What does the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?
Amanda yearns for freedom and an escape from the constant nagging and instructions of her elders. She desires a life where she is not controlled or scolded for every little thing, like biting her nails or slouching.
To achieve this escape, she imagines herself as a mermaid drifting blissfully in a languid, emerald sea. She also yearns to be an orphan, roaming the streets and patterning soft dust with her bare feet, where the silence is golden and the freedom is sweet.
Furthermore, she wishes to be Rapunzel, living a tranquil and rare life in a tower without a care, refusing to let down her bright hair. These imaginations show her deep desire for solitude and peace.
The poem tells us that Amanda is a young girl who feels her freedom is curtailed. She is constantly instructed not to do things, which makes her withdraw into a world of imagination.
Although her parent thinks she is moody and sulking, Amanda is actually just seeking a peaceful refuge from the constant scolding and lack of independence in her real life.
Explanation
The question asks for two things: what Amanda yearns for, and what the poem reveals about her character. The student answer correctly identifies that she yearns for freedom and escape, directly referencing the three imaginary personas (mermaid, orphan, Rapunzel) from the parenthetical stanzas. It then analyzes what this tells us about Amanda: that she feels controlled and retreats into imagination to cope, which counters the parent's accusation of her being moody. The answer uses only the provided text and follows the formatting rules for a 5-mark long answer.