From the Diary of Anne Frank Summary
This chapter is an excerpt from an autobiography named “The Diary of a Young Girl” written by Anne Frank. In this lesson, she talks about her childhood and how she used to write in a diary. She named her diary “Kitty,” and she used to consider it her only true friend. This chapter is significant from the perspective of examination and hence should be prepared sincerely. To study it from the perspective of examination, students can refer to the PDF Noted provided by GharPeShiksha. Students can supplement their reading with the PDF Notes provided by GharPeShiksha. The study material available at the website of GharPeShiksha has helped numerous students enhance their understanding of this chapter and its teachings. The material contains the chapter’s vocabulary with meaning, textbook exercise questions with solutions, previous year questions with solutions, important questions that may come in the exam, teachings of the chapter, model answer sheet, and many more things compiled by expert teachers. You can download the PDFs through the website of GharPeShiksha.
Amanda!
Amanda, a poem written by Robin Klein, is a part of the Class 10th English textbook First Flight. Through this poem, the poet depicts the life of a little girl named Amanda. Amanda is often scolded by her mother for her silly mistakes. Read the poem to know how she reacts to her mother’s nagging. Students are advised to supplement their reading of this poem with some good notes. The best way to understand the poem is to study it from the PDF notes provided by GharPeShiksha. The PDF Notes contain a summary of the poem in easy language, vocabulary with meaning, textbook exercise questions with solutions, previous year questions with solutions, important questions that may come in the exam, literary devices used in the poem, rhyming scheme analysis, and many more things all compiled by expert teachers of GharPeShiksha. This study material is available at the website of GharPeShiksha only. here download the pdf notes of this chapter.
CBSE Class 10 English Chapter 4 From The Diary Of Anne Frank – Download PDF File of Notes
From the diary of Anne Frank Summary
In this lesson, Anne talks about being lonely and having no one to talk to despite being surrounded by family and around 30 people whom she called her “friends”. Thus, she takes the decision of writing her feelings in a diary. It is unusual for her to write in a diary but she is really in need of a true friend. Thus, she decides to name her diary “kitty” and unlike other people, she is not going to mention just facts in it. She starts with writing her background, to make it easier to understand for anyone who reads it later. She describes her family and early childhood when they all migrated, her early schooling. After giving a brief account of her background, she comes to the present day where she tells us about the result day. Everyone in the class is nervous about their result and boys are even making bets. Anne was quite sure about herself and her friends. She had a good equation with all the teachers except her maths’ professor, who was constantly annoyed at her for her talking habits. Thus, he started giving her punishments in the form of essays on weird topics such as “Chatterbox” to which she replied with full wit. She wrote essays that were funny and explained that this was a trait that she inherited from her mother and not much could be done about it. He kept on giving her essays until she wrote a satire. After that third and last assignment, Mr Keesing never pointed her out for talking.
From the diary of Anne Frank Question and Answers
Q1. What makes writing in a diary a strange experience for Anne Frank?
A. It was the first time Anne was writing in a diary. She felt that later no one would be interested in reading about the thoughts of a young girl. Both these facts made it a strange experience for her.
Q2. Why does Anne want to keep a diary?
A. Anne wanted to keep a diary and write in it because she had a lot going on in her head. She had no friend with whom she could talk about such personal stuff. Thus, she decided to maintain a diary.
Q3. Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people?
A. According to Anne Frank, “paper has more patience than people”. She chose to confide more in her diary because she felt there was no friend who could listen to her with enough patience.
Q4. Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life?
A. Anne feels it would be weird to just simply jot down facts without giving her background. In case someone might read it in future, he/she won’t be able to understand vaguely stated facts. Thus, she decided to provide a brief sketch of her life.
Q5. What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother?
A. The fact that Anne spent some part of her childhood with her grandmother is self-sufficient to imply connection between the two. Also, she explicitly mentioned in her diary that she misses her grandmother more than anyone is aware of is evident enough that she loved her grandmother.
Q6. Why was Mr Keesing annoyed with Anne? What did he ask her to do?
A. Mr Keesing, Anne’s maths professor was annoyed with her because she would not stop talking during his lectures as a result of which, he gave her assignments as punishments.
Q7. How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?
A. Anne explained that she got this habit of speaking too much from her mother, mentioning that it was inherited.
Q8. What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in class?
