GRADE 10

MAIN COURSE BOOK – FIRST FLIGHT

Poem 6: AMANDA
Contents:

❖ Introduction
❖ Learning Objectives:
❖ About the Poet
❖ Summary
❖ Theme
❖ Literary Devices
❖ Question/Answers to be attempted in N.B

Instructions:

❖ The notes given here are to be done in your notebook. It’ll be highly
appreciated if you frame your own answers rather than merely copying
the given ones. You may use the given points as cues to frame your own
answers.
❖ Follow the instructions, given in red, on what all needs to be copied.
❖ Do not forget to date your notes and update the index.
❖ You need to make a separate notebook for Supplementary Reader.
❖ A 100pages N.B would be sufficient.

Learning Objective:

● Make poetry reading / listening an enjoyable experience

● Inculcate an appreciation for poetry and the poem in this unit
● Connect learning with the learner's context and experiences
● Learn the use of new words and phrases
● Lear the use of imperatives
● Give confidence to create a new poem

About the Poet: (in N.B)

Robin Mc Maugh Klein is and Australian author of books for children. She writes
Children’s and young adult fiction. Some of her famous books are Hating Alison
Ashley, People might hear you, etc.

Summary : This poem depicts the state of a little girl’s mind who is constantly
instructed about do’s and don’ts by her elders. She is told not to hunch her
shoulders and to sit up straight. She is told to finish her homework and tidy her
room. She is forbidden from eating a chocolate that she has. But all the time, the
little girl Amanda keeps dreaming of a life of freedom in the open. She dreams of
mermaids in the sea, of roaming barefoot in the dusty street and of the golden
haired Rapunzel who lived alone in a high tower. She takes no note of what is being
said to her. Then she is rebuked for being moody and sulking all the time.

Theme (in N.B)

Childhood is a time when we indulge in our fantasies and we do as we please. But as
soon as we reach adolescence, we are expected to abandon such practices and do as
we are told. Amanda has reached that midway age between childhood and adulthood.
The poet shows this in a subtle manner, through the growth of acne on her face.
Because she is no longer a child, her mother expects her to fulfill certain
responsibilities such as finishing her homework on time, or cleaning her room and her
shoes. However, Amanda wants to postpone the process of growing up. So she
withdraws into the childhood world of fantasies and fairy tales.

Literary Devices (not to be done in N.B)

Anaphora: Repeated use of a word at start of two or more lines (don’t bite… don’t
hunch)
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘o’ (don’t hunch your shoulders)
Rhyme: aaba ccc (Amanda, Amanda, straight, Amanda, sea, me, blissfully)
Metaphor: use of word emerald sea for green colour of sea being similar to the
colour of emrald
Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’
Imagery: drifting blissfully
Alliteration: ‘Stop that slouching and sit up straight’ - ‘s’ sound is being repeated at
the start of closely placed words.
Allusion: ‘mermaid’ is a well known imaginary creature.

Anaphora: Repeated use of a word at start of two or more lines (did you finish….did
you tidy)
Rhyme: Rhyme scheme is aada eee (Amanda, Amanda, shoes, Amanda, street, feet,
sweet)
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘o’ (Thought, told, you, your, shoes)
Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’
Metaphor: silence is golden - silence is said to be glorious like golden colour
freedom is sweet - freedom is said to be sweet in taste.

Allusion: use of famous fairy tale character Rapunzel

Rhyme: rhyme scheme aafa ggg (Amanda, Amanda, you, Amanda, care, rare, hair)
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘e’ and ‘o’ (Will you please look at me when I’m
speaking to you
Consonance: use of sound ‘r’ (I am Rapunzel; I have not a care …..Bright hair)
Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’
Alliteration: ‘Stop that sulking’ - ‘s’ sound is repeated at the start of closely placed
words
Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’
Rhyme scheme: aaha (Amanda, Amanda, you, Amanda)

Short Answer Questions: (in Text.Book only)

Q1- How old do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?
A: Amanda is a little school-going girl. We know this because her parents asks her to
finish her homework. Also because of the reference to mermaid or Rapunzel. These
stories are read by children of age group of 10-12 years.

