CBSE Class 12 English Memories of Childhood Notes Set B

About The Author

Jitkala-Sa (February 22, 1876-January 26, 1938) birth name Gertrude Simmons was an American who strove to expand opportunities for native Americans and to safeguard their culture. She went to a Quacker Missionary School but she was uncomfortable with the school’s harsh discipline and its curriculum. It was devised to teach Euro- American ways and history instead of native American culture.

Bama is the pen-name of a Tamil Dalit woman from a Roman Catholic family. She has published three main works : an autobiography, ‘Karukku’, 1992 a novel, ‘Sangati’, 1994; and a collection of short stories, ‘Kisumbukkaaran’, 1996. The following excerpt has been taken from ‘Karukku’, ‘Karukku’ means ‘palmyra’ leaves, which with their serrated edge on both sides, are like doubleedged swords. By a felicitous pun, the Tamil word ‘Karukku’, containing the word ‘Karu’, embryo or seed means freshness, newness.

Summary

1. The Cutting of My Long Hair

The first day in the school was a nippy cold one with snow all around. The narrator recalls that the first day in the land of apples was a nippy cold one with the ground still covered in snow. As the sound of the large metallic bell assaulted the sensitive ears of the narrator, she understood that it was time for breakfast. The harsh racket caused by the clattering noise of the shoes, mixed with an incomprehensible murmur, agitated the narrator to the extent that in spite of putting up a good fight all hope of freedom seemed lost. On her way to the dining room, while standing in a line of girls, the narrator could not help but notice some of the other Indian girls. They wore dresses, which clung to their body and stiff shoes. The small girls had their hair shingled. The narrator felt ashamed because she did not have her blanket. However, it was the group of other Indian girls, who wore tight fitting clothes that seemed immodest to the narrator. Once in the dining room, the narrator heard the sound of a small bell being tapped. At this moment, each of the pupils pulled out a chair from under the table. Thinking that they could sit now, the narrator quickly slipped into hers. Seeing all the pupils still standing, the narrator started to rise. However, a second bell was sounded and the pupils sat on their chairs. A man’s voice was heard muttering something at one end of the hall.

The narrator’s eyes wandered to look for the man, she noticed that other pupils were sitting with their heads bowed. As she looked around narrator’s eyes met the palefaced women’s eyes, who had a stern countenance. The man ceased to speak and a third bell was sounded, which was an indication that they could start eating. Overwhelmed by the ‘eating by formula’, and her hopeless situation, the narrator bursts into tears. As the day progressed, narrator’s friend Judewin who knew few words of English, warned narrator that she had overheard palefaced woman talk-the cutting of her and other Indian girls’ heavy long hair. The narrator felt distraught because she remembered her mother to used say that only warriors captured by the enemy, mourners and cowards wore shingled or short hair. Judewin and most of other girls were willing to submit. But the narrator rebelled. As the moment of cutting of her long hair neared the narrator, unnoticed by everyone, fled the scene. Trying not to make any noise she moved slowly and quietly up the stairs looking for a place to hide. She walked into a large room with beds.

The room was quite dark and a perfect place for the narrator to hide. She crawled under bed in the corner farthest from the door. However, soon she heard footsteps and loud voice in the hall, calling out her name. Even though the narrator did all that she could to not get caught, the palefaced woman found her dragged her out and carried her downstairs. She resisted with all her might, kicking and scratching wildly, but it was all in vain. Tied fast in a chair, crying and shaking her head, she felt the cold scissors against her neck as they cut her hair. The narrator say in the end she had faced many indignities since she was taken from her mother. When her hair was cut, she needed her mother to comfort her, but no one came. The day her long hair was cut, the narrator had lost her spirit.

2. We Too are Human Beings

The narrator recalls the time when she was studying in third standard. She had not heard of untouchability yet, but she had experienced and humiliated by it. Talking about her childhood, she remembers taking half an hour to one hour to reach home from school, which was merely ten minutes walking distance. She took so much time because on her way back, she stopped to watch the things happening around her. The fun, games, entertaining novelties, oddities in the street, the bazaar, etc. appealed to the narrator a lot. There were so many amazing things to observe, for instance, the performing monkey, the snake charmer and his snake, the cyclist who had been peddling for three consecutive days. She saw Pongal offerings being cooked at Maariyaata temple, heard speeches given by politicians watched street plays, puppet shows, the cooling of coffee, etc.

