Rohit Yadav
Thinking about the Poem
1. How old do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?
Answer
Amanda must be about 9−10 years old. She is a school-going girl. The things that her mother scolds her for are all typical instructions given to a 9 or 10-year-old girl.
2. Who do you think is speaking to her?
Answer
One of her parents is speaking to her. Most probably it is her mother. In a traditional household, mother is held responsible for the conduct of the child. In this case, also, the range of instructions suggests that the speaker is Amanda’s mother.
3. Why are Stanzas 2, 4, and 6 given in parenthesis?
Answer
Stanzas 2, 4, and 6 are given in parenthesis because they are the thoughts of the child in between the instructions that she is being given by her mother, which are given in stanzas 1, 3, and 5. The scolding by the mother and the child’s thoughts are placed in alternate stanzas by the poet.
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?
Answer
In stanzas 2, 4, and 6, the speaker is the child, Amanda. No, she is not listening to her mother who is the speaker in stanzas 1, 3, and 5. She is lost in her own dreams and doesn’t listen to what is being said to her.
5. What could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?
Answer
If Amanda were a mermaid, then she would drift slowly on a languid emerald sea. She would be the sole inhabitant of the relaxed green sea and would move slowly on it.
6. Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?
Answer
No, Amanda is not an orphan. She says so because she wants to be alone. She wants to roam around in the street alone and pattern dust with her bare feet. She finds silence ‘golden’ and freedom ‘sweet’. It is for this reason that she calls herself an orphan.
7. Do you know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel?
Answer
She wants to be Rapunzel because she wants to live alone. Rapunzel lived alone in a tall tower and had long, beautiful hair. She was held captive by her grandmother, who came up the tower by climbing her long hair. The girl also wants to live alone in a tower as she would not have to care about anything as life in a tower would be tranquil, peaceful, and rare. However, she also decided that she would never throw down her hair for anyone to come up as she wanted to live alone always.
8. What does the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?
Answer
The girl yearns for a life of freedom. The poem tells us that she is an imaginative girl who is constantly nagged by her unimaginative parent.
9. Read the last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody?
Answer
No, Amanda is neither sulking nor is she moody. She simply longs for her freedom. She wants to go out and play where she likes.
MCQs
Question 1.
What made Amanda sulk and become moody?
(a) When she had to complete her homework.
(b) When her mother gives her too many instructions.
(c) When she has to clean her shoes.
(d) None of the Above
Answer
(b) When her mother gives her too many instructions.
Question 2.
Why should Amanda not eat chocolate?
(a) it causes heart disease.
(b) it will damage liver.
(c) it causes acne.
(d) it causes cancer.
Answer
(c) it causes acne.
Question 3.
If Amanda is an orphan, what will she do?
(a) She will roam about in the streets.
(b) She will tease everyone in the streets.
(c) She will not complete her homework.
(d) All of the Above
Answer
(a) She will roam about in the streets.
Question 4.
What should Amanda not to do to her soldiers?
(a) Straight
(b) Hunch
(c) Ring
(d) None of the Above
Answer
(b) Hunch
Question 5.
What does the speaker ask Amanda not to do to her nails?
(a) wash it
(b) bite it
(c) hurt it
(d) none of the above
Answer
(b) bite it
Question 6.
What will Amanda’s behaviour make people think?
(a) her mother loves her
(b) her mother harasses her
(c) her mother is understanding
(d) both 1 and 3
Answer
(b) her mother harasses her
Question 7.
What does she imagine being when she pictures herself in a tower?
(a) Mermaid
(b) Orphan
(c) Rapunzel
(d) None of the Above
Answer
(c) Rapunzel
Question 8.
What does she want to do as an orphan?
(a) walk freely in the streets
(b) play in dust with bare feet
(c) All of the above
(d) None of the above
Answer
(c) All of the above
Question 9.
Name the literary devices used in the line “Stop that slouching and sit up straight”.
(a) Anaphora
(b) Assonance
(c) Metaphor
(d) Alliteration
Answer
(d) Alliteration
Question 10.
What is the meaning of “slouching”?
(a) Bend
(b) Sit in a lazy way
(c) lie down
(d) bend backwards
Answer
(b) Sit in a lazy way
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