GD GOENKA PUBLIC SCHOOL, PASCHIM VIHAR

CLASS X STUDY REVIEW

AMANDA
BY ROBIN KLEIN

Extract Based Questions [3 Marks each]

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the

questions that follow.
Question 1.
Don’t bite your nails, Amanda!
Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
Amanda!
(a) Amanda is getting instructions for what purpose?
(b) Give a synonym of ‘hunch’.
(c) What does the speaker of above lines instruct Amanda in the first
stanza?
(d) What is the literary device used in the third line?
Answer:
(a) Amanda is getting instructions as a part of her upbringing. Her
conduct and manners are getting refined for future purposes.
(b) Bend.
(c) Amanda is getting instructed for biting her nails and sitting lazily
with her shoulders bent.
(d) Literary device used in third line is Alliteration. ‘Stop that
slouching and sit up straight’.

Question 2.
(There is a languid, emerald sea, where the sole inhabitant is me – a
mermaid, drifting blissfully.)
(a) Why are these lines given within brackets?
(b) Give the word from the passage which means free flowing act of
going with the motion and force?
(c) What is the role of mermaid here?
(d) Which word in the extract means opposite of ‘sorrowful’?
Answer:
(a) These lines are given within brackets because they reveal the
inner thoughts of Amanda. Brackets are used for visual contrast
between what Amanda is saying and what her mother is instructing.
(b) Drifting means free flowing act of going with the motion.
(c) Mermaid is a part of Amanda’s fantasy in her own created world.
As mermaid sails in a sea carelessly and effortlessly, similarly
Amanda longs to do so in a place where she is all by herself.
(d) Blissfully is opposite of sorrowful.
Question 3.
Don’t eat that chocolate, Amanda!
Remember your acne, Amanda!
Will you please look at me when I’m speaking to you,
Amanda!
(a) Why is Amanda not looking at the speaker?
(b) Find the word in the extract which means same as consume?
(c) The speaker is so worried about acne. What does it show?
(d) Which word in the extract means the same as ‘to gaze’? [CBSE
2016]
Answer:
(a) Amanda is lost in her own thoughts and is paying no attention to
instructions being given to her. That is why she is not looking at the
speaker.
(b) Eat means same as consume.
(c) Speaker being worried about acne shows how much importance
is given to physical beauty in a household. Amanda is prepared for
the unforeseen future. Natural experience such as acne is also taken
care of at any cost.
(d) To look means the same as ‘to gaze’.

Question 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.)
(a) How come silence is golden?
(b) Give a synonym of ‘roaming’.
(c) What is Amanda upto in this stanza?
(d) What poetic device is used in this stanza?
Answer:
(a) Silence is shown golden using the poetic device metaphor. By
making silence golden the poet is estimating the worth of silence.
For Amanda seeks peace and calmness, which is absent in her
reality.
(b) Wandering.
(c) Amanda is again taking refuge in her imagination. Here, she
wishes to be an orphan, away from her nagging parents. Amanda
wants to roam aimlessly in streets and draw patterns using just her
bare feet.
(d) The poet uses metaphor such as ‘orphan’, ‘silence is golden’, and
‘freedom is sweet’.

Question 5.
(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)
(a) Does Amanda live on a tower?
(b) Why will Amanda not let down her bright hair?
(c) What is the underlying poetic device used in this stanza?
(d) Find from the passage a word which means the same as
‘serene’.
Answer:
(a) No, Amanda stays at her place. Here, she is imagining herself to
be Rapunzel who lived on a tower.
(b) Amanda is aware about the story of Rapunzel. In the story of
Rapunzel all the mishappening and misfortunes are brought to her
by letting down the hair. Amanda also wishes to live alone apd
carefree, without any disturbance.
(c) Poet uses allusion here as the underlying poetic device.
(d) The word is ‘tranquil’.

Question 6.
Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!
You’re always so moody, Amanda!
Anyone would think that I nagged at you,
Amanda!
(a) Is Amanda really sulking?
(b) Why does the speaker care for others?
(c) Give the word from the passage which means same as unstable.
(d) What poetic device has been used in the first line of this stanza?
Answer:
(a) Amanda is not sulking. She just doesn’t care about instructions
given to ber as she is lost in a world of her own.
(b) The whole poem revolves around the aspect that how one is
presented in a society. Speaker doesn’t wish to be regarded as a
nagging parent in the society, so Amanda is expected to put up a
happy face all the time.
(c) Moody means same as unstable.
(d) ‘Alliteration’ has been used in the first line; words ‘stap’ and
‘sulking’ start with the same sound.

Check for Complete NCERT Solutions

Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks each]

Question 7.
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.

Question 8.
Why is Amanda getting scolded for having chocolate?
Answer:
Amanda is getting scolded for having chocolates as previously it had
caused her acne. Amanda’s mother is very particular about such
things.
Amanda is made conscious about her physical appearance. It is very
sad that at such a young age Amanda is made to worry about
natural experiences.

Question 9.
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.

Question 10.
Why does Amanda seem moody most of the times? [CBSE 2016]
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 defence against such reality is her imagination
where she often escapes to.
Hence, it makes her look moody and uninterested.

Question 11.
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.

Question 12.
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.

Question 13.
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
instil 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.

Question 14.
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.

Question 15.
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 civilised and good mannered.
“Love and proper care is required in nurturing of a child.

Long Answer (Value Based) Type Questions [4 Marks each]

Question 16.
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 instil 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 defence 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.