The market, the narrator noticed, Memories of Childhood 301 was flooded with seasonal fruits and vegetables. A number of desserts and snacks being prepared in sweet shop tempted the narrator. Watching all this while coming back from school delayed her. One day, the narrator saw the landlord seated on a sacking spread over a stone ledge watching the proceedings as the people of her caste worked hard to separate grain from the straw. The narrator found it humorous that muzzled cattles were being driven round and round by the men. She then saw an elderly man from her village coming from the direction of the bazaar. The big man was carrying a small packet of vadai, in such a way that the narrator almost burst out laughing. He held out the packet by its string and tried not to touch it.

The man went to the landlord, bowed low and offered him the packet of vadais with both hands, neither of which touched the landlord’s food. When the narrator finally reached home, she narrated the story to her elder brother and started laughing. However, Annan did not laugh. He explained to her that people like the landlord considered themselves belonging to upper caste. For them, people like the elderly man, her brother, she herself and others from her community belonged to the lower caste; they were untouchables in the eyes of the society. To the people of the upper caste, touching an untouchable would mean the former has been polluted. That is why the elderly man did not hold the packet of vadais from the bottom. Hearing all this, the narrator was furious that such an important elder of the community was reduced to doing such petty and odd jobs. She thought whether the upper caste people were so devoid of human feelings that they did not consider other lower caste people too are human beings. Annan then advised her that since they were born into this community, the only way they could claim respect and honour was by studying hard and making progress. He told the narrator to learn as much as she could.

If she was always ahead of everybody in her lessons, people would come to her on their own and attach themselves to her. Therefore, it was important for her to work hard and learn. Those words said by Annan made a deep impact on the narrator’s mind. She studied with great effort and stood first in class. Since she was a bright student many people became her friends, just as Annan had said.

About the Authors

Zitkala-Sa
Zitkala-Sa (1876–1938) pronounced Zitkála-ša, which translates to “Red Bird” also known by the missionary-given name Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, was a Sioux(Yankton Dakota) writer, editor, musician, teacher and political activist. She wrote several works chronicling her youthful struggles with identity and conflict between the majority culture and her Native American heritage.
Zitkala-Sa’s articles in the Atlantic Monthly included “Impressions of an Indian Childhood” and “School Days of an Indian Girl”. All these works were autobiographical in nature, describing in great detail her early experiences with the dominant American culture. In her well-known American Indian Stories, she expresses a literary account of her tension between wanting to follow the traditions of the Yankton Dakota while being excited about learning to read and write, and being tempted by assimilation.

Bama
Bama was born in 1958 as Faustina Mary Fatima Rani in a Roman Catholic family from Puthupatti in the then Madras State. Bama’s grandfather had converted from Hinduism to Christianity. Bama’s ancestors were from the Dalit community and worked as agricultural labourers. Bama had her early education in her village. She wrote on her childhood experiences which formed the basis for her first novel, Karukku published in 1992.When the novel was published, Bama was ostracised from her village for portraying it in poor light and was not allowed to enter it for the next seven months. Bama’s novels focus on caste and gender discrimination.
They portray caste-discrimination practised in Christianity and Hinduism. Bama’s works are seen as embodying Dalit feminism and are famed for celebrating the inner strength of a woman.

Theme
Children may be young and innocent but they cannot tolerate injustice if they are determined. The lesson ‘Memories of Childhood’ is a portrayal of two autobiographical accounts. One by American Indian woman and the second by a Tamil Dalit writer. Both stories highlight the women’s oppression, class barriers, racialism, discrimination and exploitation that tend to pull them down. Both the stories advocate the statement that seeds of rebellion are sown early in life.
Children may be young and innocent but they cannot tolerate injustice if they are determined.

