CBSE Class 12 English HOTs Memories of Childhood Set 02

Reading with Insight 

Question. The two accounts that you read above are based in two distant cultures. What is the commonality of theme found in both of them?
Answer: The common theme found in both accounts is the experience of marginalisation, discrimination and the struggle for dignity and identity within their respective cultures. Zitkala-Sa’s narrative reflects the oppression faced by Native American children in assimilationist boarding schools, where cultural practices were suppressed and identities were forcibly altered. Similarly, Bama’s account illustrates the pervasive caste-based discrimination and social exclusion experienced by the oppressed in India, highlighting the dehumanising treatment and denial of fundamental rights based on caste identity. Both narratives depict the profound impact of systemic oppression on individuals and communities and the resilience and determination to resist and assert their humanity and cultural pride despite adversity.

Question. 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?
Answer: Yes, I agree that injustice in any form often does not escape the notice of children. Children are naturally perceptive and sensitive to fairness and equality from a young age. They have an innate sense of right and wrong and can quickly discern when something is unjust or discriminatory, even if they might not fully understand the situation’s complexities. Children absorb information from their surroundings, which shapes their understanding of justice. Injustice affects them deeply, making them feel empathy for marginalised people and may motivate them to speak out or take action. Therefore, while children may not always have the vocabulary or understanding to articulate complex social issues, they are often aware of and affected by injustice in various forms. This awareness can plant the seeds of rebellion and resistance against oppression later in life. Both Zitkala-Sa and Bama were school-going children when they witnessed rough treatment being meted out to themselves or to their community. Zitkala-Sa revolts and resists the school authorities with all her might because she does not want her hair to be shingled like that of a coward. Bama too realises the oppression that her community faces. She puts up a fight by bringing laurels to her community through her scholarly achievements. Thus, she proves that she is superior to the so-called upper castes.

Question. 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?
Answer: Zitkala-Sa’s experience depicts the discrimination faced by Native American children in assimilationist boarding schools, where their cultural identity was systematically eroded. Forced to conform to Euro-American norms, Zitkala-Sa’s traumatic experience of having her long hair forcibly cut symbolises the loss of Indigenous identity and autonomy. In response, she became a vocal critic of such institutions, advocating for the preservation of Native American culture and rights. Bama’s experience as a victim of the caste system reflects the pervasive discrimination and social hierarchy present in Indian society of the 90s. Subject to caste-based oppression, Bama highlights the indignities of untouchability and social marginalisation faced by her kind. Her writing challenges caste norms and advocates for social justice and equality. Zitkala-Sa and Bama respond to their situations with resilience and activism, seeking to dismantle oppression systems and affirm their communities’ dignity and rights.

Exam Pattern Questions

Extract Based Questions

The first day in the land of apples was a bitter-cold one; for the snow still covered the ground, and the trees were bare. A large bell rang for breakfast, its loud metallic voice crashing through the belfry overhead and into our sensitive ears. The annoying clatter of shoes on bare floors gave no peace. The constant clash of harsh noises, with an undercurrent of many voices murmuring an unknown tongue, made a bedlam within which I was securely tied,

Question. Complete the sentence suitably. Zitkala-Sa is an account of ................... .
Answer: A Native American woman

Question. Where was she?
Answer: She was in the land of apples.

Question. ‘Murmuring an unknown tongue’ indicates
(a) innocence
(b) mystery
(c) separation
(d) disfamiliarity
Answer: (d) disfamiliarity

Question. What is the tone used by the author in the given extract?
Answer: The given extract indicates a tone of resentment and anger.

I did not open my mouth to answer. Then the steps were quickened and the voices became excited. The sounds came nearer and nearer. Women and girls entered the room. I held my breath and watched them open closet doors and peep behind large trunks. Someone threw up the curtains, and the room was filled with sudden light. What caused them to stop and look under the bed, I do not know. I remember being dragged out, though I resisted by kicking and scratching wildly. In spite of myself, I was carried downstairs and tied fast in a chair.

Question. Select the appropriate option. ‘......... sounds came nearer and nearer’ .........
(a) describes the increase in volume
(b) adds suspense and anxiety to readers
(c) reflects the thought of the speaker
(d) is a factual narrative
Answer: (b) adds suspense and anxiety to readers

Question. Complete the following sentence. ‘Inspite of myself’ suggests that the speaker was .......................... .
Answer: carried downstairs by force and she had no choice in the matter.

Question. What do you infer from the first line of the extract?
(a) It was her first day in school.
(b) She did not want to get caught.
(c) She was unprepared for the lesson.
(d) She preferred to be by herself.
Answer: (b) She did not want to get caught.

Question. State whether the statement given below is True or False. The speaker hoodwinked the people looking for her.
Answer: True

I cried aloud, shaking my head all the while until I felt the cold blades of the scissors against my neck, and heard them gnaw off one of my thick braids. Then I lost my spirit. Since the day I was taken from my mother I had suffered extreme indignities. People had stared at me. I had been tossed about in the air like a wooden puppet. And now my long hair was shingled like a coward’s! In my anguish I moaned for my mother, but no one came to comfort me. Not a soul reasoned quietly with me, as my own mother used to do; for now, I was only one of many little animals driven by a herder.

Question. Complete the following suitably. Zitkala-Sa’s description of her experience at the boarding school conveys a sense of abandonment through her portrayal of .................... .
Answer: isolation and lack of support from others along with a loss of identity.

Question. List any one emotion that Zitkala-Sa experiences as her hair is being cut.
Answer: When Zitkala-Sa’s hair was being cut, she felt anguished and a sense of loss.

