Memories of Childhood Theme

‘Memories of Childhood’ depicts the fact that children are extremely sensitive
to their surroundings and react very strongly against the discrimination and
indignities meted out to them. Zitkala-Sa, representing the Native American
woman, condemns the dogma and evil of oppression.

On the other hand, Bama criticises untouchability and caste discrimination.

The narrative has a universal theme which highlights the reaction to the
hatred and cruelty meted out to the downtrodden and the discrimination on the
basis of caste, creed and social hierarchy.

Memories of Childhood Summary in English

The Cutting of My Long Hair
The story begins with the introduction of the Carlisle Indian school. The
narrator describes her first day at the school. It was very cold and unpleasant
as there was a lot of snow around. The extract deals with the shingling of hair
of Zitkala-Sa. Zitkal-Sa found the school a strange place where everything
seemed to be mechanical. A very loud and metallic bell rang for breakfast.
There was annoying clatter of feet on the entire bare floor. She was unnerved
because of so much of noise.

She found all the girls marching to the dining room after hearing the bell. They
were supervised by a palefaced woman. Small girls wore aprons, and had
shingled hair. The girls were dressed in clinging clothes. Breakfast was served
and eaten very mechanically. There was a bell to stand, another to sit, next to
pray and after that another to start breakfast. All this was totally new for the
narrator.

Her friend Judewin warned her that the palefaced woman was talking about
the cutting of her long hair. The narrator did not want her hair to be shingled
because in her community, shingling of hair was considered as inauspicious
and undignified. Only traitors or the mourners had their hair shingled. Though
her friend told her that they would have to submit as others were stronger, the
narrator decided to struggle and not to submit. She crept upstairs unnoticed
and hid under the bed in a dark corner. But finally, she was discovered and
dragged out.
She scratched and kicked but was forcibly taken downstairs and was tied fast
to a chair. Her thick braids were cut off. And with this she lost her spirit. She
realised the indignities suffered by her after she was separated from her
mother. She was tossed here and there like a wooden puppet and felt
humiliated. She was treated like an animal and no one came to comfort her.

We Too Are Human Beings

In this story, Bama narrates the experiences of a young dalit school girl in a
south Indian village. The narrator had never heard of untouchability being
talked about openly by anyone but she felt, experienced and was humiliated
by what she saw. While coming back from school, she used to spend a lot of
time in watching all the fun and games, entertaining novelties, oddities, shops
in bazar on the way. She used to watch performing monkeys, a man pedalling
for days, the activities at Maariyaata temple, the statue of Gandhiji, the sweets
and snacks, hunter gypsy and wild lemurs in cages. She used to hear the
political parties giving speeches, saw the puppet show, street plays, coffee
shops, fruit trees and peddlers selling fruits, snacks, halwa and iced lollies.

While on the way, she saw an interesting scene outside the landlord’s house.
Here a threshing floor was set up with the landlord watching the proceedings.
Some people were driving cattle for threshing the corn. She saw an elder of
her community carrying a big packet in a funny manner which made her
laugh. He gave this packet which contained vadais to the landlord without
touching it and the landlord opened the packet and ate the vadais.

Bama narrates this incident to her brother with all the comic details. But to her
surprise her brother is not amused. The narrator is told that the landlord was
of upper caste and the elder’s touch would pollute the food. This made the
narrator sad and angry and she felt outraged at the exploitation. She
condemns it as a curse against humanity. She believed that their community
should boycott and refuse to do petty errands. She came to know that despite
being so educated, tier brother was questioned about his caste. All the dalits
used to live together in a separate place away from the upper class.

Annan, her brother, told the narrator that they were not respected or given
dignity due to their community. He said that education was the only way to
gain respect. The narrator was advised to work hard and learn. She obeyed
her brother and studied hard with great determination. She stood first in her
class. Many people tried to befriend her.
Character Sketch of Zitkala-Sa in Memories of
Childhood
Zitkala-Sa: 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. Her long thick braids were cut off which let her spirit down.
She was treated like an animal. Despite of all this barbarism, Zitkala-Sa
showed her resistance. She didn’t give up meekly and struggled and
protested though she didn’t succeed.