Justification of the Title

Justificatin of the Main Title ‘Memories of Childhood’

The title is well suited as the extract presents autobiographical episodes of two different girls living at distant places. Both the women belong to the marginalized communities, who look back on their childhood , and reflect on their relationship with the mainstream culture. Both were victims of prejudice and oppression. They experienced indignation, sadness and outrage and were deeply affected by their unpleasant experiences of childhood. Both were strong women who fought against injustice. However, they both used the power of the pen to fight oppression.
Justification of the Sub-Titles ‘The Cutting of my Long Hair’

Zitkala-Sa was a Native American. She was taken away from her mother forcibly because the white people wanted the native Indians to adopt their culture. Zitkala revolted the way the Indian girls were forced to wear dresses in an immodest way. She was shocked to know that the school authorities were going to cut her long hair because in her community shingled hair were worn only by cowards. She hid herself under a bed in a large room. But when she was caught, she resisted by kicking and scratching. But she could do nothing when they pinned her to a chair and cut off her hair. But her spirit could not be suppressed.The women in her community were very particular about their hair. The loss of her hair was the worst indignity that she went through. The title is thus apt.

Justification of the Sub-Title ‘We too are Human Beings’

On the other hand, Bama was a low-caste girl. She saw the upper caste people showing discrimination against lower caste people. They could not touch food and other items of the upper caste people. They had to work for them and bow their heads. Her spirit too revolted against this injustice. She felt terribly sad and agitated. She could not understand this inhuman treatment since she strongly believed that all are human beings. She wanted honour for all. Her brother Annan told her that she could do away with these indignities if she worked hard. Bama studied hard and stood first in her class. Many people became her friends. The title aptly illustrates her journey compelling people to respect her.

Message
In ‘The Cutting of My Long Hair’, the author, Zitkala- Sa struggled and triumphed against the prevailing prejudices against native American culture and women. Her works criticised the dogma prevailing in society. She brought to light the evils of oppression. In ‘We too are Human Beings’, the author, Bama, has brought to light the social oppression caused by the caste system in Indian society. She was spared the ignominy of caste oppression as she followed the advice of her brother to study well and stay on top of her class. This ensured respect for her and she was spared the pain of discrimination.

Summary

PART–I: ‘The Cutting of my Long Hair’
The first part deals with the account of Gertrude Simmons, an American Indian, who fought against the prejudices of the society against American Indians. She vividly describes her experiences on her first day at the Carlisle Indian School. The customs and rules of the place were strange and new to her. She was forced to wear tight fitting clothes and discard her soft mocassins. All this was considered undignified in her culture. At breakfast, she was embarrassed as she did not know the routine of the place. When she came to know from her friend, Judewin, who knew a little English, that they were planning to cut her hair, she protested by hiding under the bed, even though she knew it was futile. In her culture, cowards and mourners wore shingled hair .When she was caught, she resisted by kicking and scratching. She could do nothing when they tied her in a chair and cut off her hair. But her spirit could not be suppressed. She felt like an animal driven by a herder.

PART–II: ‘We too are Human Beings’
The second part is an excerpt from the autobiography ‘Karukku’ by Bama – a Tamil Dalit. She was in her third grade when she becomes aware of the indignities that the lower caste people face. It took Bama ten minutes to reach home after school but she would dawdle along, watching all the entertaining novelties and oddities in the streets. She would gaze at the shops and the bazaar enjoying the street scenes and so she would take at least an hour to reach home. One day, Bama saw an elderly man of her street carrying a packet of ‘Vadais’ by the strings and walking in a peculiar manner, holding the parcel away from his body. Bama found his manner of carrying the parcel very funny. Later, her brother explained to her that the incident was not at all funny as she had initially thought, but very pathetic. The people from the lower caste were treated as untouchables. The higher caste people believed that if the lower caste people touched the parcel it would be polluted. That’s why the elder was carrying it in that manner. This provoked and angered Bama. The lower caste people had to work for the higher caste and bow their heads. Her spirit revolted against this injustice. She felt terribly sad and agitated. She could not understand this inhuman treatment. Her brother Annan told her that she could do away with these indignities if she worked hard. Bama studied and stood first in her class. Many people became her friends.

