changed by the end of the play?

Act 2 Scene 5

1. The scene returns to the first scene of the play. Mr. Frank tells Miep about the
concentration camps. What does he say happened to all the other members of the
“family”?

2. Mr. Frank feels ashamed because he cannot share Anne’s belief in the goodness
of people. Do you think any of the events in the play support Anne’s belief?