A. On being given the third assignment as punishment, Anne wrote a satirical piece which was quite promising. Thus, finally, the professor allowed her to talk.
Q9. Was Anne right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl?
A. Yes, Anne was right in thinking that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen – year – old girl. As she was a common girl, no one would want to know her feelings and so, no one would read her diary.
Q10. There are some examples of diary or journal entries in the ‘Before You Read’ section. Compare these with what Anne writes in her diary. What language was the diary originally written in? In what way is Anne’s diary different?
A. Anne’s diary was actually written in Dutch. Her diary is different from that of others on various aspects. She had named her diary “Kitty”. She thought of it as her only true friend. She could confide in Kitty. She treated it as another person because according to her, “Paper has more patience than people”. She started by writing “Dearest kitty” and ended the account by writing, “Yours Anne”.
Q11. Why does Anne need to give a brief sketch about her family? Does she treat ‘Kitty’ as an insider or an outsider?
A. Anne feels it would be weird to just simply jot down facts without giving her background. In case someone might read it in future, he/she won’t be able to understand vaguely stated facts. Thus, she decided to provide a brief sketch of her life. She treates “kitty” as an insider as it was her only true friend with whom she could share each and everything.
Q12. How does Anne feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing? What do these tell you about her?
A. According to Anne, her father is the most lovable man one could ever come across. She loved and missed her grandmother more than she showed. She was on good terms with her teachers except the old fogey, Mr Keesing who taught them mathematics. The headmistress, Mrs Kuperus was her class teacher and both were very close to each other. Mr Keesing often punished Anne with extra assignments as a punishment for her talkative nature. These indicate that Anne was affectinate and a loving person.
Q13. What does Anne write in her first essay?
A. In her essay, Anne mentions that she will try her best to minimise talking between lectures but this is a trait she inherited from her mother and it is difficult to eliminate an inherited trait. Also, her mother talks as much as she does, if not more. She also stressed that talking was a necessary quality for a good student.
Q14. Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable? How?
A. Yes, Mr Keesing is an unpredictable person. He is angry with Anne for being talkative in class and gives her extra assignments as a punishment. But later, he finds her essays to be witty and amusing. This brings a change in him and he accepts her arguements. He develops a funny bone too and starts cracking jokes in the class. This change in Mr Keesing’s nature shows that he is unpredictable.
Q15. What do these statements tell you about Anne Frank as a person?
i. We don’t seem to be able to get any closer, and that’s the problem. Maybe it’s my fault that we don’t confide in each other.
A. This shows that Anne does not confide in people very easily. It is difficult for her to make personal relations where she could share what’s going on in her mind.
ii. I don’t want to jot down the facts in this diary the way most people would, but I want the diary to be my friend.
A. This statement indicates that Anne does not have a close friend she could confide in. She was lonely despite having family and friends. Thus, she wanted the diary to be her only true friend.
iii. Margot went to Holland in December, and I followed in February, when I was plunked down on the table as a birthday present for Margot.
A. This statement is indicative of the love between the sisters. On migration, Anne was the last one to be brought to Holland and it was done on the birthday of her elder sister to surprise her.
iv. If you ask me, there are so many dummies that about a quarter of the class should be kept back, but teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth.
A. Anne feels that there are many weak students in the class who should be detained. Almost one – fourth of the class did not deserve promotion but the teachers, decision could not be predicted.
v. Anyone could ramble on and leave big spaces between the words, but the trick was to come up with convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking.
A. Anyone could write senseless stuff while leaving big gaps in order to fill up a number of pages and submit the assignment easily. But Anne wanted to give such arguements which could prove that it was necessary for her to talk. She wanted to write sensible stuff.
From the diary of Anne Frank Grammar Exercises
Match the compound words under ‘A’ with their meanings under ‘B’. Use each in a sentence.
