CBSE Class 10 English Amanda! Assignment

AMANDA

INTRODUCTION—
In the above poem, the poet Robin Klein says that a child should never be denied freedom. It deals with the upbringing of a small child, Amanda. It highlights the struggles faced by the child.

SUMMARY—
The poem ‘Amanda’ is about a small child whose parents are forever nagging her about what to do and what not to do. This frequent interference makes her very unhappy. She feels that she is not free to do anything that she wants to do. She wants freedom from all restrictions. She dreams to lead a life of a mermaid in a Languid, emerald sea with her being the only inhabitant there. She feels that an orphan has more freedom than her. She also wished to lead a calm and quiet life in a tower like that of Rapunzel with nobody to disturb her.

Explanation of the Poem

1. Don’t bite your nails, Amanda !
Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda !
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
Amanda !

Explanation: In the above stanza, Amanda is getting instructed, most probably by her parents for not biting her nails and for sitting lazily with her shoulders bent. The tone of instructions here is not a friendly one and thus fails to make any sense to Amanda.

2. There is a languid, emerald sea,
where the sole inhabitant is me—
a mermaid, drifting blissfuly.

Explanation: Amanda uses her imagination as an escape point from day to day commands of her parents. She finds peace in her own created world where there are no restrains. She imagines herself to be a joyful mermaid sailing without any confines alongside soft waves of the green sea.

3. Did you finish your homework, Amanda ?
Did you tidy your room, Amanda ?
I thought I told you to clean your shoes,
Amanda !

Explanation: Amanda is now being asked about whether she had finished her homework, or had made her room tidy and also whether she had cleaned her shoes. These set of instructions mark a shift from the instructions given in stanza. Her name is being called again with an exclamation mark which shows that
the parents seem to be losing their cool and are troubled.

4. I am an orphan, roaming the street.
I Pattern soft dust with my hushed, bare feet.
The silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.

Explanation: Amanda is again lost into her own world. After getting a fresh list of instructions from her parents, she wishes to be away from this daily routine life. Amanda perceives herself as an orphan roaming on the streets, moving aimlessly without any purpose. She seems happy as she draws patterns using her bare feet.

5. Don’t eat the chocolate, Amanda !
Remember your acne, Amanda !
Will you please look at me when I’m speaking to you Amanda !

Explanation: Amanda is stopped by her parents from eating a chocolate as previously it caused her acne.Amanda is still lost in her own thoughts and doesn’t care enough to look up to her scolding parents. This carelessness further angers the parents and they ask for her attention when she is being scolded.

6. I am Rapunzel, I have not a care;
life in a tower is tranquil and rare;
I’ll certainly never let down my bright hair!

Explanation: Amanda is still lost in her own dreams. She pictures herself to be the long golden-haired Rapunzel who lived in a castle and had no care about anything. Amanda imagines that the life of Rapunzel must have been very peaceful and fantastic in the tower. But she is unwilling to let her hair down. She only wants to live by herself as the presence of another being in her life would require her to act in a certain way. Amanda wanted to live free and happy.

7. Stop that sulking at once, Amanda !
You’re always so moody, Amanda !
Anyone would think that I nagged at you,
Amanda !

Explanation: The parents keep instructing Amanda on the do’s and don’ts, but Amanda remains lost in her own dreams. The parents believe that Amanda is not reacting because she is annoyed. Her behaviour has made her parents look bad and they get worried about their image. They are concerned about how society will perceive them if their child always remains in a foul mood. 

Extract Based Questions 

Read the following extracts and answer the questions/complete the sentences that follow :

1. Don’t bite your nails, Amanda ! 
Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda !
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
Amanda !

Question. Who is the speaker ?
(i) Amanda’s grandfather
(ii) Amanda’s teacher
(iii) Amanda’s mother
(iv) Amanda’s father
Answer.(iii) Amanda’s mother

Question. The speaker wants Amanda to learn ................... .
(i) good habits
(ii) bad habits
(iii) pleasing habits
(iv) no habits
Answer.(i) good habits

Question. Name the poet ?
(i) Rudyard Kipling
(ii) Robert Frost
(iii) Robin Klein
(iv) William Butler Yeats
Answer.(iii) Robin Klein

Question. Pick out the word from the passage which means same as 'erect'.
(i) hunch
(ii) slouching
(iii) bite
(iv) straight
Answer.(iv) straight 

