MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD (CLASS 12)

 MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD

Q. What was Zitkala - Sa's idea regarding short, shingled hair?

Ans : Zitkala's mother told her that only unskilled warriors who were captured had their hair shingled by the enemy. Among their people, short hair was worn by mourners and shingled hair by cowards.

Q. When did Bama experience untouchability?

Ans : Bama first encountered untouchability when she saw an elder of her caste walking along the street from the direction of the bazaar. Initially the vision of the elderly man carrying a packet by its string made her laugh. But then she saw the elder walk up straight to the landlord, bowing low and extending the packet towards him. Her brother told him that that was an instance of untouchability.

Q. How did Zitkala - Sa try to hide herself from 'others' in the school? Did she succeed?

Ans : When Zitkala - Sa's friend Judewin told her that their hair would be cut short, Zitkala-Sa decided to fight back. She stealthily came out of the dining room and hid herself in a large room under a bed.

          But all her attempts went in vain as English women dragged her out of the room. Though she had tried to resist by kicking yet she failed.

Q.Why did Zitkala-Sa feel uncomfortable in the dining room?

Ans : Zitkala-Sa felt uncomfortable in the dining room as she was quite new in the land of apples. She could not bear the sight of the Indian girls in tight fitting dresses. Her blanket had been stripped from her shoulders. She was not well acquainted with their dining table manners and moreover, a paleface woman was constantly staring at her and that made her more uncomfortable.

Q. What did Annan say to Bama about his community?

Ans: Annan told the narrator or Bama that they were born into the lower caste community. They were never given any honour or dignity or respect and they were stripped of all that. But if they study and make progress, their community also can throw away indignities.

Q. Why was Zitkala - sa in tears on the first day of her in the land of apples?

Ans : Zitkala-Sa was in tears on her first day in the land of apples because she was taken from her mother. People had stared at her. And her hair was cut mercilessly. She tried to resist by kicking but that was of no use. She cried out loud. But no one came to comfort her.

Q.  Why did it take 30 minutes to Bama to reach home instead of 10 minutes? 

Ans : Bama took thirty minutes to an hour to reach home as she would watch all the fun and games that were taking place on the road. She would also stop and look at the shops and the bazaars and even see the performance of the snake charmers and the monkeys.

Q. How did Annan explain the elder man's action to Bama?

Ans: When Bama explained the incident of the elderly man carrying the packet by string to Annan, he told Bama that the man was not being funny when he carried the package by the string for his landlord. The upper caste people believed that others must not touch any of their belongings. If they did, their belongings would be polluted. That was why the elder man had to carry the package by its string.

Q. What did Zitkala-Sa notice about the Indian girls?

Ans: The Indian girls were in stiff shoes and tight fitting clothes. The small girls wore sleeved aprons and shingled hair.

Q. Discuss the forms of discrimination projected in the narrations of Zitkala-Sa and Bama.

            Or

Compare the stories of Zitkala-Sa and Bama.

Ans : The lesson ' Memories of childhood' is an autobiographical account of a native Indian Zitkala Sa and a Tamil dalit writer Bama. Zitkala-Sa is taken away from her mother and taken to the land of apples where the white people want the native Indians to adopt their culture. Zitkala-Sa revolts the way the Indian girls were forced to wear dresses in an immodest way.

On her first day in that land she saw the whites shingled the long hair of the girls. According to her culture only the mourners or cowardice wear shingled hair. When she was taken to cut her she did not surrender immediately. She fought back but she could do nothing when they tied her in a chair and cut off her hair.

On the other hand, Bama was a low-caste girl. One day she saw an elderly man of her village carrying food for his landlord. The sight of the elderly man carrying a packet by its string made her laugh. But then she saw the elder walk up straight to the landlord, bowing low and extending the packet towards him. When she explained the incident to her brother Annan, he told him that that was an instance of untouchability. The lower caste people could not touch food and other belongings of the upper caste people. If they did, their belongings would be polluted.Annan told Bama that they were born into the lower caste community. They were never given any honour or dignity or respect and they were stripped of all that. But if they study and make progress, their community also can throw away indignities. Bama studied hard and stood first in her class. Many people became her friends. Thus with their own ways they fought against the indignities of the society.

Q. What does Zitkala-Sa remember about her ‘first day in the land of apples’?

Ans. It was a bitter-cold day. The snow still covered the ground. The trees were bare. A large bell rang for breakfast. Its loud metallic sound crashed through the belfry overhead and penetrated into their sensitive ears.

Q. ‘Why, do you think, was Zitkala-Sa so opposed to cutting off her hair?

Ans. Zitkala-Sa had heard from her mother that only unskilled warriors, who were captured, had their hair shingled by the enemy. Among their people, short hair was worn by mourners, and shingled hair by cowards. Since she was neither, she was dead against cutting off her long hair.

