Amanda – ROBIN KLEIN

Literary devices:
Anaphora: Repeated use of a word at start of two or more lines
did you finish….did you tidy,
(don’t bite… don’t hunch
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘o’
Thought, told, you, your, shoes
don’t bite… don’t hunch
will you please look at me when I’m speaking to you
Metaphor:
silence is golden - silence is said to be glorious like golden colour
freedom is sweet - freedom is said to be sweet in taste.
use of word emerald sea for green colour of sea being similar to the colour of emerald
Repetition:
use of word ‘Amanda’
Imagery:
drifting blissfully
Alliteration:
‘Stop that slouching and sit up straight’
‘Stop that sulking’
Allusion:
‘mermaid’ is a well known imaginary creature.
use of famous fairy tale character Rapunzel
Consonance: use of sound ‘r’
I am Rapunzel; I have not a care …..Bright hair
Irony
Stop that sulking

SHORT ANSWERS

1. What does the poet ask Amanda not to do in the poem” ‘Amanda’?
The poet advises Amanda not to bite her nails, not to hunch her shoulders and not to
eat chocolate. She advises her to sit straight and take care of her acne. She further
advises her to keep herself clean.
2. In which way does Amanda imagine herself to be mermaid? .
Amanda imagines herself or wishes to be free like a mermaid, which is moving
slowly in a state of bliss in the sea, which is green like an emerald.
3. What instructions were given to Amanda about her homework, room and shoes?
Amanda had been commanded or advised to finish her homework and keep her room
neat and clean. She is also instructed to clean her shoes.
4. How and why does Amanda say that she is an orphan?
Amanda seems to be fed up with continuous instructions and naggings. She is feeling
that her freedom is curtailed. So, she imagines herself to be an orphan street child who
leaves imprints caused on the soft dust by her bare feet. She feels that silence is
golden or precious and freedom is sweet.
5. What impression do you form about Amanda, after reading the poem ‘Amanda’?
Amanda feels suffocated because she is controlled and instructed not to do one thing
or the other. She feels that her freedom is curtailed. But Amanda wishes to be free to
 live in her own world. She is a very sensitive girl who indulges in daydreaming quiet
often. She highly values silence and freedom.
6. ‘Life in a tower is tranquil and rare;
I’ll certainly never let down my bright hair’.
Why does the poet say that life in a tower is tranquil and rare? Whose life is he talking
about?
The poet feels that life in a tower is peaceful and full of freedom because there is no
one to nag you. She is talking about Rapunzel who lives in a peaceful tower.
7. Why does Amanda imagine to be
(i) a Mermaid (ii) an orphan, and (iii) Rapunzel,
What does it show about her?
Answer:
(i) Amanda imagines herself to be a mermaid so that she may drift in the silent sea
and enjoy the loneliness and peace there. She yearns for freedom.
(ii) She wishes to be an orphan so that she may play bare feet in the dust without
receiving several instructions or scolding. She wishes for her independence and
freedom.
(iii) Amanda is fascinated by the lonely and tranquil life of Rapunzel in a closed
tower. She wishes for such a life so that her nagging mother may not reach there. Here
also, she yearns for her freedom from nagging.
8. How old do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?
Amanda is a teenager. This is the age when a child wants to have freedom. Teenagers
do not like nagging and want to have free life. The poet advises Amanda to take care
of her acne which commonly appears on the face of a teenager.
9. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody?
No, Amanda is neither sulking, nor she is moody. She is simply longing for her
freedom. She wants to go out and play wherever she likes.

LONG ANSWER

It is said that excess of everything is bad. Excess of parental love may make a child
pampered, in the same way excess of nagging may throw a child into negativity.
These statements are seen justified to some extent in the poem ‘Amanda’. Explain.

None can refute the pious role of parents or elders or teachers in the proper grooming and
holistic development of a child. Parent’s personality resonates and reflects through the
behaviours and personality of a child. Parents do every possible, to shape the character
and habits of their child. But sometimes, in course of nurturing the kid, the parents cross
the limits unknowingly.

They became either over caring or over protective or over anxious. They forget the fact
that, when a matured mind cannot tolerate excess of do’s and don’ts, how can they expect
it from a child who is totally unaware of the worries and cares of the world. To a child the
world means a world of imagination fancy and fairy.