| A | B |
| Heartbreaking | -obeying and respecting the law |
| Homesick | -thinking about pleasant things, forgetting about the present |
| Blockhead | -something produced by a person, machine or an organisation |
| Law-abiding | -producing great sadness |
| Overdo | -An occasion where vehicles/machines stop working |
| Daydream | -an informal word which means a very stupid person |
| Breakdown | -missing home and family very much |
| Output | -do something to an excessive degree |
Answers-
| A | B | Sentences |
| Heartbreaking | -producing great sadness | It would be heartbreaking to see it all collapse. |
| Homesick | -missing home and family very much | He was homesick for America after five weeks in Europe. |
| Blockhead | -an informal word which means a very stupid person | He did not understand the lecture as he is a blockhead. |
| Law-abiding | -obeying and respecting the law | The spirit of freedom turned Nelson Mandela from a law-abiding attorney into a criminal. |
| Overdo | -do something to an excessive degree | I’d simply overdone it in the gym. |
| Daydream | -thinking about pleasant things, forgetting about the present | He was lost in a daydream. |
| Breakdown | -An occasion where vehicles/machines stop working | Breakdowns could totally disrupt production. |
| Output | -something produced by a person, machine or an organisation | This machine gives a good output. |
Now find the sentences in the lesson that have the phrasal verbs given below. Match them with their meanings. (You have already found out the meanings of some of them.) Are their meanings the same as that of their parts? (Note that two parts of a phrasal verb may occur separated in the text.)
- plunge in – speak or write without focus
- kept back – stay indoors
- move up – make (them) remain quiet
- ramble on – have a good relationship with
- get along with – give an assignment (homework) to a person in authority (the teacher)
- calm down – compensate
- stay in – go straight to the topic
- make up for – go to the next grade
- hand in – not promoted
Answers-
- plunge in – go straight to the topic
- kept back – not promoted
- move up – go to the next grade
- ramble on – speak or write without focus
- get along with – – have a good relationship with
- calm down – make (them) remain quiet
- stay in – stay indoors
- make up for – compensate
- hand in – give an assignment (homework) to a person in authority (the teacher)
Here are a few sentences from the text which have idiomatic expressions. Can you say what each means? (You might want to consult a dictionary first.)
- Our entire class is quaking in its boots.
- Until then, we keep telling each other not to lose heart.
- Mr Keesing was annoyed with me for ages because I talked so much.
- Mr Keesing was trying to play a joke on me with this ridiculous subject, but I’d make sure the joke was on him.
Answers:
- Our entire class is quaking in its boots- Shaking with fear and nervousness
- Until then, we keep telling each other not to lose heart- not to lose hope
- Mr Keesing was annoyed with me for ages because I talked so much- Since a long time
- Mr Keesing was trying to play a joke on me with this ridiculous subject, but I’d make sure the joke was on him.- He was outwitted by her
Try to use them in sentences of your own.
- caught my eye
- laugh ourselves silly
- he’d had enough
- can’t bring myself to
Answers-
- Caught my eye- The scenic beauty of Taj Mahal caught my eye.
- Laugh ourselves silly- On hearing the joke, the audiences laughed themselves silly.
- He’d had enough- The teacher said that he’d had enough, and he wanted all the notebooks by Wednesday.
- Can’t bring myself to- After yesterday’s embarrassing incident, I can’t bring myself to face him.
You have read the expression ‘not to lose heart’ in this text. Now find out the meanings of the following expressions using the word ‘heart’. Use each of them in a sentence of your own.
- Break somebody’s heart.
- close/dear to heart
- from the (bottom of your) heart
- have a heart
- have a heart of stone
- your heart goes out to somebody
Answers-
1. Break somebody’s heart
Meaning- to upset somebody deeply
Sentence- It is not good to break somebody’s heart by lying to them.
2.close/dear to heart
Meaning- something/ someone who is near to you
Sentence- The watch gifted by mother is close to my heart
3.from the (bottom of your) heart
Meaning- to genuinely mean or feel something
Sentence- I apologise from the bottom of my heart
4.have a heart
Meaning- to evoke the feeling to help someone in distress
Sentence- The poor beggar asked the rich man to have a heart get him something to eat
5. have a heart of stone
Meaning- to not feel anything or any sentiment
Sentence- He is so cruel that it feels like he has a heart of stone.
6. your heart goes out to somebody
Meaning- to sympathise with someone else and to understand his/her feelings or distress
Sentence- My heart goes out to all those who are fighting the odds to come out victorious.
Make a list of the contracted forms in the text. Rewrite them as full forms of two words.
