Amanda (Poetry)

Important Questions for Amanda(Poetry) Class 10 First Flight English

Important Questions

1

Write a short note on the title of the poem?

Answer

The title of the poem is Amanda as it revolves around the upbringing of little girl named Amanda. Her life is full of struggles where she is denied freedom and expression. Amanda is so much irate that she escapes reality by living in her imaginative world. Through this gateway she experiences calmness, away from her nagging parents.

Short Answer Type

2

How life on a tower would be different from life anywhere else for Amanda?

Answer

Life on tower for Amanda would be very different from her reality. Just like Rapunzel, even she desires to live on top of a tower, away from everyday chaos. Amanda suffers due to the constant nagging from her parents. She seeks a place full of peace and serenity, where there is no one to disturb her. Hence, she wishes to live on a tower.

Short Answer Type

3

Why does Amanda wish to be a mermaid, an orphan, or Rapunzel?

Answer

Amanda wishes to be a mermaid so she could drift alone by blissfully languid, emerald sea. She yearns to be an orphan so that she is able to roam the sea and make pattern using her bare feet. Being Rapunzel means she could live carefree on a high tower. Amanda wishes to be these so that she could avoid her suffocating reality.

Short Answer Type

4

Do you consider Amanda’s mother to be a nagging mother?

Answer

Amanda’s mother is indeed a nagging mother. She is all about instructions and finding faults. No doubt it is her responsibility to instill good values into her daughter, but not at the cost of her child’s happiness. One should know how to strike a balance between maintaining responsibilities and taking good care.

Short Answer Type

5

What is the central theme of the poem Amanda?

Answer

The poem Amanda by Robin Klein highlights the importance of upbringing of a child. It points out that upbringing doesn’t involve making a child responsible and fit for the society only. It is important to note that upbringing involves understanding from both the sides. One cannot just force a child to be civilized and good mannered. “Love and proper care is required in nurturing of a child.

Short Answer Type

6

Why does Amanda seem moody most of the times? 

Answer

Amanda seems moody most of the time because she is trying to make an escape from her sorry reality where she is nagged most of the times. It is indeed a sorry state for a small child like Amanda to bear. Here the only defense against such reality is her imagination where she often escapes to. Hence, it makes her look moody and uninterested.

Short Answer Type

7

How does it help Amanda to be an orphan?

Answer

Amanda feels troubled around her parents, so she wishes herself to be an orphan. As then only she could live a life of her own without much hassle.

Short Answer Type

8

Is Amanda at fault at all?

Answer

Amanda is not at fault at all. It is too harsh for a small child to understand the concept of acne and not eating a chocolate. Love of parents is missing from Amanda’s life. It is with pity that we look towards Amanda. There is nothing worst for a child who wishes to be an orphan. Amanda just seeks freedom from the overpowering environment around her.

Short Answer Type

1

Discuss the importance of proper upbringing with reference to the poem Amanda by Robin Klein.

Answer

Upbringing plays an essential role in personality development of an adult. Whenever we wish to admire or criticise someone we question the upbringing of that person. Robin Klein’s poem Amanda highlights the tension in the ‘proper’ upbringing of a child. To instill good values and moral principles in a growing child comes as a foremost duty for the parents. However, the poem Amanda shows how a child feels trapped within the cluster of instructions. Amanda is no less than a victim in this travesty. No proper space is given to her creativity. She is instructed for everything. As a result, she feels trapped and seeks an escape. Her imagination proves to be her escape and also her defense against her nagging parents. Situation of Amanda is so worse that she wishes to be an orphan, in order to get rid of her parents. She imagines enacting various roles varying from mermaid to Rapunzel. Amanda wishes to live alone and carefree. It is very important to understand the situation of Amanda where her freedom is cut short by constant instructions and guidelines. Proper balance should be maintained when dealing with such delicate issues. Love and care should always be part of this two way transaction.

Long Answer Type

2

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

Answer

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 childlike 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. 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.

Long Answer Type

3

How does Amanda tackle the nagging nature of her parents? Explain with examples from the poem. What values does it portray about Amanda?

Answer

Amanda is a small girl who is termed as moody for her careless behavior. But it is very surprising to know that this is her defense 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 rive. 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 behavior 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 childlike Amanda.

Long Answer Type