Q2- Who do you think is speaking to her?

A: One of her parents is speaking to her. We think that probably it could be her
mother. We think this because it’s a general perception that children are taken care of
by their mothers at home.
Q3- Why are stanzas 2,4 and 6 given in parenthesis?
A: Parenthesis is a remark that is added to a sentence, often to provide an
explanation. So, in stanzas 2, 4 and 6 parenthesis is used to describe the reaction of
child Amanda towards her mother’s continuous nagging.
Q4- Who is the speaker in stanzas 2,4and 6? Do you think this speaker is listening to
the speaker in stanzas 1,3,5 and 7?
A: The speaker in Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 is Amanda. No, she is not paying any attention
to what her mother says. She is lost in her own thoughts. She imagines herself as a
mermaid, an orphan and Rapunzel.

Q5- What could do if she were a mermaid?

A: The little girl Amanda wants to be a mermaid and the only resident of the
beautiful green sea. She thinks that her life will be very relaxing in the sea and she
will be taken away with the currents of water. She will be able to enjoy her freedom.

Q6- Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?

A: No, Amanda is not an orphan as she is constantly being pointed out by one of her
parents in the poem. She said so because she is sad and depressed because of the
continuous scolding and nagging which she faces because of her parents. Therefore,
she feels that it would have been much better and peaceful had she been an orphan.

Q7- Do you know the story of Rapunzel? Why does Amanda want to be Rapunzel?
A: The story of Rapunzel is of a girl who is captured by an old witch in a tower. The
old witch climbs up the tower with the help of Rapunzel’s very long hair which she lets
down for her through a window of the tower. One day, a Prince visits her by climbing
the tower with the help of her long hair. When the witch comes to know this, she
separates both of them. But both Rapunzel and Prince meet after a gap of many years
and then live their life happily. Amanda wants to be Rapunzel because she knew that
in the story, there was no staircase to enter the tower. It was only possible with the
help of Rapunzel’s long hair that she would let down to help others to climb. Amanda
feels that life in the tower will be very calm and nice and also makes it a point to
never let her hair down for anyone as she doesn’t want to get disturbed by visitors.

Q8- What does the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?
A: A8- The girl Amanda yearns for freedom and peace in her life. She is constantly
reminded of her mistakes. Her parents want her to follow the code of conduct of good
behavior. They are doing so because they want their child to be well mannered and
obedient. But while doing this they forget that she is a child and should be allowed
some freedom. The poet has drawn the reader’s attention towards the condition of
children who are constantly oppressed by their elders in the name of good behaviour.

Q9- Read the last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody?
A9- In our sense, Amanda is not moody. She feels oppressed because of her mother’s
constant nagging. She doesn’t want to be pointed out for such small things like
cleaning the room, sitting straight, cleaning her shoes, completing her homework, etc.
She feels that she is not free and is under a constant pressure of trying to be a well
behaved girl as per her parent’s demand.

Extra questions: (to be done in N.B)

Q1. How does Amanda tackle the nagging nature of her parents? Explain with
examples from the poem. What values does it portray about Amanda?
Amanda is a small girl who is termed as moody for her careless behaviour. But it is
very surprising to know that this is her defence mechanism to shield against her
nagging parents. Amanda is getting instructions from her parents, which become too
much to handle for the small girl. She is told not to eat her nails and sit in a proper
position. Amanda’s response to it is her work of imagination where she is a mermaid
drifting effortlessly by the languid river. Further, she is asked about cleaning her room
and finishing her homework to which she reacts being an orphan roaming in the street
and making patterns with her bare feet. Amanda then faces the heat for eating a
chocolate, which had once caused her acne. She takes the form of Rapunzel and
wishes to live on top of a tower away from everyone in her imagination. Amanda’s
parents are upset over her behaviour and casualness, but she stays in her own world.
All these portray Amanda in a positive light while her parents in a negative light. We
as readers feel very sorry for a child like Amanda.

Q2.State the key points in the poem Amanda. What do you learn from it?

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. The 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.

M.C.Q Practice Test:

https://www.successcds.net/learn-english/class-10-mcq/poem-6-
amanda.html

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