Important Questions: Memories of Childhood | English Class 12 PDF Download

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1: How did Zitkala-Sa try to prevent the shingling of her hair?
Ans: 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.

Q2: Why was Zitkala-Sa terrified when Judewin told her that her hair would be cut short?
Ans: 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.

Q3: What advice did Annan offer Bama?
Ans: 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.

Q4: What did Judewin tell Zitkala-Sa? How did she react to it?
Ans: 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.

Q5: When did Bama first come to know of the social discrimination faced by the people of her community?
Ans: 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.

Q6: What made Bama return home invariably late from school?
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.

Q7: What sort of shows or entertainment attracted Bama?
Ans: 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.

Q8: Why was Zitkala-Sa in tears on the first day in the land of apples?
Ans: 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.

Q9: Why did Zitkala-Sa resist the shingling of her hair?
Ans: 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.

Q10: At the dining table why did Zitkala-Sa begin to cry when others started eating?
Ans: 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.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q11: What are the similarities in the lives of Bama and Zitkala though they belong to different cultures?
Ans: 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.

Q12: What activities did Bama witness on her way back home from school?
Ans: 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.

Q13: What were Zitkala-Sa’s experiences on her first day in the land of apples?
Ans: 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.

Q14: 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?
Ans: 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.