Amanda

Meaning of Poem

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.)

While Amanda’s guardian is mouthing right behaviour lessons for her she is engrossed in her own world. She is dreaming of being a mermaid who is drifting blissfully in the sea. Drifting is different from swimming. While swimming amounts to controlled strokes, drifting is more careless. Swimming can be extraneous but drifting can be more pleasant.

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.)

Amanda is being asked if she has finished her homework, cleaned her room. But Amanda is feeling like an orphan who is roaming aimlessly in a street. Like carefree kid she is making patterns on soft dust with her bare feet. She has shut her ears to what is being told to her and instead enjoying the golden silence of her inner world.

Don’t eat that chocolate, Amanda!
Remember your acne, Amanda!
Will you please look at me when I’m speaking to you,
Amanda!

(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!)

Rapunzel was a princess with long golden hair. Her hair was so strong that she used to drop her hair from the watch tower she was living in and her prince charming used to climb by using her hair.

But Amanda wants to enjoy the tranquility of her tower and doesn’t want to let down her hair. She doesn’t want any prince to disturb her peace.

Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!
You’re always so moody, Amanda!
Anyone would think that I nagged at you,
Amanda!

Her gloomy face provokes her guardian to scold her for looking so gloomy. Because the guardian thinks everybody will come to know that Amanda had been scolded.

Amanda’s condition may be witnessed in every child’s life. When you are told a long list of dos and don’ts then you feel that every time you are being made a target. A target of disciplined life and a life with strict moral code of conduct. Most of you feel like shutting off your mind from the outside world. It can be debatable if you should do that or not. But you should always remember that whatever you parents or teachers are telling are for your good only.

Biting nails can lead to worm infestation so stop doing if you are habituated to it. Cleaning up your room and other things will help you develop as a responsible individual. Doing homework develops a habit of accomplishing the task at hand.

These habits will help you in your adult life when you will be building your dream career.

ROBIN KLEIN

NCERT Exercise

Question 1: How old do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?

Answer: Amanda appears to be a teenager. Terms; like ‘Acne’ and ‘Sulking’; indicate towards Amanda being a teenager.

Question 2: Who do you think is speaking to her?

Answer: It is probably her mother or a guardian.

Question 3: Why are Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 given in parenthesis?

Answer: These stanzas tell the inner thoughts of Amanda. These are given in parenthesis to give a visual contrast so that readers can easily understand.

Question 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: Amanda is the speaker in Stanzas 2, 4 and 6. She is not listening to the speaker in Stanzas 1, 3 and 7.

Question 5: What could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?

Answer: As a mermaid; Amanda could drift blissfully in the sea. Drifting is different from swimming. While swimming amounts to controlled strokes, drifting is more careless. Swimming can be extraneous but drifting can be more pleasant.

Question 6: Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?

Answer: The way Amanda is being told about Dos and Donts, she cannot be an orphan. In this poem, the word ‘orphan’ has been used as a metaphor. We can compare it with street urchins who have all the time to enjoy their childhood.

Question 7: Do you know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel?

Answer: Rapunzel was a princess with long golden hair. Her hair was so strong that she used to drop her hair from the watch tower she was living in and her prince charming used to climb by using her hair.

But Amanda wants to enjoy the tranquility of her tower and doesn’t want to let down her hair. She doesn’t want any prince to disturb her peace.

Question 8: What does the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?

Answer: Amanda yearns for some freedom so that she could enjoy her growing years. Amanda is like most of the teenagers who want to have their own private spaces. It is true that some social conditioning and tutoring is necessary to develop people as better persons, but it is equally true that everyone should get some time to enjoy the bliss of freedom.

Question 9: Read the last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody?

Answer: Since Amanda had been scolded so she appears to be sulky and moody. But her inner thoughts of being a mermaid, of being a careless child, of being a princess on a solitary tower; show that she is a normal adolescent who has her own dreams and desires.