The Memories Of Childhood Question Answer 12th Eng

Ch-8

Memories Of Childhood

TEXTUAL QUESTIONS

Q1. Character sketch of Zitkala-Sa:

Ans.Zitkala-Sa was a native American who was sent to the Carlisle Indian school at a young age. She faced indignity, discrimination and exploitation at school. She was forced to get her hair shingled against which she protested to the best of her capacity but finally had to surrender. She was treated like a wooden toy. She is symbolic of all the native American women who were exploited at the hands of their masters. They used to enslave them, plundered them and destroyed their culture. She suffered extreme indignities and felt humiliated like a coward. Her long thick braids were cut off which let her spirit down. She was treated like an animal. But despite of all this barbarism, Zitkala-Sa showed her resistance. She didn't give up meekly and struggled and protested till the end, though she didn't succeed.

Q2 Character sketch of Bama

Ans. Bama is a small innocent school girl from a Dalit community in south India. She is unaware of the discrimination on the basis of caste. She is surprised to see distinction based on class and caste. When she is told by her brother, about the reality, she is angry. She protests against this. She is astonished to realize the fact that the rich and upper caste people have lost all humanity. But we too are human beings. She has a revolting nature and wants to protest against this evil. When she is told by her brother that it is only education which can bring the change, she determines to choose a constructive path and studies hard and tops in the class. In this way, she wins everyone's respect and becomes a role model for all the Dalit women.

Q3.The two accounts that you have read above are based in two distant cultures. What is the commonly of theme 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 marginalized communities are common to both. Zitkala-Sa highlights the severe prejudice that prevailed towards the Native American culture and women. Depriving her of her blanket that covered her shoulders made her look indecent in her own eyes. The cutting of her long hair reduces her to the status of a defeated warrior as in her culture shingled hair are worn only by cowards. The replacing of her moccasins by squeaking shoes and "eating by formula" at the breakfast table are other signs of forcible erosion of their own culture and imposition of dogma on them.

The second account is that of Bama who was a Tamil Indian. She belonged to the Dalit community. She was pained to see how the upper caste people treated the Dalit in a humilating manner. They thought that even the touch of dalit would pollute them. Thus we see that ZITKALA -SA and Bama belonged to different culture there was much commonly in their suffering .

Q4. It may take a long time for operation 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 the adults. They see, hear, feel and experience whatever happens around them. Bama at first, thinks the behavior 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 of his behaviour in that particular manner her anger is aroused 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.

Q5. Bama’s experience is that of a victim of the caste system. What kind of discrimination does Zitkala-Sa’s experience depict? What are their responses to their respective situations?

Ans. Bama is a victim of the caste system as she has been bom in a dalit community. Zitkala- Sa is a Native American who finds that the people who have overpowered the natives are out to destroy their culture. She notices the discrimination against Native American culture and women. The cutting of her long hair is a symbolic of subjection to the rulers. In their culture, only unskilled warriors who were captured had their hair shingled by the enemy. She is deprived of her soft moccasins—the shoes worn by Native Americans. Her blanket has been removed from her shoulders and she feels shy and indecent. The rules observed at the breakfast table are alien to her.

Both of them rebel against the existing circumstances. They do not bow down to their situations. They struggle hard to remove the discrimination and other barriers raised by peeple in power. Their struggle is against oppression, prejudice, dogma, superstition and ignorance. The tool with which they carry out their struggle is education. Both Zitkala- Sa and Bama study hard and earn a name for themselves. They take to writing and distinguish themselves in their respective fields. Their works depict their viewpoints and carry on their struggle against the discrimination that constrains and binds the free flow of their spirits.

Q6.Where were the girls taken and how ?

Ans. The girls were marching into the dining room in a line. The Indian girls were in stiff shoes and tightly sticking dresses. The small girls wore sleeved aprons and shingled hair. They did not seem to care that they were indecently dressed.

Q7. “I felt like sinking to the floor”, says Zitkala-Sa. When did she feel so and why ?

Ans. It was her first day at school. She was marching into the dining room with other girls in a line. She walked noiselessly in her soft moccasins. But she felt that she was immodestly dressed, as her blanket had been removed from her shoulders. So, she felt like sinking to the floor.

Q8. ‘Why, do you think, was Zitkala-Sa so opposed to cutting of 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 of her long hair.

Q9. 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 corner farthest from the door and crawled under the bed in the darkest corner.

Q10. What did Zitkala-Sa feel when her long hair was cut? ‘

Ans. When she heard them remove one of her thick braids, she lost her spirit. She had suffered utmost indignities there. People had stared at her. She had been tossed about in the air like a wooden puppet and now her long hair was shingled like a coward’s. In her anguish, she moaned for her mother. She felt herself as one of the many little animals driven by a herder.

Q11. 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.

Q12. Why was Zitkala-Sa in tears on the first day in the land of apples?

Ans. On the first day in the land of apples, Zitkala-sa was in tears. The main reason of tears was that her hair was mercilessly cut. She had heard from her mother that only unskilled warriors, who were captured, had their hair shingled by the enemy. That is why she shook her head in resistance.

Q13. How did Bama react on learning about untouchability?

Ans. Bama became sad on listening how the upper caste people behaved towards low caste persons like them. She felt provoked and angry. She wanted to touch those vadais herself. She wondered why their elders should run errands for the miserly rich upper caste landlords and hand them over things reverently, bowing and shrinking all the while.

Q14. What advice did Annan offer Bama? What was the result?

Ans. Annan advised Bama to study with care and learn all that she could. If she was always ahead in her lessons, people would come to her of their own accord and attach themselves to her. Bama followed her brother’s advice and studied hard. She stood first in her class, and because of that, many people became her friends.

Question 15.

How were Zitkala-Sa’s long hair shingled?

Answer:

Women and girls entered the room where Zitkala-Sa was hiding. She was dragged out. She resisted and cried aloud. They tied her fast in a chair. She was shaking her head all the while until she felt the cold blades of the scissors against her neck. Thus her hair were shingled

Question16

Who was Judewin? What did she tell Zitkala?

Answer:

Judewin was a friend of Zitkala. She knew a little English. She had overheard the white woman saying that they would shingle Zitkala’s long, heavy hair. She said that Zitkala had to submit to them.

Question 17.

What had Zitkala’s mother told her about the tradition regarding hair in their tribe?

Answer:

Zitkala’s mother had told her that only unskilled warriors who were captured had their hair shingled by the enemy. Among her tribe, short hair were worn by mourners and shingled hair by cowards.

Question 18.

Where did Zitkala hide herself to save her hair?

Answer:

Zitkala hid herself in a big room. The windows were covered with dark green curtains, which made the room very dim. No one was there in the room. She crawled under a bed and huddled herself in the dark corner.