For example: I’ve = I have
- I’ve – I have
- Doesn’t- Does not
- Won’t- Would not
- I’m – I am
- Don’t- Do not
- Can’t – Can not
- It’s- It is
- That’s- That is
- I’d- I would
- Didn’t- Did not
- Who’ll- who will
- You’re- You are
- We’ll- We will
- There’s – There is
- He’d- He had
- Who’s- Who is
- Haven’t- Have not
We have seen that some contracted forms can stand for two different full forms:
I’d = I had or I would
He’d – He had or He would
Amanda! (Poem)
Introduction to the lesson
Robin Klein has expressed the views of a little girl, Amanda who is constantly pointed out by her mother for making mistakes. Mistakes which she considers so as they are not part of the code of good conduct laid out by the society in which we live.
Amanda Summary of the poem
The poem describes a girl named Amanda and her mother who is nagging her for her mistakes. She is first pointed out most probably by her mother for biting her nails and for not sitting in the right posture. The mother also feels that Amanda sits in a very lazy manner. To this, Amanda imagines herself as a mermaid who lives a calm and relaxing life in the beautiful green sea. Further, she is nagged for not cleaning her room and shoes and also for not doing her homework. She then imagines herself to be an orphan because she is now fed up of being watched by her parents continuously. She says that she would have enjoyed her freedom then, by making the patterns of her bare feet on the sand and would live a peaceful life. Next, Amanda is scolded for eating too many chocolates as this causes pimples. She is also scolded for not listening to her mother. So, now Amanda thinks of being Rapunzel, a character from a fairy tale and wants to live in a huge tower like her. In the tower she will be alone and will live a peaceful life and will never allow anyone to come in. Finally, the mother asks her to stop being moody because she doesn’t want anyone to blame her for harassing her daughter. At this time the poet has not written any reaction from Amanda’s side. This constant nagging has made her so sad that she has even stopped to imagine herself as someone else. She used to do so in order to escape from the continuous harassment and dominance of her parents.
Amanda Class 10 Poem Question and Answers
Q1- How old do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?
A1- Amanda’s age could be between 10-12 years old. We can guess this because of the reference to mermaid or Rapunzel. These stories are read by children of age group of 10-12 years.
Q2- Who do you think is speaking to her?
A2- One of her parents is speaking to her. We think that probably it could be her mother. We think this because it’s a general perception that children are taken care of by their mothers at home.
Q3- Why are Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 given in parenthesis?
A3-Parenthesis is a remark that is added to a sentence, often to provide an explanation. So, in stanzas 2, 4 and 6 parenthesis is used to describe the reaction of child Amanda towards her mother’s continuous nagging.
Q4- 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?
A4- The speaker in Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 is Amanda. No, she is not paying any attention to what her mother says. She is lost in her own thoughts. She imagines herself as a mermaid, an orphan and Rapunzel.
Q5- What could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?
A5- The little girl Amanda wants to be a mermaid and the only resident of the beautiful green sea. She thinks that her life will be very relaxing in the sea and she will be taken away with the currents of water. She will be able to enjoy her freedom.
Q6- Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?
A6- No, Amanda is not an orphan as she is constantly being pointed out by one of her parents in the poem. She said so because she is sad and depressed because of the continuous scolding and nagging which she faces because of her parents. Therefore, she feels that it would have been much better and peaceful if she would have been an orphan.
Q7- Do you know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel?
A7- The story of Rapunzel is of a girl who is captured by an old witch in a tower. The old witch climbs up the tower with the help of Rapunzel’s very long hair which she lets down for her through a window of the tower. One day, a Prince visits her by climbing the tower with the help of her long hair. When the witch comes to know this, she separates both of them. But both Rapunzel and Prince meet after a gap of many years and then live their life happily. Amanda wants to be Rapunzel because she knew that in the story, there was no staircase to enter the tower. It was only possible with the help of Rapunzel’s long hair that she would let down to help others to climb. Amanda feels that life in the tower will be very calm and nice and also makes it a point to never let her hair down for anyone as she doesn’t want to get disturbed by visitors.
Q8- What does the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?
A8- The girl Amanda yearns for freedom and peace in her life. She is constantly reminded of her mistakes. Her parents want her to follow the code of conduct of good behavior. They are doing so because they want their child to be well mannered and obedient. But while doing this they forget that she is a child and should be allowed some freedom. The poet has drawn the reader’s attention towards the condition of children who are constantly oppressed by their elders in the name of good behaviour.
Q9- Read the last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody?