CHAPTER IN A NUTSHELL
- Two women–marginalized communities, caste and racial discrimination – made to feel lesser than mainstream culture – deep sense of alienation – seed to rebellion sowed in early life – injustice of any form not escape notice of children/compulsory physical and social conformation breaks spirit.
- Who was ‘Zitkala Sa’? Pen-name of Gertrude Simmons Bonnin–American Indian in late 19th century–suffered racial discrimination.
- Who was Bama? Pen-name of Tamil Dalit woman–Faustima Mary Fatima Rani–suffered neglect, pain, poverty, oppression by higher castes in India.
- The cutting of my long hair.
Zitkala-Sa’s first day in school, cold, snowfall, students wore stiff shoes and tightly fitting clothes, small girls wore sleeved aprons and shingled hair – meals eaten by procedure/formula, (a) 1st bell – chairs drawn from under table, (b) 2nd bell – all sat, (c) 3rd bell – began eating – a warning, friend had hear of cutting their long hair, had heard unskilled warriors – shingled their enemy’s hair, in her community, shingled hair was worn by cowards and short hair by mourners.

Struggle in Vain
Crept upstairs in 3-bedded large curtained room, crawled under bed, dragged out and hair shingled, felt helpless and miserable, like animal driven by herder. We too are human beings – in 3rd class not heard about untouchability openly but felt, experienced and humiliated.

Bama’s usual routine while returning from School

Took ten minutes to reach home, watched farmers threshing, entertaining novelties – oddities in streets, performing monkeys; snake charmer, cyclist, Maarymata temple and bell ringing, wild lemur in cages, selling needles, clay beads and instruments for cleaning ears mundane tasks like waiters cooling coffee, people cutting onion, one day saw elderly main carrying vadai/green banana bhajji, holding by string, not touching it, bowed low and extended packet to landlord which amused Bama and narrated to brother who revealed painful fact about their community being discriminated against – once brother on his way from library, followed by landlord’s man who asked where he stayed to show his caste.

Bama is angry:
Rebellious attitude exhibited – brother urged her to study, make progress and overcome discrimination, Bama did well and became popular and earned honor and respect.

Memories of Childhood
By Zitkala-Sa And Bama
Gist of The Lesson –

Part - I

The first part deals with the account of Simmons, An American Indian, who fought against the prejudices of the society against American Indians. She describes her experiences on her first day at the Carlisle Indian School. The customs and rules of the place were strange and new to her. She was forced to wear clothes that were considered undignified in her culture at breakfast, she was embarrassed as she did not know the routine of the place. When she comes to know that they were planning to cut her hair, she protests by hiding under the bed, even though she knew it was futile. In her culture, it was the cowards whose hair was shingled. She felt like an animal driven by a herder.

PART - II

The second part is an excerpt from the autobiography ‘Karukku’ by Bama – a Tamil Dalit. She was in her third grade when she becomes aware of the indignities that the lower caste people face. She happens to see an elderly person from her community abase himself in front of a higher caste person as he was not supposed to touch the food that he was ordered to fetch for the landlord. Later, her brother explains to her that the incident was not at all funny as she initially thought, but very pathetic. The people from the lower caste were treated as untouchables. She was deeply saddened and decided to study hard to overcome discrimination. 

Summary
Two people recall their childhood when they were made victims of social inequalities. Zitkala Sa was a Red Indian. She was admitted in the Carlisle Indian School run by the British. The school authorities imposed a lot of rules on the students, some for the students' good and some to show the British superiority and some for fun.
But Zitkala could not agree with all this; she could not think of allowing her long hair to be cut. She didn't like to wear the short skirts, stiff shoes, uniforms... But she had to. When the authorities attempted to cut her hair short, Zitkala ran away and hid under a bed. But she had to submit. They tied her to a chair and cut her hair. Another custom that she didn’t agree to was the ceremonial eating which she calls ‘eating by formula.’ The basic human way of eating doesn’t involve any rules. Eat when you are hungry is the natural way. But the British superiority wanted the people here to dance to their senseless tunes. There were bells to take the chair out, sit on the chair, pray to God, take a spoon, take a fork… Zitkala did not know of these rules. When the first bell sounded she thought it was time to eat. She sat down and initiated eating .
Similar was the case with Bama, an Indian writer from Tamil Nadu. She too was a human being but the richer and privileged society didn't consider her so. She was a happy girl but once she witnessed a scene of discrimination. A much respected elder of her society was once made the victim of untouchability. This infuriated her. She wanted to react. She knew the only weapon to fight ostracism/discrimination/oppression was acquiring equal status through education.

