Memories of Childhood by Zitkla Sa and Bama-Class XII English-CBSE English for Class 12-Questions-Answers

 

L-8 Memories of Childhood by Zitkla Sa and Bama

 

Most Important Qs.

Q1. What did Judewin tell Zidkala-Sa? How did she react to it? OR  Why was Zidkala-sa terrified when Judewin told her that her hair would be cut short?

Ans. Judewin told Zidkala-Sa that her hair would be cut and she would have to submit (surrender/accept what they liked). She was very much terrified. She refused to submit and ran up the stairs to hide herself under a bed. 

Q2. What did Zidkala-Sa do when she heard that they were going to cut her long heavy hair?   Or How did Zidkala-Sa try to prevent the shingling of her hair?

Ans. As she came to know that they would cut her hair, she ran upstairs. She entered a room. She crawled down under a bed and hid herself. But they made a search and found her. Then they dragged her out to cut her hair.

Q3. Why was the girl tied to a chair in ‘Memories of Childhood’? ( Sample Paper) Or How was Zitkala’s hair cut?

Ans. She was Zidkala-Sa was tied to a chair because they were going to cut her hair. She cried a lot but of no use. At last, her hair was cut. Then she was untied from the chair.

Q4. How did  Zidkala-Sa feel after her hair had been cut?

Ans. She felt very much shocked. She loved her hair very much. She could not understand why they had cut her hair. She kept weeping for a long time. She missed her mother, but no one was there to comfort her.

Q5. Why did Bama take thirty to one hour to cover the distance from her school to home? Give reasons.

Ans. Bama’s home was at a short distance from school. It needed only ten minutes walk. But she spent thirty minutes to one hour to reach home. On the way, she enjoyed watching so many shops and plays like puppet or snake charmer’s show, etc.

Q6. When did Bama come to know the social discrimination (untouchability) faced by the people of her community?

Ans. Her brother told her that they belonged to a lower caste. The people of the upper caste think that anything like food packet, as she had seen, would be polluted if it was touched by them. It was then she came to know about social discrimination.

Q7. What advice did Annan offer Bama?

Ans. Annan advised Bama to work hard in her studies. In this way, she would be highly educated. Then she could progress and live a life full of respect and dignity.

Less Important Qs

Q1. “ I felt like sinking to the floor,” says Zidkala-Sa. When did she feel so and why?

Ans. Zidkala-Sa was marching in a line towards the dining room. But all of a sudden, her blanket was removed from her shoulders. She felt so much insulted that she felt like sinking to the floor.

Q2. Why did the landlord’s man ask Bama’s brother as to which street he lived in? What did he want to know from him?

Ans. The landlord’s man wanted to know the caste of Bama’s brother. He did not ask him directly but asked him indirectly as to which street he lived.  People of a particular caste or community lived in particular streets.

Q3. Why was the pale-faced woman staring at the narrator in the dining hall? Do you think it was her fault?

Ans. The pale-faced woman was staring at the narrator. It was because she committed a mistake in sitting on the chair. She did not know the rules that were to be followed at the dining table. It was her first day.

Q4. Why did the narrator not want to get her hair tonsured?

Ans. In Zitkala-Sa’s tribe, it was a part of their culture to have long and heavy hair, to wear a loose dress, and to cover shoulders with some cloth. So she did not want to get her hair tonsured.

Some more Qs to be added from Bama’s experience

Long Answer-Type Qs

Q1. What oppression and discrimination did Zitkala-sa and Bama experience during their childhood? How did they respond to their respective situations?

Or  What kind of discrimination did Bama and Zitkala experience? How did they respond to their respective situations?

                                                                 Or

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

Ans. Bama and Zitkala-sa were the victims of social discrimination, though at different places. Zitkala-Sa was forced to get her hair cut. The blanket from her shoulders was also removed. She was not allowed to wear a loose dress. She was helpless when her long and heavy hair was cut. She resisted hard, but of no use. Bama was a victim of untouchability in Tamil Nadu. One day, she saw an elder of her community carrying a food packet holding it by its strings. She was amused to see that, but her brother told her that the people of the upper caste believed that the food packet would be polluted if it was touched by them. He also told her that they belonged to a lower caste. That was the incident when she came to about untouchability.

Q2. Describe Zitkala Sa’s as a victim of social discrimination.

Ans. Zitkala-Sa was a native of America. The European settlers treated the natives of America very badly. They had made set rules which the natives had to follow. Zitkala-Sa was forced to get her hair cut. The blanket from her shoulders was also removed. She was not allowed to wear a loose dress. In Zitkala-Sa’s tribe, it was a part of their culture to have long and heavy hair, to wear a loose dress, and to cover shoulders with some cloth. She was helpless when her long and heavy hair was cut. She resisted hard, but of no use.

Q3. Describe Bama as a victim of social discrimination.

Ans. Bama was a victim of untouchability in Tamil Nadu. The people of her community were not allowed to touch the food of the upper caste people. They were not allowed to take water from their well, to enter the temple also. One day, she saw an elder of her community carrying a food packet holding it by its strings. She was amused to see that, but her brother told her that the people of the upper caste believed that the food packet would be polluted if it was touched by them. He also told her that they belonged to a lower caste. That was the incident when she came to about untouchability.