If being nagged repeatedly she may form negative opinions about his/her mother and
father. The same thing we find in the poem ‘Amanda’. Amanda is a girl of around 8-11
 year of age who lives in her own fairy land. She does not appreciate the constant scolding
or nagging of her father/mother.

She feels that her freedom is punctuated. So, she instead of following the instructions,
remains wandering in her own world of imagination. Excess of nagging has resulted into
negativity as Amanda considers herself orphan. She sulks. She avoids eye to eye contact.
Hence, parents must understand the line of boundary and act.

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.
1. Don’t bite your nails, Amanda!
Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
Amanda!
(a) Amanda is getting instructions for what purpose?
Amanda is getting instructions as a part of her upbringing. Her conduct and manners
are getting refined for future purposes.
(b) Give a synonym of ‘hunch’.
Bend.
(c) What does the speaker of above lines instruct Amanda in the first stanza?
Amanda is getting instructed for biting her nails and sitting lazily with her shoulders bent.
(d) What is the literary device used in the third line?
Literary device used in third line is Alliteration. ‘Stop that slouching and sit up straight’.

2. (There is a languid, emerald sea, where the sole inhabitant is me – a mermaid,

drifting blissfully.)
(a) Why are these lines given within brackets? )
These lines are given within brackets because they reveal the inner thoughts of
Amanda. Brackets are used for visual contrast between what Amanda is saying and
what her mother is instructing.
(b) Give the word from the passage which means ‘free flowing act of going with the
motion and force’?
Drifting means free flowing act of going with the motion.
(c) What is the role of mermaid here?
Mermaid is a part of Amanda’s fantasy in her own created world. As mermaid sails in
a sea carelessly and effortlessly, similarly Amanda longs to do so in a place where she
is all by herself.
(d) Which word in the extract means opposite of ‘sorrowful’?
Blissfully is opposite of sorrowful.

3. Don’t eat that chocolate, Amanda!

Remember your acne, Amanda!
Will you please look at me when I’m speaking to you,
Amanda!
(a) Why is Amanda not looking at the speaker?
Amanda is lost in her own thoughts and is paying no attention to instructions being given
to her. That is why she is not looking at the speaker.
(b) Find the word in the extract which means same as consume?
Eat means same as consume
(c) The speaker is so worried about acne. What does it show?
 Speaker being worried about acne shows how much importance is given to
physical beauty in a household. Amanda is prepared for the unforeseen future.
Natural experience such as acne is also taken care of at any cost.
(d) Which word in the extract means the same as ‘to gaze’?
To look means the same as ‘to gaze’.

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.)
(a) How come silence is golden?
Silence is shown golden using the poetic device metaphor. By making silence golden
the poet is estimating the worth of silence. For Amanda seeks peace and calmness,
which is absent in her reality.
(b) Give a synonym of ‘roaming’.
Wandering.
(c) What is Amanda up to in this stanza?
Amanda is again taking refuge in her imagination. Here, she wishes to be an orphan,
away from her nagging parents. Amanda wants to roam aimlessly in streets and
draw patterns using just her bare feet.
(d) What poetic device is used in this stanza?
The poet uses metaphor such as ‘orphan’, ‘silence is golden’, and ‘freedom is sweet’.

5.(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)
(a) Does Amanda live on a tower?
No, Amanda stays at her place. Here, she is imagining herself to be Rapunzel who lived
on a tower.
(b) Why will Amanda not let down her bright hair?
Amanda is aware about the story of Rapunzel. In the story of Rapunzel all
the mishappening and misfortunes are brought to her by letting down the hair.
Amanda also wishes to live alone carefree, without any disturbance.
(c) What is the underlying poetic device used in this stanza?
Poet uses allusion here as the underlying poetic device.
(d) Find from the passage a word which means the same as ‘serene’.
The word is ‘tranquil’.

6. Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!

You’re always so moody, Amanda!
Anyone would think that I nagged at you,
Amanda!
(a) Is Amanda really sulking?
Amanda is not sulking. She just doesn’t care about instructions given to her as she
is lost in a world of her own.
(b) Why does the speaker care for others?
The whole poem revolves around the aspect that how one is presented in a society.
Speaker doesn’t wish to be regarded as a nagging parent in the society, so Amanda
is expected to put up a happy face all the time.
(c) Give the word from the passage which means same as unstable.
 Moody means same as unstable.
(d) What poetic device has been used in the first line of this stanza?
‘Alliteration’ has been used in the first line; words ‘stap’ and ‘sulking’ start with the
same sound.