Zitkala Sa
- An American native girl
- She was admitted in the Carlisle Indian School (Boarding) in Pennisilvanya, USA
- The school had a set of strict rules and they were:
- Uniform dresses
- Shingled/short hair
- Short skirts of girls
- English was to be spoken and no other local languages were permitted.
- Shoes and moccasins were to be worn for school and for hostel.
- There were other rules for eating as well: There was a prayer to be recited before meals and frequent ringing of bells controlled their action.
- But Zitkala was not at all willing to follow these rules/manners/customs. She decided to fight back but just failed.
- Zitkala knew that the authorities were going to cut her long hair. She could not think of her hair cut becasue:
- In her tradition, shingled/shortened hair was a mark of shame, defeat and extreme inferiority.
- It was a punishment given to unskilled warriors of her tribe.
- It was also a custom imposed on "mourners," a group of people who cried at funerals.
- It was a punishment given to cowards as well.
- Zitkala Sa ran away but she was caught and her hair was shingled. She ran away as a coward, she was caught like an unskilled warrior, she cried as a mourner!

Bama
- A Tamil girl. She belonged to a group that was once considered "untouchable."
- She was a very happy girl in her childhood but one day she saw the practice of untouchability in front of her eyes:
- She was coming from school one evening
- A threshing fileld was set up and many people of her group were working in the threshing field. They were working for the landlord.
- The landlord himself was present there, watching the work.
- In the meanwhile she saw one of the "untouchables" from her group approaching the landlord with a parcel of vadais from a shop.
- She as usual enjoyed this sight and began to laugh at the man because:
- The man was healthy and stout.
- He was carrying a tiny parcel far away from his body to avoid contact.
- She wondered why he couldn't hold it closer!
- The man came very close and gave the vadai to the landlord. The landlord began to eat it.
- Her childhood was ruffled, disturbed.
Zitkala Sa, the Red Indian
1. What do you know about Carlisle Indian School? Carlisle Indian School was a school run by the British to educate the Red Indians and the British students. It had strict rules and regulations for all students. The students had to wear uniforms, girls had to wear short hair and skirts and tight shoes. The eating style also was different there. There were bells before eating. There was a prayer before eating.
2. How was Zitkala Sa different from the other native American students? Zitkala Sa was a native American girl. She had great love for her tradition and culture. She was proud of her beliefs. She held closer to her heart these beliefs and felt hurt when the rest of the girls followed the foreign culture without any hesitation.
3. What does Zitkala Sa mean by, 'this eating by formula? When Zitkala Sa was admitted in the Carlisle Indian School, she faced a number of rules the students had to follow. One of them was the manner of eating. There were three bells to be tapped before the students were allowed to start eating. Being a natural being, Zitkala Sa could not digest the meaning of these polished manners which were alien to her culture.
4. What was it that the school authorities had failed to recognize in Zitkala Sa? The authorities of the Carlisle Indian School were colonists and therefore could not understand the feelings of the people they ruled over. They believed that it was their duty to impart their civilization to the uncivilized native Americans but failed to understand their attachment to their own culture and traditions.
5. Why was Sa against the idea of cutting her long hair? Zitkala Sa’s mother had taught her that shingled hair was worn by mourners, cowards, and unskilled warriors caught in war. She had a great deal of love for her traditions and her hair. For her the hair meant much closer to her culture. To save her identity, to uphold her civilization and pride Sa fought against the attempts of the authorities to cut her hair.
6. Bring out the extreme orthodox, blind racial beliefs that Zitkala Sa had held close to her heart.
7. In which way did Zitkala Sa deserve the shame of getting her hair shingled?