Character Sketch of Bama in Memories of

Childhood
Bama: 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. She felt that they too were human beings. She has a rebellions
nature and wants to protest against this evil. Told by her brother that it is only
education which can bring change, she determines to choose a constructive
path and studies hard and tops the class. In this way, she wins everyone’s
respect and becomes a role model for all Dalits.

Memories of Childhood Important Questions Short Answer Type

Questions

Question 1.
When did Bama first come to know of the social discrimination faced by the
people of her community? (Delhi 2009)
Answer:
Bama was in the third standard and she used to walk from her school to her
home. One day she saw an elderly man carrying a small packet that
contained some eatables. He held the packet by its strings without touching
it and extended it to the landlord who opened it and began to eat. She
thought it was something funny but Annan, her elder brother, told her that
the man was not being funny and he was in fact from a low caste because of
which he couldn’t touch the food packet.

Question 2.
How did Zitkala-Sa try to prevent the shingling of her hair? (Delhi 2009)
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa disappeared unnoticed and entered a large room with three beds.
She crawled under the beds and cuddled herself in a dark comer. She could
not hide there for long and was soon dragged out. She resisted by kicking
and scratching wildly but then she was tied fast in a chair and her long and
heavy hair was shingled.

Question 3.
Why did the landlord’s man ask Bama’s brother, on which street he lived?
What was the significance? (Delhi 2010)
Answer:
The landlord’s man asked Bama’s brother on which street he lived in order to
find out his caste. During those times, when untouchability was prevalent,
each caste lived in a particular street and by enquiring about the street
where one lived, helped to determine his caste.

Question 4.
Why was Zitkala-Sa terrified when Judewin told her that her hair would be cut
short? (All India 2010)
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa hid herself because she had got to know that the authorities
wanted to cut her long hair. In her community hair of mourners, prisoners of
war and cowards were cut and therefore she made a vain attempt to prevent
her hair from being shingled by hiding herself.

Question 5.
What did Zitkala-Sa feel when her long hair was cut? (Delhi 2011)
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa felt rather anguished and indignant when her long hair was cut.
She lost her spirit and felt as helpless as a puppet. She got the feeling of
being an animal driven by a herder and desperately looked for some comfort.
With her hair being shingled like a coward’s, she moaned in anguish. She
also felt she had lost her distinct cultural recognition and identity.

Question 6.
What advice did Annan offer Bama? (All India 2011)
Answer:
Annan loves his sister Bama dearly and acts as her true guide and
philosopher. He told her that being Dalits they would never be given any
dignity or respect. He advised her to study and make progress to throw away
these indignities. He advises to his sister about the indigenous method of
outdoing the upper class by winning laurels in their examinations and thus
earning their admiration.

Question 7.
“I felt like sinking to the floor,” says Zitakala-Sa. When did she feel so and
why? (All India 2011)
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa felt like sinking to the floor when the blanket she had donned over
her immodest- looking dress was stripped from her shoulders. She felt
uncomfortable in her tight-fitting clothes and because she was ill at ease.

Question 8.
What did Judewin tell Zitkala-Sa? How did she react to it? (All India 2011)
Answer:
Judewin, who knew a few words of English, told Zitkala-Sa that she had
overheard the pale¬faced woman saying that Zitkala-Sa’s long hair would be
cut. Judewin advises her to submit and resign to her fate but Zitkala-Sa
disagrees with her and decides to resist and stand-up against it.

Question 9.
How long would it take Bama to walk home from her school and why?
(Comptt. Delhi 2011)
Answer:
It took Bama half an hour to one hour to walk home from her school,
although it was possible to cover the distance in ten minutes. This was
because on the way many attractions slowed her down. These included fun,
games, entertaining novelties and oddities in the streets, the shops and the
bazaar.

