CBSE Class 10 English Poem 6 Amanda Question Answers (Important) from First Flight Book
Class 10 English Amanda Question Answers – Looking for Amanda question answers (NCERT solutions) for CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Book Poem 6? Look no further! Our comprehensive compilation of important questions will help you brush up on your subject knowledge. Practising Class 10 English question answers can significantly improve your performance in the board exam. Our solutions provide a clear idea of how to write the answers effectively. Improve your chances of scoring high marks by exploring Poem 6: Amanda question answers now. The questions listed below are based on the latest CBSE exam pattern, wherein we have given NCERT solutions to the chapter’s extract based questions, multiple choice questions, short answer questions, and long answer questions.
Also, practising with different kinds of questions can help students learn new ways to solve problems that they may not have seen before. This can ultimately lead to a deeper understanding of the subject matter and better performance on exams.
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Amanda NCERT Solutions
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 behavior.
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 as cleaning the room, sitting straight, cleaning her shoes, completing her homework, etc. She feels that she is not free and is under the constant pressure of trying to be a well-behaved girl as per her parent’s demand.
Amanda Extract-Based Questions
Extract-based questions are of the multiple-choice variety, and students must select the correct option for each question by carefully reading the passage.
A. 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.)
1. Amanda imagines herself to be _________
a. Princess
b. Mermaid
c. fairy
d. None of these
Ans. b Mermaid
2. Why does she imagine this?
Ans. Amanda is fed up of her mother’s constant nagging. She wants to escape and so she imagines this.
3. What bad habits is Amanda doing?
a. Slouching
b. Lying
c. eating chocolates
d. Sleeping late
Ans a. Slouching
4. Find a synonym of relaxed
Ans Languid
5. Which figure of speech has been used in ’emerald sea’?
a. Simile
b. Oxymoron
c. Onomatopoeia
d. Metaphor
Ans. d. Metaphor
B. 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!)
1. What is the rhyme scheme?
Ans. aaba ccc
2. State true or false
Mother is not stopping her from eating chocolate
Ans. False
3. Who lives in a tower?
Ans. Rapunzel is a princess who lives in a tower
4. Which figure of speech is used here-
I am Rapunzel, I have not a care
A. Simile
B. Metaphor
C. Allusion
D. Hyperbole
Ans. C. Allusion
5. State true or false
Acne is caused by chocolate
Ans. True
C. “Don’t bite your nails, Amanda!
Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
Amanda!”
1. Amanda is getting instructions for what purpose?
Ans. Amanda is getting instructions as a part of her upbringing. Her conduct and manners are being refined so that she grows up as a responsible person.
2. Give a synonym of ‘bend’.
Ans. Hunch
3. What does the speaker of the above lines instruct Amanda in the first stanza?
Ans. Amanda is getting instructed to not bite her nails and not to sit lazily with her shoulders bent.
4. What is the literary device used in the third line?
Ans. Literary device used in the third line is Alliteration. The letter ‘s’ is repeated in ‘Stop that slouching and sit up straight’.
D. “There is a languid, emerald sea,
Where the sole inhabitant is me –
a mermaid, drifting blissfully.”
1. Why are these lines given within brackets?
Ans. These lines are given within brackets because they reveal the inner thoughts of Amanda. Brackets are used for visual contrast between what Amanda is saying and what her mother is instructing.
2. Give the word from the passage which means free flowing act of going with the motion and force?
Ans. Drifting means free flowing act of going with the motion.
3. What is the role of a mermaid here?
Ans. Mermaid is a part of Amanda’s fantasy in her own created world. As mermaid sails in a sea carelessly and effortlessly, similarly Amanda longs to do so in a place where she is all by herself.
4. Which word in the extract means the opposite of ‘sorrowful’?
Ans. Blissfully is the opposite of sorrowful.
E. Don’t eat that chocolate, Amanda!
Remember your acne, Amanda!
