Amanda

~ By Robin Klein
About the Poet
• Robin McMaugh Klein
• Australian author of books for children.
• She had her first short story published at the age of sixteen.
• She worked in number of jobs before becoming an established writer,
including tea lady at a warehouse, bookshop assistant, nurse, copper
enamelist, and program aide at a school for disadvantaged children.
• In 1981 she was awarded a Literature Board grant for writing, and
since then she has had more than twenty books published.
 Amanda – poem introduction
Every child feels that she/he is controlled and instructed not to do one
thing or another. You too may feel that your freedom is curtailed.
Write down some of the things you want to do, but your parents/
elders do not allow you to. To read the poem aloud, form pairs,
each reading alternate stanzas. You are in for a surprise!
Poem
Explanation – stanza 1
Don’t bite your nails, Amanda!
Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
Amanda!

Explanation
This poem expresses the state of a little girl’s mind who is constantly instructed
about do’s and don’ts by her mother. The girl named Amanda and her mother who is
irritating her for mistakes. Her mother used to give instructions not to hunch her
shoulders and to sit up straight. Her mother reminds her to finish her homework. The
little girl Amanda keeps dreaming about freedom of life in the open.
Stanza – 2
(There is a languid, emerald sea,where the sole inhabitant is me a mermaid, drifting
blissfully.)
Did you finish your homework, Amanda?
Did you tidy your room, Amanda?
I thought I told you to clean your shoes,
Amanda!

Explanation :-
Her mother also feels that she is sitting in a very lethargic manner. To this, Amanda imagines
herself as a mermaid swimming freely and joyously in the light green sea. She wants to live a
calm and relaxing life in the beautiful green sea. Further her mother drags Amanda out of her
dreams by asking whether she cleans her room and shoes or not.
Stanza – 3
(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 has another daydream in which she imagines herself as an orphan wandering
freely, barefoot in golden silence and uninterrupted freedom. She utters that she would
have enjoyed her freedom then, by making the patterns of her bare feet on the sand.
She would live a peaceful life. Her mother’s nagging complaints break her daydream.
The mother forbade Amanda not to eat chocolates because of her acne and pimples.
She also rebukes her for not looking at her while she is talking to her.
Stanza – 4
(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!)
Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!
You’re always so moody, Amanda!
Anyone would think that I nagged at you,
Amanda!
Explanation :-

• Amanda is enjoying another dream that now she fantasizes herself as

Rapunzel, a character from a fairy tale and wants to live like her in a huge
tower peacefully. She dreams that she will never let down her hair from the
tower like Rapunzel. In the tower, she will live an alone and peaceful life. She
will never allow anyone to come to the tower. Finally, the mother forbids her
for being moody .because she doesn’t want anyone to make her feel guilty that
she is harassing her daughter. At this time the poet has not written any
response from Amanda’s side. This constant nagging has made her so upset
that she has even stopped dreaming of herself as someone else. She always
tries this only in order to escape from the continuous harassment and
dominance of her parents.
Conclusion :-
• This poem conveys the moral that children need to be allowed more
freedom. Excessive nagging may make them disobedient and hence
they may develop a type of dislike for real life.