Class 12 English Notes Chapter 8 (Memories of Childhood) – Vistas Book
Detailed Notes with MCQs of Chapter 8, 'Memories of Childhood', from your Vistas textbook. This chapter is quite significant as it presents two distinct autobiographical accounts of childhood experiences related to social discrimination. Understanding these narratives is crucial, not just for your board exams, but also as they touch upon important social issues often relevant for government exam general awareness sections.
The chapter comprises two parts:
- 'The Cutting of My Long Hair' by Zitkala-Sa
- 'We Too Are Human Beings' by Bama
Both narratives explore the theme of prejudice and humiliation faced by individuals from marginalized communities, albeit in different cultural contexts.
Part 1: The Cutting of My Long Hair - Zitkala-Sa
- Author: Zitkala-Sa (meaning 'Red Bird' in Lakota Sioux), also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin. She was a Native American writer, editor, musician, teacher, and political activist of Yankton Dakota Sioux origin.
- Context: This extract is set in the late 19th century at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, USA. These schools aimed to forcibly assimilate Native American children into Euro-American culture, stripping them of their native identities, languages, and traditions.
- Summary:
- Arrival and Alienation: Zitkala-Sa describes her first day at the boarding school as bewildering and uncomfortable. The environment is cold, regimented, and alien. She feels uncomfortable in the tightly fitting clothes and stiff shoes, contrasting them with her soft moccasins.
- Regimentation and Dehumanization: The strict discipline, symbolized by the constant ringing of bells for every activity (eating, classes, etc.), makes her feel like part of a herd, not an individual. The formulaic way of eating (pulling chair, sitting, specific prayers) adds to her sense of confusion and loss of freedom. She observes the 'paleface' woman watching them critically.
- The Trauma of Hair Cutting: Her friend Judewin informs her that the authorities intend to cut their long, heavy hair. In Zitkala-Sa's culture, long hair was a symbol of pride and strength; only unskilled warriors captured by the enemy had their hair shingled (cut short). Short hair was worn by mourners, and shingled hair by cowards. This act represents a deep cultural violation and humiliation.
- Resistance and Defeat: Zitkala-Sa rebels silently. She hides in a dark room under a bed, trying to preserve her cultural identity. However, she is eventually found, dragged out kicking and screaming, tied firmly to a chair, and her thick braids are cut off.
- Loss of Spirit: The experience is deeply traumatic. She describes feeling the 'cold blades' gnawing off her hair and, symbolically, her spirit. She feels she has lost her individuality and dignity, comparing herself to "one of many little animals driven by a herder" and later feeling like a "wooden puppet." The act signifies the crushing of her spirit and the beginning of her forced assimilation.
- Key Themes:
- Cultural Oppression: The systematic attempt to erase Native American culture.
- Racism and Prejudice: The inherent belief in the superiority of the dominant white culture.
- Loss of Identity: The stripping away of cultural symbols (hair, clothing, language) leading to a loss of self.
- Resistance: Zitkala-Sa's act of hiding, though ultimately futile, represents a form of resistance against oppression.
- Trauma and Dehumanization: The psychological impact of forced assimilation and being treated as less than human.
- Exam Relevance: Focus on the symbolism of hair, the methods of forced assimilation, Zitkala-Sa's emotional response, and the themes of cultural conflict and loss of identity.
Part 2: We Too Are Human Beings - Bama
- Author: Bama, a Tamil Dalit feminist writer and teacher from Tamil Nadu, India. Her works focus on the experiences of Dalit women.
- Context: This extract describes Bama's childhood experience with the practice of 'untouchability' within the Indian caste system, specifically in her village in South India. Dalits (formerly referred to as 'untouchables') were considered outside the traditional four-fold caste system and faced severe discrimination.
- Summary:
- Childhood Innocence: Bama describes her leisurely walk home from school, usually taking much longer than necessary because she was fascinated by the everyday sights on the street – performing monkeys, street vendors, political activities, temples, etc. This establishes her initial innocence and observant nature.
- The Peculiar Incident: One day, she observes an elder from her own community walking strangely, holding a packet of vadai (a food item) by its string, extended away from his body, for the landlord. He holds it meticulously to avoid touching the packet directly.
- Initial Misinterpretation: Bama finds the sight comical. She thinks the elder is being deliberately funny or overly careful not to spill the contents. She narrates the incident with amusement to her elder brother, Annan.
- The Revelation of Untouchability: Annan is not amused. He explains the harsh reality: the elder belongs to a lower caste (Dalit community). The landlord is from an upper caste. Due to the practice of untouchability, the elder cannot touch the food meant for the landlord as it would be considered 'polluted'. The string is used to avoid direct contact.
