Here is a comprehensive guide to Chapter 8, “Memories of Childhood,” from the VISTAS textbook, created to help you prepare thoroughly for your upcoming AHSEC Class 12 exams. This guide includes a summary, complete textual answers, previous years’ AHSEC questions, and other important questions.
Memories of Childhood
Summary Note
This chapter presents two autobiographical accounts from two different women, Zitkala-Sa and Bama, who belong to marginalized communities. Both narratives describe their childhood experiences of facing prejudice and humiliation, and how these incidents shaped their resistance against injustice.
Part 1: “The Cutting of My Long Hair” by Zitkala-Sa
Zitkala-Sa, a Native American woman, recounts her first day at the Carlisle Indian School, a boarding school run by white people. The experience is traumatic and alienating. She is forced to wear tight-fitting clothes and stiff shoes, which is a stark contrast to her comfortable traditional attire. The regimented routine, like eating by a formula of ringing bells, is confusing and dehumanizing.
The most humiliating experience is the cutting of her long, heavy hair. In her culture, short hair was worn only by mourners, and shingled hair by cowards. For her, long hair was a symbol of pride and identity. She tries to resist by hiding under a bed but is found, dragged out, and tied to a chair. She describes the feeling of the cold scissors against her neck as she loses her braids, and with them, her spirit. She feels like one of many “little animals driven by a herder,” having lost her freedom and individuality.
Part 2: “We Too Are Human Beings” by Bama
Bama, a Tamil Dalit writer, recalls an incident from her childhood that made her aware of the social evil of untouchability. While walking home from school one day, she is amused by the sight of an elder from her community carrying a small packet of food by its string, without touching it. She finds it comical and describes the scene in detail to her elder brother, Annan.
Her brother is not amused. He explains that the man was not being funny; he was forced to carry the packet that way because he belonged to a “low caste.” If he touched the packet, the food would be considered “polluted” by the upper-caste landlord for whom he was carrying it. This explanation infuriates Bama. She is filled with anger and sadness at the humiliation and dehumanization faced by her community.
Her brother advises her that the only way to overcome these indignities is through education. He tells her, “if we study and make progress, we can throw away these indignities.” Taking his words to heart, Bama studies with fierce determination, stands first in her class, and earns the respect of many people, proving that education is a powerful tool against social oppression.
Complete Textual Question and Answer
- The two accounts that you read above are based in two distant cultures. What is the commonality of theme found in both of them?
Answer: The commonality of theme in both accounts is the experience of prejudice, oppression, and humiliation faced by marginalized communities at the hands of a dominant culture. Both Zitkala-Sa, a Native American, and Bama, a Dalit, are victims of a system that seeks to control and dehumanize them. Both stories highlight the painful loss of identity, dignity, and self-respect. Another common theme is resistance. Both young girls, in their own ways, rebel against the injustice they face—Zitkala-Sa through her brief physical struggle, and Bama through her decision to use education as a weapon. - 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?
Answer: Yes, I agree that injustice cannot escape being noticed even by children, and the seeds of rebellion are often sown early in life. Both Zitkala-Sa and Bama are young children when they experience their respective forms of oppression. Zitkala-Sa, despite being in a new and intimidating environment, instinctively knows that the cutting of her hair is an indignity and she rebels against it. Bama, though initially amused, is immediately filled with anger and a sense of rebellion once she understands the injustice of untouchability. These childhood experiences of injustice leave a lasting impact and become the foundation for their lifelong struggle against oppression. - 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?
Answer: Zitkala-Sa’s experience depicts racial and cultural discrimination. As a Native American, she is forced by the dominant white culture to abandon her own traditions, language, and identity. The cutting of her hair is a symbolic act of stripping her of her cultural pride. Bama’s experience is that of caste-based discrimination, where she is considered “untouchable” and inferior because of her birth.
Their responses are different. Zitkala-Sa’s response is immediate and physical; she cries out, “No, I will not submit! I will struggle first!” and hides, but her rebellion is quickly crushed, leaving her feeling defeated and spiritually broken at that moment. Bama’s response is more internal and strategic. After her initial anger, she channels her energy into education, following her brother’s advice. She studies hard, stands first in her class, and earns respect, using education as a tool for empowerment and to fight against the social stigma.
Previous Year AHSEC Question Answers (2015-2025)
Short Answer Questions (2 Marks)
1. Who was Zitkala-Sa and what were her feelings on the first day of her school? (AHSEC 2015, 2018)
Answer: Zitkala-Sa was a Native American writer and activist. On her first day at the Carlisle Indian School, she felt extremely uncomfortable and alienated. The “annoying clatter of shoes,” the “constant clash of harsh noises,” and the immodest clothes made her feel like sinking to the floor. She felt her spirit “tore itself in struggling for its lost freedom.”
