AMANDA

CHAPTER – 5

HARD WORDS –
1. Hunch Hunch
2. Shoulders Shoulders
3. Slouching Slouching
4. Straight Straight
5. Languid Languid
6. Emerald Emerald
7. Inhabitant Inhabitant
8. Mermaid Mermaid
9. Drifting Drifting
10. Blissfully Blissfully
11. Homework Homework
12. Thought Thought
13. Orphan Orphan
14. Roaming Roaming
15. Pattern Pattern
16. Hushed Hushed
17. Silence Silence
18. Freedom Freedom
19. Chocolate Chocolate
20. Remember Remember
21. Rapunzel Rapunzel
22. Tranquil Tranquil
23. Certainly Certainly
24. Sulking Sulking
25. Nagged Nagged
26. Parenthesis Parenthesis
27. Curtailed Curtailed
28. Controlled Controlled
29. Instructed Instructed
30. Alternate Alternate

WORD MEANING –
1. Hunch - bending the upper portion of body in forward position.
2. Slouching - to stand, sit or move in lazy and downward direction.
3. Languid - without any force or interest.
 4. Mermaid - an imaginary sea creature having a woman’s head and body
with a fish’s tail instead of legs.
5. Drifting - a slow and steady movement.
6. Orphan - a child whose parents are either dear or gone missing.
7. Hushed - very quiet and still.
8. Acne - common skin disease characterised by pimples especially on face.
9. Tranquil - free from any trouble or anxiety, to be in peaceful state of
mind.
10. Nagged - to irritate (someone) by complaining about his her attitudes
again and again.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS-

A) “Don’t bite your nails, Amanda!

Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
Amanda!”

Q1. Amanda is getting instructions for what purpose?

Ans. Amanda is getting instructions as a part of her upbringing. Her conduct
and manners are getting refined for future purposes.

Q2. Give a synonym of ‘hunch’.

Ans. Bend.

Q3. What does the speaker of above lines instruct Amanda in the first
stanza?
Ans. Amanda is getting instructed for biting her nails and sitting lazily with
her shoulders bent.

Q4. What is the literary device used in the third line?

Ans. Literary device used in third line is Alliteration. ‘Stop that slouching and
sit up straight’.

B) “(I am an orphan, roaming the street,

I pattern soft dust with my hushed, bare feet.
The silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.)”

Q1. How come silence is golden?

Ans. 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.

Q2. Give a synonym of ‘roaming’.

Ans. Wandering.

Q3. What is Amanda upto in this stanza?

Ans. 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.

Q4. What poetic device is used in this stanza?

Ans. The poet uses metaphor such as ‘orphan’, ‘silence is golden’, and
‘freedom is sweet’.

C) “ (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)”

Q1. Does Amanda live on a tower?

Ans. No, Amanda stays at her place. Here, she is imagining herself to be
Rapunzel who lived on a tower.

Q2. Why will Amanda not let down her bright hair?
Ans. 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 and carefree, without any
disturbance.

Q3. Find from the passage a word which means the same as ‘serene’.
Ans. The word is ‘tranquil’.

A) “ Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!

You’re always so moody, Amanda!
Anyone would think that I nagged at you,
Amanda!”

Q1. Is Amanda really sulking?

Ans. Amanda is not sulking. She just doesn’t care about instructions given to
her as she is lost in a world of her own.

Q2. Why does the speaker care for others?

Ans. 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.

Q3. Give the word from the passage which means same as unstable.
Ans. ‘Moody’ means same as unstable.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS-

Q1. Write a short note on the title of the poem?

Ans. The title of the poem is Amanda as it revolves around the upbringing of
little girl named Amanda. Her life is full of struggles where she is denied
freedom and expression. Amanda is so much irate that she escapes reality by
living in her imaginative world. Through this gateway she experiences
calmness, away from her nagging parents.

Q2. Why does Amanda seem moody most of the times?

Ans. Amanda seems moody most of the time because she is trying to make
an escape from her sorry reality where she is nagged most of the times. It is
indeed a sorry state for a small child like Amanda to bear. Here the only
defence against such reality is her imagination where she often escapes to.
Hence, it makes her look moody and uninterested.

Q3. Why does Amanda wish to be a mermaid, an orphan, or Rapunzel?

Ans. Amanda wishes to be a mermaid so she could drift alone by blissfully
languid, emerald sea. She yearns to be an orphan so that she is able to roam
the sea and make pattern using her bare feet. Being Rapunzel means she
could live carefree on a high tower. Amanda wishes to be these so that she
could avoid her suffocating reality.

