4

Thinking about the Poem

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

Answer 1:

Amanda must have been about 9-10 years old. We can know this because she is a school going girl and her mother scolds her and gives her all usual instructions which are given to a 9 or l0 year old girl.

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

Answer 2:

Her mother is speaking to her.

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

Answer 3:

Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 are given in parenthesis because they are the feelings of a young child about the advice that she is being given by her mother, which are given in stanzas 1, 3 and 5. The scolding of her m other and the child's thoughts are placed in alternate stanzas by the poet.

Question 4: Who is the speaker in Stanzas 2, 4 and 6? Do you think this speaker is listening to the speaker in Stanzas l, 3, 5, and 7?

Answer 4:

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 thoughts and dreams and doesn't listen to what is being told to her.

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

Answer 5:

If Amanda were a mermaid, then she would glide leisurely on a languid emerald sea. She would be the only occupant of the relaxed green sea and would move slowly on it.

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

Answer 6:

No, Amanda is not an orphan. She says so because she wants to be all alone. She wants to move around in the street alone and play with dust with her bare feet. She finds silence 'golden' and freedom 'sweet'. That is why, she calls herself an orphan.

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

Answer 7:

She wants to be Rapunzel because she wanted to live by herself. Rapunzel used to live all alone in a tall tower and had long, beautiful hair. She was imprisoned by her grandmother. The girl also wanted to live alone in a tower as she didn't want to care about anything as life in a tower would be calm, undisturbed and unusual. She also decided that she would never throw her hair down for anyone to come up as she wanted to live alone always.

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

Answer 8:

The girl yearns for a life of freedom. The poem tells us that she is a creative girl who is continuously nagged by her boring and dull parent.

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

Answer 9:

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.