Question. Who would have thought that Amanda was nagged by her parents ?
(i) anyone
(ii) everyone
(iii) someone
(iv) no one
Answer.(i) anyone

2. There is a languid, emerald sea, 
where the sole inhabitant is me—
a mermaid, drifting blissfuly.

Question. Amanda’s desire was to be a mermaid, living in the .................... sea.
(i) blue
(ii) green
(iii) yellow
(iv) red
Answer.(ii) green

Question. Who is 'me’ in these lines ?
(i) Amanda’s mother
(ii) Amanda’s sister
(iii) Amanda’s friend
(iv) Amanda herself
Answer.(iv) Amanda herself

Question. Find out the word from the extract which also means ‘relaxed’.
(i) emerald
(ii) blissfully
(iii) languid
(iv) inhabitant
Answer.(ii) blissfully

Question. Emerlad also means ..................... .
(i) green
(ii) red
(iii) blue
(iv) yellow
Answer. (i) green

3. Did you finish your homework, Amanda ? 
Did you tidy your room, Amanda ?
I thought I told you to clean your shoes,
Amanda

Question. Amanda is asked to finish her ................... .
(i) homework
(ii) milk
(iii) meal
(iv) playing
Answer.(i) homework

Question. I told you to clean your ...................... .
(i) room
(ii) shoes
(iii) table
(iv) book shelf
Answer.(ii) shoes

Question. According to the narrator, Amanda is a very .................. girl.
(i) cute
(ii) responsible
(iii) naughty
(iv) careless
Answer.(iv) careless

Question. .................... is talking to Amanda.
(i) Both the parents
(ii) One of the parents
(iii) Her mother
(iv) Her father
Answer.(ii) one of the parents

4. I am an orphan, roaming the street. 
I Pattern soft dust with my hushed, bare feet.
The silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.

Question. Which word in the passage means the same as ‘naked’.
(i) pattern
(ii) bare
(iii) hushed
(iv) roaming
Answer.(ii) bare

Question. The speaker makes design with her ...................... .
(i) pencil
(ii) bare feet
(iii) hands
(iv) sketch pen
Answer.(ii) bare feet

Question. She is not an orphan, but she ................... to be one.
(i) wants
(ii) wishes
(iii) imagines
(iv) longs
Answer.(iii) imagines

Question. Where does she make pattern on ?
(i) on sketch book
(ii) on paper
(iii) on table
(iv) on soft dust
Answer.(iv) on soft dust 

Short Answer Type Questions 

Question. How old do you think Amanda is ? How do you know this ? 
Answer. Amanda might be 9 - 10 years old school going girl. This fact is known because her parents are trying to inculcate good habits in her, but she is very innocent and immature.

Question. What can you depict of Amanda’s nature ?
Answer. Amanda is a moody girl. She is nagged most of the time. She often escapes from reality, which makes her moody and dull.

Question. What message does the poet want to give through the poem — ‘Amanda’?
Answer. The poet wants to convey that parents in their endeavour to make their children well-behaved and well-mannered tend to give too many instructions or nag (always finding fault) them. They should adopt positive measures, acceptable to children.

Question. Does the title ‘Amanda’ suit the poem ?
Answer. The title of the poem revolves around the little girl, Amanda, who feels that her life is full of struggle with no freedom. She imagines calmness away from her nagging parents. So we can say that the title is justified.

Long Answer Type Question 

Question. What do you learn from the poem ‘Amanda’ ?
Answer.The poem depicts the state of a little girl Amanda’s mind, who is constantly intruded by her parents about what she should do and what she shouldn’t. She is asked not to bite her nails, hunch her shoulders, she should sit up straight. She is told to finish her homework, tidy her room and clean her shoes. She is forbidden from eating chocolates, because she has acne problem. She is sick and tired of her parents, nagging nature. She completely ignores them and dreams of her becoming a mermaid in the emerald sea, of roaming barefoot in the dusty streets to the extent of becoming orphan and of the golden haired Rupunzel, who lived alone in a high tower. She wants to remain isolated, all alone without her parents’s interference. Parents are over possessive about their children. They want to inculcate good habits in their child. But no child learns all in one day. Children need freedom like Amanda.
But parents who are judging their child everytime would do more harm than good. She is continuously scolded everytime. We witness miserable failure of parents when Amanda wishes to be an orphan, so that she could be free. Thus, the poem teaches us that a child should never be denied of his/her freedom. It highlights the struggle faced by a child within himself/herself. They should not be forced to take wrong step by their parents.