Amanda Class 10 | Robin Klein | Poem 6 | English | Summary |

Amanda Class 10 by Robin Klein | Poem 6 | English | Summary |

Summary of Amanda

This poem revolves around upbringing of a small girl namely Amanda. Besides, it highlights the problems faced by the children during their upbringing.

In the first stanza of the poem, we can see that the little girl is being instructed by someone probably by her mother not to bite her nails and hunch her shoulders. The way of instruction is not at all polite and not being liked by her. Therefore, she seems not to be taking all that seriously. The lines given within the bracket showcase a clear picture that Amanda seems to be lost in her own world wherein she feels as if she were a mermaid and sailing with the waves of the green sea. She is least affected by the orders being showered by her parents.

In the second stanza, she is being inquired by her parents if she had finished her homework or not and tided up her room or not. The parent seems to have lost her cool which is quite visible from the exclamation mark used by the poet. She is being coached and reminded to clean her shoes as well. Her parent is trying her level best to make her disciplined. Moreover, the lines given in the bracket, once again, show the reaction of Amanda. She imagines herself to be an orphan who is roaming the street freely. She is making designs with her bare feet and enjoying the freedom avoiding all the instructions of her mother.

In the third stanza, she is once again being passed a set of instructions wherein she is being advised not to eat chocolate keeping her growing acnes in mind. Besides, the reaction of the speaker in the last line symbolizes the anger towards her for Amanda has not been paying even the least attention to her mother’s instructions. Her mother wants her to heed to her words and listens to what she says.  The lines given within the bracket highlights Amanda’s point of view. According to her, she is lost in her own dreams and picturing herself as Rapunzel, a fairy tale character who lives in a castle and doesn’t care about anything. She is living peacefully there and doesn’t want her hair to be down at all.

In the last stanza, the parent seems to be defending herself and improving her image in the minds of the readers. She keeps on instructing Amanda to stop sulking but all in vain. Amanda has been lost in her own meditations and not paying attention to her.

Poetic Devices of Amanda

1. Alliteration: Stop that slouching and sit up straight, I thought I told you…
2. Allusion: Mermaid, Rapunzel
3. Metaphor: I am an orphan, Silence if golden, freedom is speech.

Textual Questions Answers of Amanda

1. How old do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?

Answer : Amanda is very young. She goes to school. Her parents are teaching her manners and other things that are for that age. She has not lived much of a life yet, but she will get there soon enough.

2. Who do you think is speaking to her?

Answer : One of her parents is talking to her. It could be her dad or mom. But usually, the mother takes care of the child. And in this case, too, most of the instructions are for Amanda’s mother.

3. Why are Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 given in parenthesis?

Answer : Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 are given in parenthesis because they reflect Amanda’s thoughts. Here, the mother is scolding the child, but it could also be seen as the child reacting to what her mother said. So stanzas 1, 3 and 5 could be seen as instructions for how to do something. And then stanzas 2, 4 and 6 can be seen as Amanda’s reaction to those instructions that her mother gave. Parenthesis is used here so that you can read this poem more easily.

4. Who is the speaker in Stanzas 2, 4 and 6? Do you think this speaker is
listening to the speaker in Stanzas 1, 3, 5, and 7?

Answer : The speaker of stanzas 2, 4 and 6 is Amanda. She is not paying any attention to the people in stanzas 1, 3, 5 because she has her own world where she can escape from her bad reality.

5. What could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?

Answer : Amanda wishes to be a mermaid. That way, she can just float on the green sea waves and not worry about anything. She wants to be away from people and places where she is not happy. That’s why she wants to be a mermaid, because it means freedom for children.

6. Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?

Answer : No, Amanda is not an orphan. She wishes she was one. When she is with her parents, she imagines herself without them and it makes her sad. She would rather roam the streets and draw patterns in the dirt with her toes. It’s really depressing that Amanda wants to be an orphan because that means she has a lot of problems at home which we don’t know about yet.

7. Do you know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel?

Answer : Rapunzel lived on a tall tower. A witch made her live there, but she got used to it. She was happy and satisfied with her life on the tower. Rapunzel had very long hair, which the witch uses to visit her. One day, a prince came up to see Rapunzel on the tower using her hair. The witch punished both of them by separating them. They finally met after some time and were forever united after that time. Amanda wishes she could live on a tall tower like Rapunzel away from everyone else so she can be peaceful and happy like Rapunzel was before she was separated from the prince at last.

8. What does the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?

Answer : Amanda wants to be free and have a lot of space for herself. She can’t do what her parents want, but she’s not alone. Lots of children have the same problem, no matter what their background is or where they live. In traditional societies, people are expected to behave in certain ways and parents train their children very early on how to behave – even if the child understands about it or not. This means that people stop being creative and thinking for themselves when they get older because they don’t have any time left to think without being told what to do.

9. Read the last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody?

Answer : Amanda is not sulking or moody. She is just not interested in what her parents are trying to teach her about manners. Amanda likes to use her imagination and think about things instead of following the rules that her parents want her to follow.

We would love you reading of Dust of Snow, Fire and Ice, A Tiger in the Zoo, How to Tell Wild Animals, The Ball Poem, Amanda, Animals, The Trees, Fog, The Tale of Custard the Dragon For Anne Gregory for better understanding of the poetry and scoring higher in forthcoming examination.

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