class 10 English - Very Important & Question Anwers

Short Answer Type Questions (2-3 Marks)

Word limit: 30-40 words

Q1. What are the things Amanda is told to do and not to do?

Ans: Amanda is constantly nagged with instructions. She is told not to bite her nails, not to hunch her shoulders, to finish her homework, to tidy her room, and to clean her shoes. She is also told to sit up straight and stop sulking.

Q2. Why does Amanda want to be an orphan?

Ans: Amanda is so tired of the constant instructions and lack of privacy that she imagines herself as an orphan. She wants to roam the streets freely, barefoot, making patterns in the soft dust with her feet. To her, “silence is golden” and “freedom is sweet,” which she feels she lacks at home.

Q3. Who is Rapunzel? Why does Amanda want to be her?

Ans: Rapunzel is a character from a fairy tale who lived alone in a high tower. Amanda wants to be like her because life in a tower would be “tranquil and rare.” However, she adds that she would never let down her bright hair, because she doesn’t want anyone to come up and disturb her peace.

Q4. What is the significance of the “brackets” in the poem?

Ans: The lines in brackets represent Amanda’s inner world and her daydreams. While the mother’s instructions are loud and direct, the brackets show Amanda’s silent escape into her imagination. It highlights the gap between the reality of her life and the freedom she craves.

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Long Answer Type Questions (5 Marks)

Word limit: 100-120 words

Q1. Discuss the theme of the poem “Amanda!”.

Ans: The central theme of the poem is the clash between parental control and a child’s imagination. It highlights how excessive nagging can make a child feel suffocated. Amanda’s mother represents social expectations—wanting the child to be disciplined, clean, and well-behaved. Amanda, however, represents the innate human desire for freedom. She escapes her “nagging” reality by imagining herself as a mermaid, an orphan, or Rapunzel. The poem suggests that children need their own space to grow and that constant interference can turn a home into a prison, forcing the child to withdraw into a world of silence and daydreams.

Q2. Give a character sketch of Amanda.

Ans: Amanda is a sensitive, imaginative, and misunderstood young girl. She lives in two worlds: the physical world where she is constantly corrected, and a dream world where she is free. She is not a “bad” child, but she is bored by the repetitive nature of her life. Her fantasies of being a mermaid or an orphan show her deep desire for solitude and peace. She is a girl who values “silence” over the “noise” of instructions. By the end of the poem, she becomes “moody” and “sulking,” not because she is angry, but because she has emotionally detached herself from her surroundings to protect her inner self.

Q3. How is the mother portrayed in the poem? Is she right in her approach?

Ans: The mother is portrayed as a strict disciplinarian who is concerned with social image and manners. She wants Amanda to be perfect in every way—from her posture to her cleanliness. While her intentions are good (to raise a well-behaved child), her approach is flawed. She focuses only on the external behavior and fails to understand Amanda’s internal feelings. Her constant nagging makes Amanda feel “hunted” and exhausted. A better approach would have been to have a friendly conversation with Amanda instead of giving a series of commands. The mother’s fear that people will think she “nagged” Amanda shows that she is more worried about public opinion than her daughter’s mental peace.

Q4. Contrast the reality of Amanda’s life with her imagination.

Ans: The poem is built on a sharp contrast between prose-like instructions and poetic fantasies.

• Reality: Amanda is in a room, being told to sit straight, do chores, and stop biting her nails. It is a world of “don’ts” and “did-yous.”

• Imagination: She is in a “languid, emerald sea” as a mermaid, or in a “peaceful tower” as Rapunzel. Her imagination is filled with colors (emerald, golden), silence, and soft movements. The shift between the mother’s loud voice and Amanda’s quiet dreams shows that the more her mother tries to control her physical body, the more Amanda’s mind escapes to places where her mother cannot follow.