Poem 6: Amanda by ROBIN KLEIN
The Text of the Poem:
Don’t bite your nails, Amanda!
Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
Amanda!
(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!
(I am an
orphan, roaming the street. I pattern soft dust with my hushed, bare feet. The
silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.)
Don’t eat
that chocolate, Amanda!
Remember
your acne, Amanda!
Will you
please look at me when I’m speaking to you,
Amanda!
(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!
This poem is
about a girl Amanda. Her mother often instructs her to do or not to do this and
that. Her mother tells her to sit, stand and walk straight. She stops her from
biting her nails. She also tells her to finish her home work, tidy her room and
clean her shoes. It seems that Amanda does not like to do all this. She remains
in her world of imagination to avoid listening to her mother’s instructions.
Her mother calls her moody. She does not give reply to her mother. Amanda likes
to be an orphan to enjoy peace and freedom. She knows that orphans do not have
parents to stop them from doing what they want.
Short Answer-type Qs
Very Very Short Answer-Type Qs
1. How old
do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?
2. Who do
you think is speaking to her?
3. Why are
Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 given in parenthesis?
4. Who is
the speaker in Stanzas 2, 4 and 6?
Do you think this speaker is listening to the
speaker in Stanzas 1, 3, 5, and 7?
5. What
could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?
6. Is Amanda
an orphan? Why does she say so?
7. Do you
know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel?
8. What does
the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?
9. Read the
last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody
Stanza 1
Don’t bite
your nails, Amanda!
Don’t hunch
your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching
and sit up straight, Amanda!
Word-meaning: 1. Hunch: to bend forward 2.
Slouching: to stand,sit and walk by bending your shoulders and also with your
head slightly bent. It is a mal-posture
Explanation: It is Amanda’s mother who is
speaking here. She instructs her not to bite her nails. She also tells her not
to bend her shoulders forward. It does not seem nice to the mother, In a way
she advises Amanda not to create mal posture while sitting, standing and even
walking.
Stanza 2
(There is a
languid, emerald sea, where the sole inhabitant is me— a mermaid, drifting
blissfully.)
Word-meaning: 1. Languid: a slow way of speaking or moving 2.
Inhabitants: those who live in at particular place 3. Mermaid : imaginary sea creature like a fish having upper part
of a woman 4. Drift: float or move
pushed by some outer force 5.
Blissfully: happily 6. Emerald: a precious stone of dark
green colour 7. Sole: only
Explanation: The above lines have been put in
parenthesis because these have been uttered by Amanda to herself. It may be
possible that she thought about these lines in her imagination only. Amanda
imagines that she is the only sea creature ‘mermaid’ moving peacefully and
happily in the dark green water of the sea.
Stanza 3.
Did you
finish your homework, Amanda?
Did you tidy your room, Amanda?
I thought I told you to clean your shoes,
Amanda!
Word-meaning: 1. Tidy: to set all the things in a proper
arrangement that looks beautiful
Explanation: Amanda’s mother speaks these lines.
She asks her if she has finished her home work. She also asks her if she has
tidied up her room and clean her shoes.
Stanza 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.)
Word-meaning: 1.
Orphan: a child whose parents have died 2. Roaming: wandering aimlessly 3. Pattern: to make design 4.
Hushed: quiet 5. Bare feet: the
feet without shoes
Explanation: It seems that Amanda at once enters
the world of her imagination as soon as her mother starts instructing her or
asking anything from her. She does not like her mother limiting her freedom.
She thinks that her freedom is curtailed if her mother tells her anything to
make amends in her behavior. Her reactions prove that she does not want to do
any work. She always wants to remain in her own fantasies.
Here, in
these lines, Amanda imagines herself to be an orphan. It shows that she does
not like her parents. She imagines herself wandering in the street bare-footed.
She also likes to make design in the soft dust. This is a very common activity
among village children. She also says that silence is golden and freedom is
sweet.
Stanza 5.
Don’t eat
that chocolate, Amanda!
Remember
your acne, Amanda!
Will you
please look at me when I’m speaking to you,
Amanda!
Word-meaning:
1. Acne; pimples
Explanation: Again, Amanda’s mother scolds her
for eating chocolate. She shows her motherly concern by stopping her from
eating sweets because it seems that the girl Amanda has acne on her face. It
also shows that Amanda may be of 12 or 13 years because acne or pimples often
grow on the faces o the youngsters in this age. The stanza also shows that
Amanda does not looks at her mother when she instructs her against eating
chocolate. The tone of the mother is polite as she uses ‘please’.