Will you please look at me when I’m speaking to you,
Amanda!
1. Why is Amanda not looking at the speaker?
Ans. Amanda is lost in her own thoughts and is paying no attention to instructions being given to her. That is why she is not looking at the speaker.
2. Find the word in the extract which means the same as consume?
Ans. Eat means the same as consume.
3. The speaker is so worried about acne. What does it show?
Ans. Speaker being worried about acne shows how much importance is given to physical beauty in a household. Amanda is prepared for the unforeseen future. Natural experience such as acne is also taken care of at any cost.
4. Which word in the extract means the same as ‘to gaze’? [CBSE 2016]
Ans. ’To look’ means the same as ‘to gaze’.
F. I am an orphan, roaming the street,
I pattern soft dust with my hushed, bare feet.
The silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.
1. How come silence is golden?
Ans. Silence is shown golden using the poetic device metaphor. By making silence golden the poet is estimating the worth of silence. Amanda seeks peace and calmness, which is absent in her reality.
2. Give a synonym of ‘roaming’.
Ans. Wandering
3. What is Amanda up to in this stanza?
Ans. Amanda is again taking refuge in her imagination. Here, she wishes to be an orphan, away from her nagging parents. Amanda wants to roam aimlessly in streets and draw patterns using just her bare feet.
4. What poetic device is used in this stanza?
Ans. The poet uses metaphors such as ‘orphan’, ‘silence is golden’, and ‘freedom is sweet’.
G. 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
1. Does Amanda live in a tower?
Ans. No, Amanda stays at her place. Here, she is imagining herself to be Rapunzel who lived on a tower.
2. Why will Amanda not let down her bright hair?
Ans. Amanda is aware of the story of Rapunzel. In the story of Rapunzel all the mishaps and misfortunes are brought to her by letting down her hair. Amanda also wishes to live alone apd carefree, without any disturbance.
3. What is the underlying poetic device used in this stanza?
Ans. Poet uses allusion here as the underlying poetic device.
4. Find from the passage a word which means the same as ‘serene’.
Ans. The word is ‘tranquil’.
H. Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!
You’re always so moody, Amanda!
Anyone would think that I nagged at you,
Amanda!
1. Is Amanda really sulking?
Ans. Amanda is not sulking. She just doesn’t care about instructions given to ber as she is lost in a world of her own.
2. Why does the speaker care for others?
Ans. The whole poem revolves around the aspect that how one is presented in a society. Speaker doesn’t wish to be regarded as a nagging parent in the society, so Amanda is expected to put up a happy face all the time.
3. Give the word from the passage which means the same as unstable.
Ans. Moody means the same as unstable.
4. What poetic device has been used in the first line of this stanza?
Ans. ‘Alliteration’ has been used in the first line; words ‘stap’ and ‘sulking’ start with the same sound
Class 10 English Amanda Question Answers (including questions from Previous Years Question Papers)
In this post we are also providing important short answer questions from the poem Amanda for CBSE Class 10 Boards in the coming session. These questions have been taken from previous years class 10 Board exams and the year is mentioned in the bracket along with the question.
Q1. What is the role/ importance of punctuation marks in language? Why has the poet used the exclamation mark after Amanda? Comment on the title of the poem.
Ans. (i) Punctuation is an important part of grammar. It is used to create sense, clarity and stress in sentences. It is used to structure and organise our writing.
(ii) The exclamation mark is used after Amanda! to show the mother’s surprise on seeing Amanda. Amanda is a sulky and moody girl which upsets the mother.
Q2. Is the purpose of someone constantly giving instructions to Amanda being fulfilled? Explain.
Ans. No, Amanda sulks and becomes moody when her mother gives her too many instructions. She does not listen to her mother and doesn’t care to follow the instructions but she can’t dare to ignore them either. So, she sulks. Parents in their endeavour to make their children well-behaved, give them too many instructions.