Question 10.
When did Bama first come to know of the social discrimination faced by the
people of her community? (Comptt. All India 2011)
Answer:
Bama was in the third standard and she used to walk from her school to her
home. One day she saw an elderly man carrying a small packet that
contained some eatables. He held the packet by its strings without touching
it and extended it to the landlord who opened it and began to eat. She
thought it was something funny but Annan, her elder brother, told her that
the man was not being funny and he was in fact from a low caste because of
which he couldn’t touch the food packet.
Question 11.
How could Bama rise above indignities? (Comptt. Delhi 2012)
Answer:
Bama’s brother advised her to concentrate on her studies and outshine
everybody in the examinations in order to rise above indignities. So Bama
followed her brother’s advice religiously and earned the respect of members
of the higher class by standing first in her class.

Question 12.
What made Bama return home invariably late from school? (Comptt. All India
2012)
Answer:
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.

Question 13.
What were the articles in the stalls and shops that fascinated Bama on her
way back from school? (All India 2013)
Answer:
On her way back from school Bama would be extremely fascinated by
various articles available in the stalls and shops. These included the dried
fish stall, the stall selling fried snacks, the stall of the hunter gypsy selling
needles, clay beads and instruments for cleaning ears. Everyday she would
see people selling payasam, halwa, boiled tamarind seeds, iced lollies, etc.

Question 14.
What sort of shows or entertainment attracted Bama? (All India 2013)
Answer:
Bama was attracted by the shows that people from various political parties
would put up on a stage. These included a street play, or a puppet show, or a
“no magic, no miracle” stunt performance. All these happened from time to
time.

Question 15.
Which activities of the people would Bama watch keenly in the bazaar? (All
India 2013)
Answer:
Bama watched the way each waiter would cool the coffee in the coffee clubs
in the bazaar. She would watch the way some people sat in front of the shops
chopping up onion, their eyes turned elsewhere so that they would not
smart. At times she would watch people from various political parties put up
a street play or a puppet show.
Question 16.
Which words of her brother made a deep impression on Bama? (Delhi 2014)
Answer:
Bama’s brother told her that because they were born into a lower
community, they were never given any honour, dignity or respect. But if they
studied and made progress they could get rid of these indignities. His words
made a deep impression on Bama.

Question 17.
Why was Zitkala-Sa in tears on the first day in the land of apples? (All India
2014)
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa was in tears on the first day in the land of apples because she was
in a new environment. She received a cultural shock because of the unknown
language. The strict regime of eating by formula, squeaking shoes and the
news about cutting her hair were also unknown to her.

Question 18.
What is common between Zitkala-Sa and Bama? (Comptt. Delhi 2014)
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa and Bama have a lot in common as far as their suffering is
concerned. They both belonged to marginalised communities. Zitkala-Sa was
a victim of cultural invasion where her own cultural identity was being
threatened and Bama was a victim of untouchability that is a form of
struggle for class.

Question 19.
Why did Zitkala-Sa resist the shingling of her hair? (Comptt. All India 2014)
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa hid herself because she had got to know that the authorities
wanted to cut her long hair. In her community hair of mourners, prisoners of
war and cowards were cut and therefore she made a vain attempt to prevent
her hair from being shingled by hiding herself.

Question 20.
Why did Bama reach home late after school? (Comptt. All India 2015)
Answer:
It took Bama half an hour to one hour to walk home from her school,
although it was possible to cover the distance in ten minutes. This was
because on the way many attractions slowed her down. These included fun
games, entertaining novelties and oddities in the streets, the shops and the
bazaar.
Question 21.
At the dining table why did Zitkala-Sa begin to cry when others started
eating? (All India 2016 )
Answer:
As Zitkala-sa glanced at the long chain of tables, she caught the eyes of a
pale face woman upon her. She wondered why she was being so keenly
watched by the strange woman. She was not used to eating by formula.
When the third bell tapped and the others started eating, she felt out of
place and began crying instead.

Question 22.
How did Zitkala-Sa’s first day in the land of apples begin? (All India 2016 )
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa’s first day in the land of apples was a bitter-cold one. The snow
covered the ground and the trees were bare. A large bell rang for breakfast,
its loud metallic sound crashing into their sensitive ears. The annoying
clatter of shoes and the constant clash of harsh noises gave her no peace.

