MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD notes

                             MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD 

1. 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. A small bell rang and all the students dragged their chairs. The next bell rang and all the others seated themselves. Suddenly she heard a manly voice from one corner of the room. The man stopped speaking and with the ringing of the bell for the third time all of them picked up their forks and knives and began eating. Being a natural being, Zitkala Sa could not digest the meaning of these polished manners which were alien to her culture.

2. 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. It was considered humiliating to have ones hair shingles. 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.

3. How did Zitkala-Sa try to resist the attempt of the authorities to shingle her hair?

The first day itself, her friend, Judewin, informed her about the decision of the “paleface woman” to shingle their heavy tresses. Zitkala was baffled by this idea because she had grown up with her mother's belief that only mourners and cowards had short hair. Having left with no choice, Judewin resigned to her fate, unlike Zitkala, who intended to rebel till the time she could.

The brave girl tried her level best to save her tresses from the insult of being shingled. She hid under a bed in an empty dark room, but she was “dragged out” and “carried” to the chair where she was “tied” until her hair were cut mercilessly. Relentlessly moaning for her mother, she kicked wildly and cried out loud, continuously shaking her head in resistance. However, overpowered by “the enemy”, she soon gave up and begrudgingly accepted her pitiable fate as “one of many little animals” driven by a European herder.

4. Why did Bama took an hour or half to reach home instead of ten minute?

Bama took an hour or half to reach home instead of ten minute as she used to watch the roadside fun and games. The entertaining novelties like the performing mankey, snake charmer’s display of snake, marathon cycling, dry fish stall by the statue of Gandhi, street play or puppet show used to pull her stand still on her way back home.

5. 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 belonging to Dalit community. 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. This incident made Bama laugh in the beginning, but later she was driven herself into serious thoughts about class differences and inequality.

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. Bama’s elder brother advised her to surpass this inequality through education. He believed that although people do not get to decide the family they are born into, they can outwit the indignities inflicted upon them by others if they are well read and successful.

Annan’s advice left a profound impact on Bama. Following his advice, she studied hard and subsequently stood first in her class. This not only helped her make many friends but made her strong as well, so that no one could dare to suppress her under any circumstance.

7. 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 missioneries 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. Zitkala-Sa’s hair was “shingled” at the order of Europeans who considered themselves superior to the Native Americans. 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.

8.  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. 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. For Zitkala-Sa, 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.

9. 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. 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 disapproval