Q4. What is the central theme of the poem Amanda?

Ans. The poem Amanda by Robin Klein highlights the importance of
upbringing of a child. It points out that upbringing doesn’t involve making a
child responsible and fit for the society only. It is important to note that
upbringing involves understanding from both the sides. One cannot just force
a child to be civilised and good mannered. “Love and proper care is required
in nurturing of a child.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS-

Q1. State the key points in the poem Amanda. What do you learn from it?
Ans. Every child is special in itself, and it requires a great deal of patience and
love to make them understand this. Parents should give proper space to
children, as they learn through experiences as well. Children do tend to learn
certain bad habits, to undo that requires great level of understanding and
right approach. One cannot teach their child everything in one day and
expect them to behave properly henceforth. It is natural for a child like
Amanda to seek freedom at her place, to curb that freedom means to make
her angry and moody. Growing up of child should not be about dos and
don’ts only. To have nagging parents judging every action of child would do
more harm than good. Robin Klein points to the fact that Amanda is
forbidden to do anything without seeking permission. Everything she does it
is corrected by her mother all the time, she cannot perform a single thing
according to her will. She can’t sit lazily around, she can’t eat chocolate for
that could cause acne. Life of Amanda is very suffocating and limited in itself.
She yearns for freedom and choice. Her mother doesn’t understand the fact
that Amanda is innocent and naive, she is too small to understand the
benefits of advice. Only thing that matters to Amanda’s mother is what
society will make of Amanda. We witness miserable failure of parents when
Amanda wishes to be an orphan so that she could be free.

Q2. Discuss the importance of proper upbringing with reference to the poem
‘Amanda’ by Robin Klein?
Ans. Upbringing plays an essential role in personality development of an
adult. Whenever we wish to admire or criticise someone we question the
upbringing of that person. Robin Klein’s poem Amanda highlights the tension
in the ‘proper’ upbringing of a child. To instil good values and moral
principles in a growing child comes as a foremost duty for the parents.
However, the poem Amanda shows how a child feels trapped within the
cluster of instructions. Amanda is no less than a victim in this travesty. No
proper space is given to her creativity. She is instructed for everything. As a
result, she feels trapped and seeks an escape. Her imagination proves to be
her escape and also her defence against her nagging parents. Situation of
Amanda is so worse that she wishes to be an orphan, in order to get rid of
her parents. She imagines enacting various roles varying from mermaid to
Rapunzel. Amanda wishes to live alone and carefree. It is very important to
understand the situation of Amanda where her freedom is cut short by
constant instructions and guidelines. Proper balance should be maintained
when dealing with such delicate issues. Love and care should always be part
of this two way transaction.

ANIMALS

HARD WORDS –
1. Complicated Complicated
2. Placid Placid
3. Self-contained Self-contained
4. Whine Whine
5. Discussing Discussing
6. Dissatisfied Dissatisfied
7. Demented Demented
8. Mania Mania
9. Owning Owning
10.Kneels Kneels
11.Thousands Thousands
12.Respectable Respectable
13.Rhymed Rhymed
14.Unhappy Unhappy
15.Relations Relations
16.Accept Accept
17.Tokens Tokens
18.Evince Evince
19.Plainly Plainly
20.Possession Possession
21.Negligently Negligently
22.Revolutionary Revolutionary
23.Metrical Metrical
24.Nonconformist Nonconformist
25.Tradition Tradition
26.Civilisation Civilisation
27.Humans Humans
28.Another Another
29.Sweat Sweat
30.Aspects Aspects
WORD MEANING –

1. Placid - quiet, calm

2. Sweat and whine - to cry (to complain)
3. Sins - misdeeds (immoral actions)
4. Demented - affected with madness
5. Mania - madness; obsession
6. Owning - possessing
7. Kneels - bends (as a sign of respect)
8. Tokens - symbols
9. Evince - to show
10.Possession – ownership

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS:-

A) “ I think I could turn and live with animals, they are

so placid and self-contain’d,
I stand and look at them long and long.”

Q1. Name the poem and poet.

Ans. This line have been taken from the poem “Animals” composed by Walt
Whitman’.

Q2. Who is “I” in the stanza.

Ans. “I” refers to the poet in the stanza—Walt Whitman’.

Q3. What does the speaker wish to do?

Ans. The speaker (poet) wishes to live with the ‘Animals’.

Q4. Whom does the poet look at?

Ans. The poet looks at the animals for a long time while standing.

B)“ They do not sweat and whine about their condition,

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning
things.”

Q1. Who are ‘they’ in the stanza?

