We are sharing a Summary of Amanda along with the stanza-wise explanation and ncert solutions. We are also sharing the poet’s introduction literary devices and important meanings of the words for a better understanding of the poem.
Amanda: Introduction
The poem is written by Robin Klein who has described the point of view of a little girl. Amanda the little girl is constantly pointed out by her mother for making mistakes and not listening to her advice. Her mother considered those mistakes as a blunder by the society in which we live.
Amanda: Poet’s Introduction
Robin Klein is an Australian poet who has written many stories for children. She writes for children as well as for adults. Some of her famous works include; People might hear you, Hating Alison Ashley, etc
Amanda: Summary Class 10th Poem
The poem revolves around a little girl named Amanda and her mother who constantly scolds and reprimands her for committing mistakes. Her mother scolds her for biting her nails and not sitting in the right posture. The mother feels that her daughter is not sitting in the right manner.
After listening to this, she imagines herself to be a mermaid who can sit very easily on a rocky stone in the green sea. She feels that she would have lived a happy and relaxing life. After some time, she was reprimanded for not cleaning her room and shoes, and for not finishing her homework.
Amanda feels bad and imagines herself to be an orphan as now she feels very annoying with being constantly watched by her parents and being nagged all the time. She thinks that being an orphan child she could have enjoyed her freedom.
Next, she was scolded badly fo
r eating sweets as eating so many sweets can cause pimples. So, now she thought of being a princess Rapunzel and wants to live in a high tower thinking that she would live an alone and peaceful life. Finally, her mother asked her not to be temperamental.
Now the little girl was very sad and stopped herself from being imagined as anyone else. She used to imagine and fantasize about herself always getting rid of the harassment and dominant attitude of her parents. She was fed up with the attitude of her parents.
Amanda: Stanza-wise Explanation
Stanza 1 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.)
In the first stanza, the mother is pointing out Amanda for biting her nails, bending her shoulders, and not sitting in the right posture. She also scolds her for walking in a lame manner. Listening to all this, Amanda feels sad and fantasizes about herself as a mermaid relaxing all her life on a rocky stone near the green sea. She could have swam all day in the green sea and moved up and down with the sea waves.
Stanza 2 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!
Now in the second stanza, her mother is scolding her badly for not cleaning her room and shoes and for not doing her homework. After listening to this, Amanda wanted to be an orphan so that she could have enjoyed her freedom, and walk bare feet on the sand all day without any nagging from anyone. She feels irritated by constant nagging but never understands that all these are for her benefit.
Her mother also scolds her for eating a lot of chocolates as she can get acne on her face. Amanda feels her parents are snatching away her freedom. Her mother wants her to listen to her advice and be careful next time. But Amanda feels very irritated at these kinds of nagging statements.
Stanza 3 Will you please look at me when I’m speaking to you, Amanda! (I am Rapunzel, I have not 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!
After listening to these, she imagines herself as a princess Rapunzel who lives all alone in a high tower and there is no one to annoy her with small kinds of stuff. She also wanted to live alone in a tower that no one can enter. In the last stanza, her mother warns her for always getting moody and making sulky faces. If someone notices this, he/she would feel that because of her parents she is like that. At this, Amanda felt very sad and now she doesn’t even imagine being someone. Here in this stanza, the parents’ nature toward Amanda has been shown as authoritarian
Amanda: NCERT Solutions Class 10th Poem
Q1. How old do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?
Amanda is about a 9 -10-year-old little girl in her later childhood. She is being constantly scolded for being lethargic, eating sweets, not doing homework, etc. she was scolded so she could imbibe good manners. She is immature and naive.
Q2. What could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?
Amanda wishes to be a mermaid so that she could enjoy her life freely. She could sit on a rocky stone and swim across the green sea. There will be no one who will scold her.
Q3. Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?
No, Amanda is not an orphan. She was much pissed off with the continuous nagging and dominant attitude of her parents. She imagines herself to be an orphan so that she could walk bare feet on the sand, and enjoy her freedom. Her parent’s authoritarian style stressed her which is why she imagines herself like that.
Conclusion
We have shared the summary of Amanda along with the summary, poet’s introduction, stanza-wise explanation, and ncert solutions to help the students to get the gist of the poem and be able to attempt the questions during board exams.
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