Q. Name some of the novelties and oddities in the streets that attracted Bama?

Ans. These included the performing monkey, the snakecharmer’s snake, the cyclist who had kept on biking for three days, the spinning wheels, the Maariyaata temple and the huge bell hanging there. She also noticed the pongal offerings being cooked in front of the temple.

Q.The two accounts that you have read above are based in two distant cultures. What is the commonality of themes found in both of them?

Ans. The two accounts given in the unit ‘Memories of Childhood’ are based in two distant cultures. Two grown up and celebrated writers from marginalized communities look back on their childhood. They reflect on their relationship with the mainstream. The discrimination, oppression, humiliation, suffering and insults that they faced as young ,members of the marginalised communities are common to both. Zitkala-Sa highlights the severe prejudice that prevailed towards the Native American culture and women. The cutting of her long hair reduces her to the status of a defeated warrior as in her culture shingled hair is worn only by cowards. The replacing of her moccasins by squeaking shoes and “eating by formula” at the breakfast table are other signs of imposition of dogma on them.

Bama highlights the humiliations faced by the untouchables who were never given any honour, dignity or respect as they were born in lower classes. They were made to live apart, run errands, and bow humbly to the masters. They avoided direct contact with the people of higher classes or the things used by them.The sense of rebellion against the existing state of affairs and decision to improve them are also common themes.

Q. It may take a long time for oppression to be resisted, but the seeds of rebellion are sowed early in life. Do you agree that injustice in any form cannot escape being noticed even by children?

Ans. Children are more sensitive and observant than adults. They see, hear, feel and experience whatever happens around them. They are quick to note any deviation from the normal.

Bama at first, thinks the behaviour of the elder of her community is quite funny. He is holding the packet by string and running with it awkwardly. But when she learns the reason for his behaviour in that particular manner she becomes a rebel against the cruel, rich people of upper castes who shamelessly exploit them and heap humiliations on them. She is ready to rebel against the oppression by snatching the packet of vadai from the landlord and eating them herself. Her elder brother channelises her anger. He tells her to study with care and make progress. We see the seeds of rebellion in her.

Zitkala-Sa too shows that she has the seeds of rebellion in her even at an early age. Her friend Judewin tells her that the authorities are going to cut their long, heavy hair. She says that they have to submit, because they (authorities) are strong. But Zitkala-Sa rebels. She declares that she will not submit. She will struggle first. And, she does carry out her resolution. She hides herself to foil their attempt. When she is detected hiding under the bed and dragged out, she resists by kicking and scratching wildly. She is overpowered and tied fast in a chair, but she does not take things lying down. The spark of rebellion in her is not put out by oppression.

Q. How did Zitkala-Sa try to avoid the inevitable loss of her long hair ?

Ans. She crept up the stairs and passed along the hall. She did not know where she was going. She turned aside to an open door. She found a large room with three white beds in it. The windows were covered with dark green curtains. She went to the comer farthest from the door and crawled under the bed in the darkest corner.

Q. What did Zitkala-Sa feel when her long hair was cut?

Ans. when her long hair was cut she lost her spirit. She had suffered utmost indignities there. People had stared at her. She felt herself as one of the many little animals driven by a herder.

Q. Which words of her brother made a deep impression on Bama?

Ans. While returning home, Bama’s elder brother told her that although people do not get to decide the family they are born into, they can outwit the indignities inflicted upon them. It left a deep impression on her.

Q. What explanation did Bama’s elder brother Annan give her about the elder’s “funny” behaviour?

Ans. Annan told Bama that the man was not being funny when he carried the package by the string for his landlord. The upper caste people believed that others must not touch them. If they did, they would be polluted. That was the reason why he (the elder man) had to carry the package by its string.

Q. How did Bama react after learning about untouchability?

Ans. Bama became sad hearing how the upper caste people behaved towards low caste persons like them. She felt provoked and angry. She wanted to touch those vadais herself.

Q. What oppression and discrimination did Zitkala-Sa and Bama experience during their childhood? How did they respond to their respective situations?

Ans. Zitkala-Sa was a victim of social and cultural oppression by the victors who had overpowered them by their sheer strength. They were prejudiced towards Native American culture and women.They adopted force and oppression to compel the natives to shed their age-old traditions and customs. The cutting of the long hair of Zitkala-Sa is a symbol of their oppression. She opposed this prejudice and oppression by rebelling against it. She protested with all her strength.

Bama was a victim of the caste system. She had seen, felt and experienced the evils of untouchability when she was studying in the third standard. She felt humiliated by what it was. She struggled hard against this social discrimination. She studied hard and topped her class. Many students became her friends.

Thus, both Zitkala-Sa and Bama fought the existing circumstances with courage and determination and ended the prejudice, discrimination and oppression.