LAWRENCE CLASSES

ENGLISH LITERATURE
EXPLANATION
Sept-21/cl-10/CBSE/AP
Topic- Amanda

INTRODUCTION
In this poem, Robin Klein expresses the views of a small girl Amanda about freedom or liberty in
life. The protagonist Amanda is a small girl who has certain unwanted habits. She is asked to
mend those habits. She seems to live in her own world and feels her freedom getting curtailed
by the set of instructions given to her by her elders so she finds solace in the world of
imagination.
This upsets her parents who call her moody. Amanda’s reaction to the rules and regulations
imposed upon her by her parents is very interesting.

THEME
Every child wants to enjoy freedom but feels that he or she is controlled and instructed not to do
one thing or another. Children have certain habits which are disapproved of by their parents.
The parents teach them to mend those habits. This is for their benefit. It is parents who are
responsible for the proper upbringing of their child but they should be careful that their nagging
should not make the child feel suffocated.

SUMMARY
Robin Klein has expressed the views of a little girl Amanda who is constantly pointed out by her
mother for making mistakes which she considers as not a part of the code of good conduct laid
down by the society in which we live. The poem depicts the state of mind of a child who is
constantly instructed about the do’s and don’ts by her elders such as not to bite her nails, not to
hunch
her shoulders while sitting, finishing her homework , tidying her room, cleaning her shoes, not
eating chocolate etc. This frequent nagging makes her very unhappy. It seems as if she is not
free to do anything that she wants to do. She wants freedom from all restrictions. She dreams to
lead
the life of a mermaid in a languid, emerald sea where she is the sole inhabitant. She feels that
an orphan roaming barefoot in the dusty streets has more freedom than her. She also wishes to
lead
a calm, quiet and secluded life in a high tower like the golden haired Rapunzel with nobody to
disturb her. She takes no note of what is said to her. She is then rebuked for being moody and
sulking all the time.

Figures of Speech-
Alliteration : Repetition of initial consonant sounds in the same line.
Stop that slouching and sit up straight
I thought I told you to clean your shoes
Did you tidy your room, Amanda?
Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!

Allusion : A reference to statement, person, place etc. from history , religion, literature or any
other field.
mermaid – To be free and contained in their own. (Taken from fairy tales)
Rapunzel – Who lived alone on a tower for a long time. (Taken from a fairy tale)

Metaphor : Implied comparison- to compare two things or qualities which are unlike
I am an orphan – who doesn’t have nagging parents above their head as Amanda’s.
languid, emerald sea – languid and emerald type qualities are assigned to sea.
silence is golden
freedom is sweet
Rhyme Scheme : aaba ccc