Q3. Amanda imagines herself to be Rapunzel, yet would not like to do what all she did. Identify and state the reasons for her decision.
Ans. Amanda wants to be Rapunzel to live a peaceful life in a tower, where no one gives any instruction and she doesn’t have to do any work. But she doesn’t want to escape with a prince like Rapunzel. She never wants to escape and leave such a peaceful atmosphere, with no instruction and no work to do.
Q4. What message does the poet want to give through the poem — ‘Amanda’?
Ans. The poet wants to convey that parents in their endeavour to make their children well-behaved, mannerful and inculcating good habits, give them too many instructions or nag (always finding fault) them. They should adopt positive measures, acceptable to children. Otherwise, they will stop listening to them and indulge in daydreaming as Amanda did.
Q5. Who was Amanda? What idea do you form her through the poem?
Ans. Amanda was a little school going girl. She seems to love fairy tales, stories like Rapunzel and mermaids. She does not like too many instructions or nagging which make her sulk and become moody. Then she does not listen to her mother attentively and starts daydreaming.
Q6. Why does Amanda dream to live the life of an orphan?
Ans. She thinks orphans lead a carefree life. There is no one to pester them with instructions. They can wander in a street and make patterns in the soft dust with their bare feet. They don’t have to clean the shoes or room or do the homework.
Q7. Why is Amanda forbidden to eat chocolate? How does Amanda behave when she is addressed by the speaker?
Ans. The speaker asks Amanda not to eat chocolate. It is because she has had acne already. Eating chocolate might create more pimples. Amanda listens to the speaker without raising her face.
Q8. Do you think that Amanda doesn’t like to be controlled and instructed not to do one thing or the other? Give a reasoned answer.
Ans. Amanda loves her freedom. She doesn’t want it to be curtailed. She wants to lead her own kind of life. If she is asked what to do and what not, she feels that her freedom is curtailed. She doesn’t bother to answer her mother when she goes on instructing her what to do and what not.
Q9. List the things which Amanda’s mother doesn’t want her to do.
Ans. Her mother doesn’t want her to hunch her shoulders and bend her body down. She stops her from eating chocolates as it would not be good for her pimpled face. She wants her to stop sulking as others would think that she is being nagged by her mother.
Q10. Why does Amanda want to be a mermaid?
Ans. Amanda is a little girl. She, in fact, is a symbol of every child who is instructed by the parents to do or not to do this or that. If she were a mermaid she would blissfully drift in the sea without the constant nagging of her elders.
Q11. Would you call Amanda a disrespectful child? Provide one reason to justify your opinion.
Ans. Amanda was not listening to the speaker. Rather she was engulfed in her own imagination. Hence, she is regarded as a disrespectful child.
Another answer – No, I wouldn’t call Amanda a disrespectful child because she didn’t answer back to her mother even after being fed up with her constant nagging. Amanda found a way to escape reality rather than arguing with her mother.
Q12. The reader sympathises with the speaker in the poem. Support this opinion with a reason.
Ans. The readers of the poem might sympathize with the speaker as she is the mother of a school going girl named Amanda and a mother can never scold her daughter for wrong reasons. Amanda has bad habits so her mother wants to correct her as an elder.
Q13. What does the line “never let down my bright hair” tell us about Amanda?
Ans. The line “never let down my bright hair” tells us that Amanda longed for freedom and privacy so much so that imagining herself as Rapunzel, she wouldn’t let her hair down because she didn’t want anybody to come and invade her privacy and freedom.
Q14. ‘Amanda is alone but not lonely in the world she envisions.’ Justify the statement with reference to any one image she pictures in her mind.
Ans. Amanda often imagines herself to be one of the fictional characters in order to escape from the reality of her mother’s forced instructions on her. One such reference was her being an orphan. She imagined being an orphan who lives alone as she has no parents. But at least the orphan is free to move wherever and with whomever she wants to.