Question 23.
According to Zitkala-Sa what does ‘eating by formula’ mean? (All India 2016 )
Answer:
According to Zitkala-Sa ‘eating by formula’ meant following an eating-
decorum in the dining room. At the sound of the first bell the pupils drew a
chair from under the table. All were seated when the second bell was
sounded and when the third bell was tapped everyone started eating with
forks and knives.

Question 24.
Why did Zitkala-Sa hide herself? (Comptt. Delhi 2016 )
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa hid herself because she had got to know that the authorities
wanted to cut her long hair. In her community hair of mourners, prisoners of
war and cowards were cut and therefore she made a vain attempt to prevent
her hair from being shingled by hiding herself.

Question 25.
Why was Bama always late while returning from school? (Comptt. Delhi 2016
)
Answer:
It took Bama half an hour to one hour to walk home from her school,
although it was possible to cover the distance in ten minutes. This was
because on the way many attractions slowed her down. These included fun
games, entertaining novelties and oddities in the streets, the shops and the
bazaar.
Question 26.
What did Bama’s brother want her to do? Why? (Comptt. All India 2017)
Answer:
Annan loves his sister Bama dearly and acts as her true guide and
philosopher. He told her that being Dalits they would never be given any
dignity or respect. He advised her to study and make progress to throw away
these indignities. He advises his sister about the indigenous method of
outdoing the upper class by winning laurels in their examinations and thus
earning their admiration.

Memories of Childhood Important Questions Long Answer Type

Questions

Question 27.
What kind of discrimination did Bama and Zitkala experience? How did they
respond to their respective situations? (Delhi 2009)
Answer:
Bama and Zitkala belonged to marginalised communities. Zitkala was an
American Indian woman who was ill-treated by the whites who adopted force
and oppression to compel the natives to shed their age old customs and
traditions. The worst indignity she suffered was the cutting of her long hair.
Her long and beautiful hair were cut after she was dragged out. She cried
and resisted by kicking and scratching wildly as she was tied fast in a chair
but still she did not submit. No one came to help her or to console her. Bama,
who belonged to a Dalit community was a victim of the caste system. She
was upset by the inhuman attitude of the people belonging to the ‘higher’
caste towards the ‘lower’ caste. She had experienced the evils of
untouchability when she was studying in the third standard.

Both these women fought and struggled against exploitation and oppression.
Zitkala does not submit but struggles when her hair is being shingled. She
fights till she is overpowered. Bama fights against the evils of untouchability
in her own way. She works hard and stands first in her class. People then
come to her of their own accord.

Question 28.
What are the similarities in the lives of Bama and Zitkala though they belong
to different cultures? (All India 2009)
Answer:
Bama and Zitkala belonged to marginalised communities. Zitkala was an
American Indian woman who was ill-treated by the whites who adopted force
and oppression to compel the natives to shed their age old customs and
traditions. The worst indignity she suffered was the cutting of her long hair.
Her long and beautiful hair were cut after she was dragged out. She cried
and resisted by kicking and scratching wildly as she was tied fast in a chair
but still she did not submit. No one came to help her or to console her. Bama,
who belonged to a Dalit community was a victim of the caste system. She
was upset by the inhuman attitude of the people belonging to the ‘higher’
caste towards the ‘lower’ caste. She had experienced the evils of
untouchability when she was studying in the third standard.

Both these women fought and struggled against exploitation and oppression.
Zitkala does not submit but struggles when her hair is being shingled. She
fights till she is overpowered. Bama fights against the evils of untouchability
in her own way. She works hard and stands first in her class. People then
come to her of their own accord. The similarity between their lives is the
struggle and fight against racial and social discrimination. They did not
accept this exploitation and injustice meekly but fought against it.

Question 29.
Describe how Zitkala-Sa tried in vain to save her hair from being cut. Why
did she want to save her hair? (All India 2009)
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa’s friend Judewin warned her that her hair was going to be cut.
Judewin knew a few English words and had overheard the ‘paleface woman’
talking about cutting the native Indian girl’s long hair. This news shocked
Zitkala. Her friend told her to accept her fate but she was not ready to
submit and decided to fight against this oppression. She disappeared
unnoticed and went into a room where she crawled and hid under a bed,
cuddling herself in a dark comer. But she was caught and dragged out. She
then resisted by kicking and scratching wildly as she was carried down and
tied fast to a chair. As they gnawed at her long hair, she kept shaking her
head. No one came to her aid. Zitkala was desperate to save her hair
because among her people short hair was kept by mourners and shingled
hair was a sign of cowardice. So she did not want her long hair to be cut.

