Summary of chapter 'Amanda'.
Answers
This poem has been written by Robin Klein. It depicts the state of a little girl's mind who is continuously instructed about what to do and what to do not.
The little girl Amanda is told not to bite her nails. She is told not to hunch her shoulders and to sit straight. She is told to finish her homework and tidy her room and she is strictly forbidden to eat chocolate for fear that she might get acne. She is also accused of sulking (sadness). But, the little girl Amanda keeps dreaming of a life of freedom in the open. She dreams that she is a mermaid in the sea. She also dreams that she is an orphan and she is roaming barefoot in the dusty street. She also dreams that she is rapunzel who lives alone in the high tower.
This poem brings forth the inner feelings of a little girl when she is instructed by her elders. Her feelings covey the fact that she does not like to being ordered about. The poet wants to convey the fact that the parents should be sensitive to the feelings of their children.
Every child feels that he/she is controlled and instructed not to do one thing or another by elders at home and even outside . By this way, children feel that their freedom is curtailed . This is more so with teenage kids . They feel that it is by right they need a space of their own .
A similar situation is found highlighted in this poem . Amanda get frequent instructions and discipline methods from her elders , like not to bite her nails , not to hunch her shoulders , not to slouch , sit up straight , finish her homework in time , tidy up her room , clean her shoes and the list is endless . When these things become a routine , their values to get lost . For , it is but natural of children of that age to start feeling a new sense of freedom . They think they know everything or they feel the urge to explore things around them independently . Some children go to their own dreamy world which gives them a respite from all disciplining and scolding by the elders .
Amanda is a similar character . She either keeps quiet or goes to her own world. For her , silence is gold and freedom is silver . She feels herself a mermaid drifting blissfully in a languid emerald sea . Or , she feels herself to be an orphan, who roams around the street , with no one to stop or discipline her . Sometimes , she experiences that freedom within herself as she finds herself as a Rapunzel with no one to care about . She resides in a tranquil tower . Even then , her mother feels that she is moody or sulking . All children like Amanda are confounded about what to do when they are constantly corrected or monitored by their elders .