Stanza 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!)
When she was twelve years
old, the fairy locked her in a tower that stood in a forest
and that had neither a door nor a stairway, but only a tiny little window at
the very top. When the fairy wanted to enter, she stood below and called
out: Rapunzel,Rapunzel!
Word-meaning: 1. Rapunzel: She is a legendary
girl. She was made prisoner by a fairy in her tower. She lived alone there. She
had long bright hair. 2. Tranquil:
peaceful
Explanation: Amanda imagines herself as Rapunzel.
She loves living alone in a high tower like the legendary girl Rapenzel. Her
life is peaceful and strange there in the tower. She also utters that she would
surely not allow her hair to fall down from the tower. Rapunzel’s troubles
started after she had falled her hair down from the tower.
Stanza 7.
Stop that
sulking at once, Amanda!
You’re always so moody, Amanda!
Anyone would think that I nagged at you,
Amanda!
Word-meaning: 1. Sulk: to remain in bad mood 2.
Nag: to criticise/ irritate
Explanation: When Amanda does not respond to her
mother’s instructions, she uses some anger in her words. She orders her not to
sulk (to be in bad mood). She even calls her moody. She also tells Amanda that
her sulking would make others think that she had been nagging (criticising/irritating
for long) her.
Short Answer-type Qs
Very Very Short Answer-Type Qs
1. How old
do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?
2. Who do
you think is speaking to her?
3. Why are
Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 given in parenthesis?
4. Who is
the speaker in Stanzas 2, 4 and 6?
Do you think this speaker is listening to the
speaker in Stanzas 1, 3, 5, and 7?
5. What
could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?
6. Is Amanda
an orphan? Why does she say so?
7. Do you
know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel?
8. What does
the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?
9. Read the
last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody
Short Answer-type Qs
Q1. What is the poem Amanda about? Or Write the
central idea of the poem Amanda.
Ans. This poem is about a girl, Amanda. Parents
usually show much concern (worry) about their children. They keep on telling
them to do this or not to do that. It irritates the children. In this poem,
Amanda seems to feel irritated at the nagging (irritating) nature of her
mother.
Q2. How does Amanda imagine and describe herself
as an orphan? Why does she think so?
Ans. Amanda imagines herself to be an orphan.
She thinks that she is wandering about in a street. She is bare-footed. She is
walking slowly in soft dust and making designs from her feet. Freedom is sweet
and silence is golden to her.
Q3. How does Amanda describe herself as a
mermaid?
Ans. Amanda describes herself as a mermaid. She
is the only inhabitant of the sea. She is drifting in a relaxed manner in the
dark sea-green water. She yearns (desires) for freedom to go anywhere.
Q4. What did Amanda want to prove by imagining
herself as Rapunzel?
Ans. Amanda imagined herself as Rapunzel because
she loved freedom and silence. She did not like her mother to nag her
(irritate) by instructing her to do this and not to do that.
Q5.Who was Rapunzel? What kind of life did she
live?
Ans. Rapunzel lived in a tower. It was built in
an isolated area of a forest. When she was twelve years old, the fairy locked her in
a tower. She lived a lonely life there.
Q6. What does the speaker say to Amanda about
her nails?
Ans. The speaker says Amanda not to bite her
nails.
Q7. What three things does Amanda’s mother say
not to do?
Ans. Amanda’s mother tells her not to bite her
nails. She advises her not to bend her shoulders forward. She also tells her to
stop slouching while sitting, standing, and walking. She stops Amanda from
eating chocolate also.
Q8. What thing has Amanda been prohibited to
eat?
Ans. Amanda has been prohibited (stopped) to eat
chocolate. She also reminds her to think about the acne on her face.
Q9. What things does Amanda’s mother ask her to
do?
Ans. Amanda’s mother asks her to tidy up her
room. She also tells her to complete her homework and clean her shoes.
Q10. What type of girl was Amanda?
Ans. Amanda is a moody and lazy girl. She does
not want to do any physical activity. She does not obey her mother. She lives
in the world of her imagination. She feels irritated if her mother asks her.
Q11. Why does Amanda say that silence is golden
and freedom is sweet?
Ans. Amanda does not like her mother should say
anything to her. She loves silence. She wants full freedom. So silence is
golden and freedom is sweet to her.
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