A9- In our sense, Amanda is not moody. She feels oppressed because of her mother’s constant nagging. She doesn’t want to be pointed out for such small things like cleaning the room, sitting straight, cleaning her shoes, completing her homework, etc. She feels that she is not free and is under a constant pressure of trying to be a well behaved girl as per her parent’s demand.
Questions and Answers
NCERT Solutions
Thinking about the Poem (Page 62)
Question 1 : How old do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?
Answer : Amanda is about a 9-10 year old school going girl. She is being scolded for things typical for that particular age. Her parents are trying to inculcate in her good manners and etiquette. Amanda is very innocent and immature.
Question 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 child. In this case also , the range of instructions suggests that the speaker is Amanda’s mother.
Question 3 : Why are stanzas 2, 4 and 6 given in parenthesis?
Answer : Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 are given in parenthesis because they reflect the inner thoughts of Amanda. They can be taken as the reaction of the child for the instructions given in stanzas 1, 3 and 5. Here, there is an alternate sequence of scolding of the mother, and corresponding reaction to it given by the child. Also, parenthesis is used here to make the reading of the poem friendly.
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 : Speaker of the stanzas 2, 4 and 6 is the child, Amanda. No, she is not paying any attention to the speaker of stanzas 1, 3 , 5 and 7 as she is lost in a world of her own. Her imagination provides her an escape from her sorry reality.
Question 5 : What could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?
Answer : Amanda wishes to be a mermaid so she could carelessly move along on a languid (relaxed) emerald sea. She just wishes to be carried away by the green sea waves slowly and gradually. Amanda longs for a place where she is all by herself as her happiness is not dependent on any other human being. Hence, she desires to be a mermaid because for a child, mermaid is a symbol of freedom and wonder.
Question 6 : Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?
Answer : No, Amanda is not an orphan, though she wishes to be one. She is so much stresses with the continuous nagging of her parents that she imagines herself to be better without them. The mere presence of her parents around her depresses her. Amanda is a little girl who seeks ‘golden’ silence and ‘sweet’ freedom. She wishes to roam around streets and draw patterns with her bare feet. Indeed it is horribly depressing that Amanda expects being an orphan.
Question 7 : Do you know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel?
Answer : Rapunzel’s story revolves around her life on a tower. Rapunzel was made to live on a high tower by a witch. She eventually got used to living there. She was happy and satisfied with her life. Rapunzel had very long golden hair, using which the witch used to pay her a visit. The fate of Rapunzel took a turn when one day a prince came to meet her using her hair. The witch had punished both of them by separating them. Finally they met after a couple of years only to be united forever this time.
Amanda wishes to live like Rapunzel on a high tower away from everyone. She seeks peace and harmony. That is the reason Amanda wishes to be like Rapunzel. However, she also makes a point that in order to avoid being disturbed she would never let her hair down for anyone to climb to her her. She needs no one to make her life happy.
Question 8 : What does the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?
Answer : A girl like Amanda yearns for freedom and space for herself. She is incapable to fulfil the expectations of her parents. Amanda is no less than a symbol for all the children who face similar fate irrespective of class, colour or nationality. Traditional societies demand a certain type of behaviour from the individuals and the training to produce such begins at a very young age. Parents ignore the innocence and understanding level of their children and thereby the young ends up killing their imagination and thoughts.
Question 9 : Read the last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and moody?
Answer : No, Amanda is neither sulking nor moody. She is simply not interested enough in the nagging business of her parents. Amanda cares more about her imagination and thought process over the manners her parents are trying to inculcate into her.
Extra Questions
Extract Based Questions
Read the following extracts carefully and choose the correct option
Question 1 :
Don’t bit your nails. Amanda!
Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
Amanda!
i) Who is giving instructions to Amanda!
a) Teacher
b) Grandmother
c) Mother
d) Father
ii) What does Amanda do to her shoulders?
a) Stretches
b) Hunches
c) Keep them loose
d) None of these
iii) What is Amanda’s sitting posture?
a) Sitting straight
b) Bending on the chair
c) Slouching
d) Not sitting at all
iv) What is the literary device used in the third line?
a) Metaphor
b) Alliteration
c) Personification
d) Simile
Answer : i) c) Mother
ii) b) Hunches
iii) c) Slouching
iv) b) Alliteration
Question 2 :
(There is a languid, emerald sea,
where the sole inhabitant is me-
a mermaid, drifting blissfully.)