- Impact and Anger: This explanation shatters Bama's innocence. She is filled with righteous anger, sadness, and a sense of rebellion. The memory of the incident is no longer funny but deeply humiliating and infuriating. She feels provoked and enraged by this dehumanizing practice. She understands the indignity forced upon her community.
- Annan's Advice - The Path Forward: Annan advises Bama that the only way to overcome this deep-rooted discrimination and gain respect is through education. He urges her to "Study with care, learn all you can." He believes that if they are learned and achieve success, discrimination will lessen, and people will seek them out.
- Action and Empowerment: Bama takes her brother's words to heart. She studies diligently, stands first in her class, and earns the respect of many people. Education becomes her tool for empowerment and fighting against injustice.
- Key Themes:
- Caste Discrimination and Untouchability: The brutal reality of social hierarchy and prejudice in India.
- Loss of Innocence: The painful transition from childhood unawareness to understanding social injustice.
- Human Dignity: The inherent right of every individual to be treated with respect, regardless of caste.
- Social Inequality: The disparity in power and privilege based on birth.
- Resistance through Education: The power of knowledge and learning as a means to challenge oppression and gain self-respect.
- Exam Relevance: Focus on the specific incident of the vadai packet, the explanation of untouchability, Bama's emotional transformation (amusement to anger), Annan's crucial advice, and the theme of education as empowerment.
Connecting the Two Narratives
- Common Ground: Both Zitkala-Sa and Bama recount childhood experiences where they encountered severe prejudice based on their community identity (race and caste, respectively). Both narratives highlight the humiliation, loss of dignity, and psychological pain inflicted by dominant social groups. Both show the protagonists becoming aware of the injustice inherent in their societies.
- Differences: The context (American Indian boarding school vs. South Indian village), the specific form of discrimination (racial assimilation vs. caste untouchability), and the immediate form of resistance differ (hiding vs. pursuing education).
Overall Significance: 'Memories of Childhood' powerfully illustrates how social structures and prejudice can deeply wound individuals, particularly children. It underscores the universal human need for dignity, identity, and equality, and explores different responses to oppression.
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) for Exam Preparation:
-
In Zitkala-Sa's culture, described in 'The Cutting of My Long Hair', shingled (short) hair was worn by:
a) Respected elders
b) Young brides
c) Mourners and cowards
d) Visiting dignitaries -
What was the primary purpose of schools like the Carlisle Indian Industrial School attended by Zitkala-Sa?
a) To provide advanced academic training
b) To preserve Native American culture
c) To forcibly assimilate Native American children into white culture
d) To train Native American children in traditional crafts -
Where did Zitkala-Sa hide to avoid having her hair cut?
a) In the chapel
b) Under a bed in a large, dark room
c) Behind the main school building
d) In the dormitory closet -
After her hair was cut, Zitkala-Sa felt her spirit had been:
a) Uplifted
b) Unchanged
c) Strengthened
d) Crushed -
In 'We Too Are Human Beings', what everyday item was the elder carrying for the landlord in a peculiar way?
a) A pot of water
b) A bag of rice
c) A packet of vadais (food)
d) Tools for farming -
Why did the elder hold the packet by its string, as observed by Bama?
a) To keep the food warm
b) Because the packet was too heavy
c) To avoid 'polluting' the food due to the practice of untouchability
d) To prevent the contents from spilling -
Who explained the real reason behind the elder's strange behaviour to Bama?
a) Her mother
b) Her teacher
c) Her elder brother, Annan
d) The landlord himself -
What was Bama's initial reaction upon seeing the elder carrying the packet?
a) Anger
b) Sadness
c) Fear
d) Amusement -
What advice did Annan give Bama as a way to overcome the indignities of caste discrimination?
a) To fight back physically
b) To leave the village
c) To study hard and achieve success through education
d) To ignore the discrimination -
Which common theme links the experiences of Zitkala-Sa and Bama in 'Memories of Childhood'?
a) The joy of school life
b) The challenges of learning a new language
c) Prejudice and discrimination faced by marginalized communities
d) The importance of traditional festivals
Answer Key:
- c) Mourners and cowards
- c) To forcibly assimilate Native American children into white culture
- b) Under a bed in a large, dark room
- d) Crushed
- c) A packet of vadais (food)
- c) To avoid 'polluting' the food due to the practice of untouchability
- c) Her elder brother, Annan
- d) Amusement
- c) To study hard and achieve success through education
- c) Prejudice and discrimination faced by marginalized communities
Study these notes carefully. Focus on the context, the specific incidents, the emotional impact on the narrators, and the underlying themes. Good luck with your preparation!