Amanda Summary Class 10 English

Summary of Amanda

This article is about Amanda summary. Its poet is Robin Klein. The poem focuses on the upbringing of a small child, whose name is Amanda. It focuses on the struggles that a child is facing. Poet Robin Klein makes the important point that children should never be deprived of their freedom. However, it is the parents who are responsible for the proper upbringing of their child. But that should not make the children feel imprisoned. Here, Amanda is ready to be acceptable by society, and this training wants her freedom to be cut short. Her imagination is not given sufficient space, and therefore it is making her annoyed. This annoyance is making her desire even to be an orphan. This continuous annoyance was making her too much moody. Hence, the whole trajectory of this poem is something with which we are all very much familiar.

The Theme of the Poem

In the poem – Amanda, the central theme is majorly focused on Control and Freedom. The figures of Amanda, who represents the longing for freedom, and her mother, who represents instructional control over freedom, highlights the contrasts. ‘Amanda’ is the narrative of a little girl whose parents continually regulate and advise her to do one thing or the other. Amanda’s freedom is limited by any type of instruction or intervention. The poet also focuses on elements of raising children and how parents will go to any length to ensure that their child is well educated.

Amanda Summary in English

This poem expresses the state of a little girl’s mind who is constantly instructed about do’s and don’ts by her mother. The girl named Amanda and her mother who is irritating her for her mistakes. Her mother used to give instructions not to hunch her shoulders and to sit up straight. Her mother reminds her to finish her homework. The little girl Amanda keeps dreaming about freedom of life in the open.

Her mother also believes that she sits in a sluggish manner. To this, Amanda uses her imagination to escape her parents’ day-to-day commands. She claims there is a serene, emerald sea with only me as a resident. She finds tranquilly in her own made-up universe, where there are no boundaries. Amanda imagines herself as a free-spirited mermaid gliding across the green sea’s gentle waves. Amidst this, Amanda is also dragged out of her dreams by her mother’s question on whether she cleans her room and shoes.

Amanda has another daydream in which she imagines herself as an orphan wandering freely, barefoot in golden silence and uninterrupted freedom. She utters that she would have enjoyed her freedom then, by making the patterns of her bare feet on the sand. She would live a peaceful life. Her mother’s nagging complaints break her daydream. The mother forbade Amanda not to eat chocolates because of her acne and pimples. She also rebukes her for not looking at her while she is talking to her.

Amanda is enjoying another dream that now she fantasizes herself as Rapunzel, a character from a fairy tale and wants to live like her in a huge tower peacefully. She dreams that she will never let down her hair from the tower like Rapunzel. In the tower, she will live an alone and peaceful life. She will never allow anyone to come to the tower. Finally, the mother forbids her from being moody. Because she doesn’t want anyone to make her feel guilty that she is harassing her daughter. At this time the poet has not written any response from Amanda’s side. This constant nagging has made her so upset that she has even stopped dreaming of herself as someone else. She always tries this only in order to escape from the continuous harassment and dominance of her parents.

Amanda’s parents feel that she is not reacting because she is annoyed. Her actions have made her parents look bad, and they are concerned about their image. They are anxious about how society would judge them if their youngster is constantly grumpy.

Conclusion of Amanda

This poem conveys the moral that children need to be allowed more freedom. It is true that children need to be taught good manners and etiquette but parents must also remember to give their infants their personal space, ample time to learn and enjoy their youth life. Excessive nagging may make them annoyed and disobedient and hence they may develop a type of dislike for real life. It is the moral responsibility of parents to raise their children in such a way that they understand their point of view rather than becoming frustrated.