Close Read: Analyze the Text

Question

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

Read this part of one of Anne’s speeches in The Diary of Anne Frank, Act I.

The best part about this room . . . you can look down and see a bit of the street and the canal. There’s a houseboat . . . you can see the end of it . . . a bargeman lives there with his family. . . .They have a baby and he’s just beginning to walk and I’m so afraid he’ll fall into the canal. I watch him. . . .

What is the most reasonable inference to draw about Anne’s personality from the details in this speech?

A. She is foolish because she has established communications with outsiders in spite of being warned of the danger.
B. She is nosy because she keeps an eye on the baby even though she does not know the bargeman and his wife.
C. She is resourceful because she finds outside interests that take her mind off having to live in fear of the Nazis.
D. She is naive because she thinks only good things about the people she sees and knows.

Answer 1

The most reasonable inference to draw about Anne's personality from the details in this speech is:

C. She is resourceful because she finds outside interests that take her mind off having to live in fear of the Nazis.

In this excerpt, Anne demonstrates her ability to find interest and beauty in the world outside her confined circumstances. By observing the family on the houseboat and noting the baby learning to walk, she engages with a sense of curiosity and care that helps distract her from the oppressive reality of her situation. This suggests that she is resourceful and resilient, seeking moments of normalcy despite the dire circumstances surrounding her.