Bama, an Indian writer
1. How was Bama's innocent childhood ruffled up by the sight of an elderly man handing the parcel to the landlord at the threshing-field? Bama was an innocent girl. She lived in a discriminated society with landlords above them and her community running errands for them. The first instance of class discrimination Bama experienced in her life was the incident of an elderly man of her caste carrying food for the landlord. The man had to carry the packet in the most shameful manner, holding the hand away from his body as a mark of untouchability.
2. What made Bama laugh at the sight of the elderly man handing the parcel to the landlord at the threshing-field? Bama saw an elderly man of her society carrying a very small and light parcel to the landlord. The way the man held the parcel with its strings, the special respect the man showed towards the parcel and the way he offered it to the landlord without supporting it from the bottom made Bama laugh.
3. What did Bama feel when her Annan explained to her why the village elder had to carry the parcel in a funny manner? When Bama saw the elderly man from her society carrying a small parcel of eatable to the landlord, she laughed a lot but when her Annan told it was a scene of caste discrimination, she could not laugh any more. She grew angry with this social evil and wanted to touch the eatable herself and make it dirty. She felt helpless about her being untouchable and angry with the rich people who considered her so.
4. “Because they had scraped four coins together…” What did Bama mean? According to Bama the cause of the rich people’s superior attitude and behavior is the possession of money. Money makes a man feel superior over the poor and it makes him blind. While the ordinary people have a little wealth in their hands, the rich ones have a lot.
5. What was the point of the question raised by the landlord’s man to Bama’s elder brother, “On which street do you live?” The people of Bama’s time believed in untouchability and social discrimination. Some people were considered privileged while the majority of the others suffered from the shame of being backward class. People gave respect or disrespect to each other on the basis of caste, religion and being rich and poor. The landlord’s men wanted to know if Bama’s brother was touchable or untouchable and therefore he asked where he lived.
6. How did Bama fight against discrimination in her life? Bama lived in a discriminated society with the evils of untouchability playing havoc. When she was aware of it Bama determined to fight it in her way. She was told by her Annan that education only could liberate her from being looked down by the society. Bama studied in a frenzy and stood top in the class and fought the class discrimination.
7. Why was the narrator taking an hour or half to reach home instead of ten minute?
The narrator was taking an hour or half to reach home as she used to watch the roadside fun and games. The entertaining novelties like the performing monkey, snake charmer’s display of snake, marathon cycling, dried fish stall by the statue of Gandhi, street play or puppet show used to pull her stand still on her way back home.
8. How had Zitkala – Sa been subjected to extreme indignities?
Since the day she was taken from her mother Zitkala had suffered many indignities. She was stared at and tossed like a wooden puppet. Her long hair was shingled like a coward’s. In her pain when she cried for her mother no one came forward to comfort her. She was just like one of animals driven by a herder.
9.What did Judewin tell the narrator? What was the effect?
Judewin who could understand a little English informed the narrator that the strange woman intended to cut their long hair. But the narrator had learnt from her mother that the enemy cut the hair of the unskilled warrior when they are captured and among their people mourners wear short hair and cowards shingled hair. So, she decided to resists. She hid herself under a bed in a dark room.
10. How did Bama come to know about untouchability?
Bama saw an elder carrying a packet containing food with its string and without touching the packet gave it to the landlord. She found it funny and told her elder brother about it. Her elder brother told her that the man who handed over the food packet was a low caste- an untouchable. Then she came to know about untouchability.
11. Why did Bama study so hard?
Bama’s brother who was studying at a University told her because they were born in a low caste they are deprived of honour and dignities. He advised her to study and make progress to throw away the indignities. The words of her brother left a deep impression in her mind and she studied hard.