Ans. ‘They’ in the stanza stands for the ‘Animals’.
 Q2. What is the general attitude of a man?
Ans. The general attitude of a man is repressed, dissatisfied and
complaining.

Q3. Pick out the word from the stanza that means the same as—
‘complain’.
Ans. ‘Whine’ means complain.

B) “So they show their relations to me and I accept them,

They bring me tokens of myself, they evince
them plainly in their possession.”

Q1. What facts does the speaker accept?

Ans. The speaker accepts the facts that there is a close relation between the
man and the animals.

Q2. What does the speaker mean by the phrase ‘tokens of myself’?
Ans. The speaker means simplicity and other basic features of the early
mankind.

Q3. What have the animals preserved?

Ans. Animals have preserved and retained the tokens dropped by the men.

C) “ I wonder where they get those tokens,

Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?”

Q1. According the poet what have the animals retained?

Ans. According to the poet, the animals have retained the basic simplicity
and honesty dropped by men.

Q2. Why, according the poet, man has lost his basic goodness?
Ans. Man has lost his basic goodness because of his negligence.

Q3. Pick out the word from the stanza that means the same as—
‘irresponsibly’.
Ans. negligently
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS-

Q1. Write the central idea of the poem `Animals’.

Ans. The central idea of the poem is the difference between human beings
and animals. While they both were initially similar in their innate goodness,
the man had lost it over the years, while animals remain the same. They
show these tokens of goodness — peaceful, self-contained and happy, and
compel the poet to contemplate on man’s lost goodness.

Q2. What is the difference between animals and humans regard their
attitude to their condition, sins and God?
Ans. Human beings cry about their condition. They lie awake at night in the
dark and weep for their sins. They make the poet sick by discussing their duty
about God. But animals do not do any of these things. That is why the poet
likes them.

Q3. Why does the poet want to take a turn?

Ans. The poet is fed up living in the world of humans. They are always
confused. They are arrogant. They don’t have a clear conscience and weep
over their sins throughout the night. On the other hand, animals are
contented, calm and possess all the ‘tokens’ of virtue that humans have given
up. So, he wants to exchange places and live with animals.

Q4. Why is the poet so much impressed with animals?

Ans. Animals possess all the noble virtues that are necessary for an ideal
living. They are contented and never complain about their fate. They are
independent and don’t show unnecessary respect for their ancestors or to
their fellow beings. They are not selfish and don’t suffer from the mania of
possessing and owning things. So, he is highly impressed with animals.

Q5. What is the message that Walt Whitman wants to give to the readers
through this poem?
Ans. There is nothing great about being humans. They have degraded
themselves to the extent that animals appear to be noble and superior
beings in their comparison. No doubt, humans did possess those ‘tokens’ of
love, innocence, simplicity, contentment and independence. But they have
given up such ‘tokens’ long ago. Animals still share those noble virtues and
appear to be nobler than humans.
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS –

Q1. The poem, `Animals’ tells us that civilisation has made humans false to
their own true nature. Which values will help you revive your basic nature?
Ans. In the race of human civilisation, humans have lost their own nature.
The men have Dist their innate goodness over the years. They have become
selfish, jealous, restless, unhappy, cribbing and grumbling creatures. They
grumble about their lives, lie awake at night, cry over their sins and discuss
their duty towards God. In a race to earn more luxuries and comfort. they
have lost their sound sleep. They have become unhappy and most of the
time unable to enjoy even small joys and happiness in life. On the contrary,
animals are peaceful, self-contained, thankful and happy creatures. They are
not unhappy and indeed bring out tokens of man’s good nature lost long ago,
when he possessed qualities like love, respect, contentment and happiness.

Q2. What are those ‘tokens’ and how animals have maintained them while
humans have left them long ago?
Ans. The poet says that animals bring to him the `tokens’ of himself. Actually,
these tokens stand for all that is good in behaviour and mutual relationships.
These are the `tokens’ of love, sympathy, contentment, honesty and
innocence. There was a time when both animals, as well as humans,
possessed those tokens of noble virtues. But then humans degraded
themselves. While animals continued walking on the road leading to those
tokens of noble virtues. Humans have led astray and followed the wrong
path of life. They gave up contentment, innocence, simplicity and love.
Dissatisfaction, unrest, the burden of sins and misdeeds, greed, overambition
and arrogance overpowered humans. Sadly enough, humans have left the
virtuous path of life. On the other hand, animals have not corrupted and
degraded themselves to that extent. Their ‘tokens’ of virtuous living reminds
the poet that he must arouse those lost values again. For this, he will have to
change sides and join the world of animals.