i) Who do these lines refer to?
a) Amanda
b) Mermaid
c) Amanda’s sister
d) None of these
ii) Why is this stanza given within brackets?
a) to show inner thoughts of mother
b) day dreaming by Amanda
c) to show the contrast
d) Both (b) and (c)
iii) Give the word from the stanza which means “free flowing act of going with motion and force”.
a) languid
b) Blissfully
c) Drifting
d) Emerald
iv) Why does Amanda want to be sole inhabitant of sea?
a) Away from noise
b) Away from mother
c) Away from this noisy and disturbing atmosphere
d) Away from everyone
Answer : i) a) Amanda
ii) d) Both (b) and (c)
iii) c) Drifting
iv) c) Away from this noisy and disturbing atmosphere
Short Questions and Answers
Question 1 : 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 a little girl named Amanda. Her life is full of struggles where she is denied freedom and expression. Amanda is so much irate (angry) that she escapes reality by living in her imaginative world. Through this gateway she experiences calmness, away from her nagging parents.
Question 2 : 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 3 : How life on a tower would be different from life anywhere else for Amanda?
Answer : Life on a 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 (total silence), where there is no one to disturb her. Hence, she wishes to live on a tower.
Question 4 : Why does Amanda seem moody most of the times?
Answer : Amanda seems moody most of the times 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 5 : 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 (streets) and make pattern using her bare feet in dust. 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 6 : 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 instill good values in 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 7 : 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 overpowering environment around her.
Question 8 : 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 civilized and good mannered. Love and proper care is required in nurturing of a child.
Long Questions and Answers
Question 1 : 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 Klien’s poem highlights the tension in the ‘proper’ upbringing of a child. To instill 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 instruction. Amanda is no less than a victim in this situation. No proper space is given no 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.
Question 2 : How does Amanda tackle the nagging nature of her parents? Explain with examples from the poem. What values does it portray about Amanda?
Answer : Amanda is a small girl who is termed as moody for her careless behaviour. But it is very surprising to know that this is her defence mechanism to shiled against her nagging parents. Amanda is getting instructions from her parents, which becomes too much to handle for the small girl. She is told not to eat her nails and sit in a proper position. Amanda’s response to it is her world of imagination where she is a mermaid drifting drifting effortlessly by the languid river.
Further, she is asked about cleaning her room and finishing her homework to which she reacts being an orphan roaming in the street and making patterns with her bare feet. Amanda then faces the heat for eating a chocolate, which had once caused her acne. She takes the form of Rapunzel and wishes to live on top of a tower away from everyone in her imagination.
Amanda’s parents are upset over her behaviour and casualness, but she stays in her own world. All these portray Amanda in a positive light and her parents in a negative light. We as readers feel very sorry for a child like Amanda.
Question 3 : State the key points in the poem Amanda. What do you learn from it?
Answer : Every child is special itself,and requires a great deal of patience and love to make them understand this.Parents should give proper space to children,as they learn through experiences as well.Children do tend to learn certain bad habits,to undo that requires great level of understanding and right approach.One cannot teach one’s child everything in one day and expect him/her to behave properly henceforth. ( my fingers are tired,hence I can’t type anymore)
Question 4 : Escapism is one way to run away from harsh realities. Discuss in context to the poem.
Answer : By going through the whole poem, we come to know that Amanda’s parents, specially her mother, keep instructing Amanda all the time. Amanda’s mother’s intention may be to discipline her daughter and make her a mature person. But very frequent checking and instructing using so many don’ts , leave no space for the child.
Children need love and caring attitude of their elders. An advice in the form of nagging leaves a very harmful impression on the child’s mind. The reality becomes harsh form them and they try to escape these realities by indulging in their own fantasy world.
Here in this poem, life of Amanda is quite frustrating as Amanda is forbidden to do anything without seeking permission. Continuous instructions of her mother and correcting her all the time leave a very negative impact on a child’s personality. In such situation the child adheres to a defence mechanism where she imagines herself to be free and without parents so that no nagging is done.
Amanda drifts into an imaginary situation to escape from the harsh realities of her life. The parent’s behaviour is forcing her to do so, as a result there will not be a balanced development of her personality. Parents need to understand that their child also requires freedom and his/her own space. If no space is given, child will develop one or the other complex which may hamper his/her normal growth.