2. Who was Bama? What did she see one day on her way back from school? (AHSEC 2016, 2019)
Answer: Bama is a Tamil Dalit writer. One day, on her way back from school, she saw an elder from her street carrying a small packet of food (vadai or bhajji) by its string, without touching it. He walked carefully, holding the packet out, and presented it to a landlord, who then opened it and began to eat.
3. What did Zitkala-Sa’s friend Judewin tell her? (AHSEC 2017, 2022)
Answer: Zitkala-Sa’s friend, Judewin, who knew a few words of English, gave her a “terrible warning.” She had overheard the “paleface woman” talk about cutting their long, heavy hair. Judewin told Zitkala-Sa that they had to submit because the authorities were strong.
4. What advice did Annan give to Bama? (AHSEC 2020, 2023)
Answer: Annan advised Bama that because they were born into a “low” caste, they were stripped of all honour and dignity. He told her that the only way to overcome this indignity was through education. He urged her, “So study with care, learn all you can. If you are always ahead in your lessons, people will come to you of their own accord and attach themselves to you.”
Long Answer Questions (5-7 Marks)
1. Describe the scene of ‘eating by formula’ as experienced by Zitkala-Sa on her first day at school. (AHSEC 2017)
Answer: The experience of ‘eating by formula’ was deeply confusing and humiliating for Zitkala-Sa. A large bell rang for breakfast, and she was marched into the dining room in a line of girls. A small bell was tapped, and each pupil drew a chair from under the table. Zitkala-Sa, thinking this was the signal to sit, sat down immediately, only to find that she was the only one seated. As she began to rise in embarrassment, a second bell was sounded, and everyone else sat down. Then, a man at the end of the hall began muttering, and all the other children hung their heads over their plates. Finally, a third bell was tapped, and everyone began eating. This rigid and unfamiliar routine made her feel like crying.
2. What was Bama’s experience of untouchability? How did it influence her? (AHSEC 2020, 2023)
Answer: Bama’s first experience of untouchability was witnessing an elder from her community carrying a food packet by its string to avoid “polluting” it for an upper-caste landlord. Initially, she found it funny, but when her elder brother, Annan, explained that it was due to the practice of untouchability, she was “infuriated.” She felt terribly sad and provoked, questioning why her community had to face such humiliation.
This experience had a profound influence on her. Annan’s advice that education was the only way to earn respect and overcome this injustice made a “very deep impression” on her. She took his words to heart, studied with great determination, and stood first in her class. This incident ignited a rebellious spirit in her and motivated her to use education as a tool to fight against caste-based discrimination.
Most Important Question Answers
1. Why did Zitkala-Sa feel that her long hair was cut?
Answer: Zitkala-Sa felt her long hair was cut as an act of extreme indignity and oppression. In her culture, long hair was a symbol of pride worn by brave warriors. Only “unskilled warriors who were captured had their hair shingled by the enemy,” and short hair was worn by mourners. The cutting of her hair was a deliberate act by the school authorities to strip her of her cultural identity and force her to assimilate into the dominant white culture.
2. Why was Bama amused by the elder carrying the packet?
Answer: Bama was initially amused by the sight of the elder because she was a child and did not understand the social context of his actions. She saw a big, grown man carrying a small packet of food by a string, holding it out carefully as if it were a precious item. The comical image of him walking in such a peculiar manner, trying not to let the packet touch him, made her want to “shriek with laughter.”
3. What are the similarities in the lives of Bama and Zitkala-Sa?
Answer: The primary similarity in their lives is that both belong to marginalized communities and face discrimination from the dominant culture. Both experience a key, humiliating event in their childhood that makes them aware of the injustice they face. Both feel a sense of rebellion against this oppression. For both women, these childhood memories become a driving force in their later lives as writers and activists fighting for the rights of their communities.
4. How did Bama and Zitkala-Sa respond to the attempts to subdue their spirits?
Answer: Both responded with a spirit of rebellion, though in different ways. Zitkala-Sa’s rebellion was immediate and physical; she resisted having her hair cut by hiding, kicking, and scratching. Although she was overpowered, her spirit of defiance was clear. Bama’s rebellion was more strategic. After her initial anger, she channeled her rebellious energy into her studies. By excelling in education, she found a powerful and effective way to challenge the caste hierarchy and earn respect, thereby fighting the system that sought to subdue her spirit.