Long Questions and Answers

1. Power leads to dominance and reaches oppression and ends up in rebellion and failure. How is this statement true in the case of the rebellion raised by Zitkala Sa and Bama?
One of the most irrevocable human tendencies is domination. Everyone wants to impose some sort of dominance over the other and if one doesn’t do so it is because he is weaker than the others or that he is educated. Both Zitkala Sa and Bama lived in two opposite ends of the world yet both experienced this social evil in their early life. The Red Indians were the true inhabitants of America. With the discovery of this new continent the European world converted it into their mines for resources. The European colonists considered educating the rest of the world to be the white man’s burden. They established schools for the backward and taught them their culture, their language, their whims, their fancies, their funs but failed to respect the values of the people they oppressed and ruled. The Red Indians too had their own sacred culture and practices. They considered cutting of one’s hair equal to death but all the students were forced to get their hair cut. The British cut short the decency of dressing and curbed personal freedom by imposing uniform system. They brought in rules for eating. The same was the case with the privileged landlords of India because they were richer than the peasants, the landlords restricted their freedom. The poor peasants had to accept their state of being untouchables in the public. The mortification that this status brought to them was beyond sheer shame. The blindness that extreme possession of power brings makes anyone do the worst activities including suppressing the weak ones. But this power is always temporary. One day the weaker ones will gather power of resistance and fight back the oppression.

2. The two accounts that you read in The Memories of Childhood are based in two distant cultures. What is the commonality of theme found in both of them?
The autobiographical accounts included in the “Memories of Childhood” are by two women from socially marginalized sections in two distant cultures of the world. One highlights the evil practice of racial prejudice while the other talks about the hierarchical Indian caste system and untouchability. The first part traces how the author, a Native American, was victimized at the hands of the European staff of her boarding school. The second account gives a picture of the hardships and humiliations faced by the Indian ‘Dalits’ from the eyes of a third standard student. Although they are set in different cultures, both the stories share a similar theme. They show the sufferings and oppression faced by their respective communities. The practice of social stratification is rebuked by both the authors. Zitkala-Sa’s hair was “shingled” at the behest of Europeans who considered themselves superior to the Native American. On the other hand, Bama witnessed untouchability being practiced openly where people from ‘lower castes’ were considered impious and were not even allowed to touch the people from the upper castes. From a very young age, both Zitkala-Sa and Bama start protesting and resisting in their own ways.

3. 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?
The world has been gripped in the web of stratification, oppression and discrimination at many levels. While the adults have grown used to this, the innocence of childhood does not understand hatred and prejudice. However, their keen observant eye is capable enough to notice any form of injustice and discrimination. When subjected to such evil practices, their sensitive minds and hearts are deeply affected. Perplexed, they often resist in their own simple ways. In the lesson, the two girls describe their encounters with inequality. Zitkala-Sa, in the very first line reports that her first day in school was “bitter-cold”. For her, it not only describes the weather, but also represents the atmosphere of the boarding school. The disciplined students of the school and the European staff were unfriendly or “cold” towards her, and the vain struggle against her hair being shingled was a “bitter” experience for her. On the other hand, Bama walked on her brother's footsteps to protest against the practice of untouchability through education. She studied wholeheartedly to reach a position where people would forget her “caste” and feel proud to befriend her.

4. 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?
While Bama was subjected to caste discrimination and untouchability, Zitkala-Sa was a victim of racial prejudice. Zitkala-Sa was packed off to a European missionary school where, being a local tribal, she was looked down upon. Her precious, long and heavy hair, which was her pride, was shingled. She tried to resist with all her might but, ultimately, she was forced to give up her struggle. On the contrary, Bama, who witnessed the malpractice of untouchability, decided to blur the difference of castes with the light of education. Under the guidance and supervision of her elder brother, she judiciously utilized her anger and sense of rebellion to study hard and outwit any form of prejudice. She understood that a social change would be possible only if these so-called lower castes make an effort to study and, thus, make progress. It can easily be noticed that though both the protagonists tried to protest against the injustice they faced, the paths they chose are remarkably different. Through this journey of rebellion, Zitkala-Sa is forced to give in; on the contrary, Bama successfully implemented her brother’s advice to finally top in her class. While Zitkala-Sa continued to rebel by criticizing the evils of racial prejudice through her works, Bama opted for a more subtle way to carry forth her silent yet effective remonstration.