Q15. Why does Amanda seem moody most of the time? [CBSE 2016]
Ans. Amanda’s mother constantly keeps a check on her activities and habits and scolds her all the time for correcting her ways of life. That’s why, Amanda gets fed up and escapes into the world of imagination, so she seems moody most of the time.
Q16. Comment on the tone of the speaker when she says ‘Will you please look at me when I’m speaking to you, Amanda!’.
Ans. Amanda’s mother’s tone is laced with frustration and disappointment. She is irritated that Amanda is not looking at her when being spoken to. She feels that the child is not attentive.
Q17. Justify the poet’s allusion to Rapunzel in ‘Amanda’.
Ans. The poet’s allusion is appropriate because Rapunzel shared a household with a witch who was always keeping an eye on her and enforcing a number of regulations. Amanda also feels imprisoned by her mother’s demands. In the poem, Amanda makes it clear that she will not let her hair down for anyone like Rapunzel did, but she longs for the solitude that Rapunzel experienced in her tower.
Class 10 Amanda Long Answer Questions Poem 6
Q1. Discuss the importance of proper upbringing with reference to the poem Amanda by Robin Klein.
Ans. 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 Klein’s poem Amanda highlights the tension in the ‘proper’ upbringing of a child. To instil 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 instructions. Amanda is no less than a victim in this travesty. No proper space is given to 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 bad 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.
Q2. How does Amanda tackle the nagging nature of her parents? Explain with examples from the poem. What values does it portray about Amanda?
Ans. 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 shield against her nagging parents. Amanda is getting instructions from her parents, which become 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 work of imagination where she is a mermaid 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 while her parents in a negative light. We as readers feel very sorry for a child like Amanda.
Q3. State the key points in the poem Amanda. What do you learn from it? [CBSE 2016]
Ans. Every child is special in itself, and it 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 a great level of understanding and the right approach. One cannot teach their child everything in one day and expect them to behave properly henceforth. It is natural for a child like Amanda to seek freedom at her place, to curb that freedom means to make her angry and moody. Growing up a child should not be about dos and don’ts only. To have nagging parents judging every action of a child would do more harm than good. Robin Klein points to the fact that Amanda is forbidden to do anything without seeking permission. Everything she does is corrected by her mother all the time, she cannot perform a single thing according to her will. She can’t sit lazily around, she can’t eat chocolate because that could cause acne. Life of Amanda is very suffocating and limited in itself. She yearns for freedom and choice. Her mother doesn’t understand the fact that Amanda is innocent and naive, she is too small to understand the benefits of advice. Only thing that matters to Amanda’s mother is what society will make of Amanda. We witness the miserable failure of parents when Amanda wishes to be an orphan so that she could be free.
Q4. How would you characterise the speaker in the poem Amanda!’? List any two qualities, supporting the reason of your choice, with evidence from the poem.
Ans. The speaker seems to be Amanda’s mother. I would consider her as caring but over protective so much so that She appears as if she is a nag and lacks understanding on her part of being a mother. Evidence is ample; It is clear from the poem that she constantly keeps on nagging Amanda for biting her nails, sitting in a slouching posture, eating chocolates, etc. She can be easily blamed for not understanding the psychology of her daughter’s mind.
But a mother is a mother and she thinks that she has to do all these things to properly channelize her daughter though she would need to be stricter and people may regard her as a harsh mother. It becomes clear here when she asks Amanda to stop sulking because she was conscious of what people might think of her as a mother.
Also See:
Class 10 English Syllabus
Character Sketches of Class 10 English
CBSE Class 10 English Lesson Explanation, Summary
CBSE Class 10 English Question Answers (Important)
CBSE Class 10 English MCQs
Class 10 English Complete Study Guide
Class 10 English First Flight book Prose word meanings
Class 10 English First Flight Poems word meaning
Class 10 English Footprints without Feet word meanings
List of Poetic Devices in Class 10 Poems (Poem-wise)
10 Important Poetic Devices for Class 10