Question 30.
What activities did Bama witness on her way back home from school?
(Comptt. All India 2014)
Answer:
On her way back home from school Bama would take thirty minutes to cover
a ten minute distance. This was because she would witness various activities
on her way back home. The performing monkey, the snake charmer, the
cyclist who had not got off his bike for three days. She also watched the
Pongal offerings being cooked in front of the Maariyaata temple. At times
people from various political parties would arrive, put up a stage and
harangue the public through their mikes. She would watch a street play, or a
puppet show or a magic stunt performance. All these would happen from
time to time. But almost certainly there would be some entertainment or
other going on, that would delay Bama.

Question 31.
How did the scene she saw in the market place change Bama’s life? (Comptt.
Delhi 2015)
Answer:
Bama usually reaches home late from school. She walks along leisurely
watching and enjoying the sights on her way home. One day on her way
back, she saw the harvest being threshed. The landlord stood watching the
work being done. It was then that Bama saw one of the elders coming down
the street holding a packet by a string. The packet contained vadais for the
landlord. At first Bama thought that the elder man was being funny. But later
her brother told her that the elder man was of a low caste so he was not
allowed to touch the vadais brought for the landlord. This scene infuriated
Bama and brought about a ‘ change in her life wherein she decided to study
well, make a position for herself in life and rebel against caste inequalities.

Question 32.
What were Zitkala-Sa’s experiences on her first day in the land of apples?
(Comptt. All India 2015)
Answer:
The first day in the land of apples was bitterly cold and as the bell rang for
breakfast, there was an annoying clatter of shoes which gave Zitkala-Sa no
peace. Though her spirit tore itself in struggling for its freedom, it was of no
use. Zitkala-Sa was placed in a line with the Indian girls and marched into the
dining room. All the girls were rather immodestly dressed in tightly fitting
clothes. As Zitkala-Sa sat down she observed that she was being keenly
watched by a strange palefaced woman. Later her friend Judewin gave her a
terrible warning that this palefaced woman was talking about cutting their
long, heavy hair. Zitkala-Sa crept into a room and crawled under a bed and
huddled herself in the dark corner. But women and girls entered the room
and dragged her out. She resisted by kicking and scratching wildly. Inspite of
her resistance she was carried downstairs, tied fast in a chair and her long
hair was shingled.

Question 33.
Untouchability is not only a crime, it is inhuman too. Why and how did Bama
decide to fight against it? (Delhi 2017)
Answer:
There is no denying the fact that untouchability is not only a crime but it is
also inhuman. Bama, who belonged to a marginalised community was a
victim of the caste system. As a little girl, studying in the third class, she had
seen, felt and been humiliated by its effect. So the spark of hostility towards
this social evil had been ignited in her heart from a very early age. Upset
over the inhuman attitude of the people of the so-called higher caste
towards the lower caste, she decided to fight against this evil in her own way.
Bama’s brother advised her to study and make progress to throw away
indig¬nities. She took the advice of her elder brother seriously, studied
diligently and stood first in her class thereby compelling people to respect
and befriend her.

Question 34.
In India, the so-called lower castes have been treated cruelly for a long time.
Who advised Bama to fight against this prejudice, when and how? (All India
2017)
Answer:
There is no denying the fact that untouchability is not only a crime but it is
also inhuman. Bama, who belonged to a marginalised community was a
victim of the caste system. As a little girl, studying in the third class, she had
seen, felt and been humiliated by its effect. So the spark of hostility towards
this social evil had been ignited in her heart from a very early age. Upset
over the inhuman attitude of the people of the so-called higher caste
towards the lower caste, she decided to fight against this evil in her own way.
Bama’s brother advised her to study and make progress to throw away
indignities. She took the advice of her elder brother seriously, studied
diligently and stood first in her class thereby compelling people to respect
and befriend her.