Question. Select the suitable option to complete the following. The metaphor of being ‘tossed about in the air like a wooden puppet’ contribute to the reader’s understanding of Zitkala-Sa’s feelings of being .................... .
(a) forced to interact with others
(b) manipulated and controlled
(c) preached at and insulted
(d) made to exist like toy animals
Answer: (b) manipulated and controlled

Question. In what ways does the imagery of her ‘long hair shingled like a coward’s’ symbolise the erasure of Zitkala’s cultural heritage and the imposition of Western norms?
Answer: The imagery of her ‘long hair shingled like a coward’s’ symbolises the erasure and suppression of Zitkala’s Indigenous cultural heritage by portraying the cutting of her hair as an act of cultural violence and the imposition of Western ideals of appearance and behaviour.

Question. ‘Then I lost my spirit’. Choose the option that does not refer to ‘spirit’.
1. resolve 2. energy
3. determination 4. indifference
5. enthusiasm 6. will power
(a) 1, 2 and 5
(b) 2, 4 and 6
(c) 1, 3 and 6
(d) 3, 4 and 6
Answer: (b) 2, 4 and 6

Question. Choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
Statement 1: The author had been subjected to humiliation when she was separated from her mother.
Statement 2: Nobody was able to ease her distress and empathise with her.
(a) Statement 1 is true but Statement 2 is false.
(b) Statement 1 is false but Statement 2 is true.
(c) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 cannot be inferred from the passage.
(d) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 can be inferred from the passage.
Answer: (d) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 can be inferred from the passage.

Question. Why was shingling of hair so heartbreaking for the narrator?
Answer: The shingling of hair was heart-breaking because in the narrator’s community, shingled hair was worn by cowards.

Question. How would you describe the author’s tone when she says, “I was only one of many little animals driven by a herder”?
Answer: In the given line, the author’s tone is dismal.

Question. Select the option that best describes the literary device used in the extract.
(a) Simile
(b) Metaphor
(c) Allusion
(d) Imagery
Answer: (a) Simile

Question. Complete the sentence suitably. The narrators is feeling .................... in the extract.
Answer: despair

Question. What were the extreme indignities faced by the speaker?
Answer: The extreme indignities faced by the speaker included tight fitting clothes and shingling of her hair.

Question. Why was the speaker crying?
Answer: The speaker is crying because her long hair were shingled.

When I was studying in the third class. I hadn’t yet heard people speak openly of untouchability. But I had already seen, felt, experienced and been humiliated by what it is. I was walking home from school one day, an old bag hanging from my shoulder. It was actually possible to walk the distance in ten minutes. But usually, it would take me from half an hour to an hour to dawdle along watching all the fun and games that were going on. All the entertaining novelties and oddities in the streets, the shops, and the bazaar.

Question. The narrator was humiliated because .................... .
Answer: of the practice of caste differentiation and untouchability.

Question. The narrator dawdled along as she
(a) enjoyed looking at the various sights
(b) was getting late for school
(c) she didn’t like going home
(d) she loved haggling and shopping
Answer: (a) enjoyed looking at the various sights

Question. On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
I. The distance from school to home was very short.
II. She was feeling upset and so dawdling her way home.
(a) I can be inferred from the extract but II cannot
(b) II can be inferred from the extract but I cannot
(c) Both I and II cannot be inferred from the extract
(d) Both I and II can be inferred from the extract
Answer: (a) I can be inferred from the extract but II cannot

Question. The word ‘novelties’ in the passage most nearly means
(a) colourful trinkets
(b) wooden toys
(c) unique and interesting items
(d) expensive souvenirs
Answer: (c) unique and interesting items

Question. Complete the sentence suitably. ‘The entertaining novelties’ as stated in the passage include .................... .
Answer: a performing monkey, stunt performers and puppet shows among others.

Question. The word ‘dwadle’ as used in the extract means
(a) to push
(b) to walk slowly
(c) to delay deliberately
(d) to put off
Answer: (b) to walk slowly

Question. Why did Bama take so much time to reach her home?
Answer: Bama took so much time to reach her home as she seemed to stop at all stalls that fell between her school and home.

Question. What can be gathered about the speaker from the given lines?
Answer: From the given extract, it can be gathered that the speaker can get easily distracted from things.

My elder brother was there. I told him the story in all its comic detail. I fell about with laughter at the memory of a big man, and an elder at that, making such a game out of carrying the parcel. But Annan was not amused. Annan told me the man wasn’t being funny when he carried the package like that. He said everybody believed that they were upper caste and therefore must not touch us.

Question. Complete the sentence appropriately, with reference to the extract. Annan was not amused because .................... .
Answer: he knew the seriousness of the situation

Question. What is ‘story’ referred to in the extract is about?
Answer: The ‘story’ referred to in the extract is about the way in which the old man was carrying the food parcel

Question. ‘Making such a game’ means .................... .
(a) making a show
(b) making it entertaining
(c) doing something nonsensical
(d) playing a game
Answer: (b) making it entertaining

Question. What problem has been highlighted in the given extract?
Answer: The problem highlighted in the extract is of discrimination based on the caste system.

When I heard this, I didn’t want to laugh any more, I felt terribly sad. How could they believe that it was disgusting if one of us held that package in his hands, even though the vadai had been wrapped first in a banana leaf, and then parcelled in paper? I felt so provoked and angry that I wanted to touch those wretched vadais myself straightaway. Why should we fetch and carry for these people, I wondered. Such an important elder of ours goes meekly to the shops to fetch snacks and hands them reverently, bowing and shrinking, to this fellow who just sits there and stiffs them into his mouth. The thought of it infuriated me.

Question. ‘I felt terribly sad’. The reason for the speaker’s sadness is because it was an act of .................... .
Answer: discrimination

Question. ‘The thought of it infuriated me’ with reference to the above line, what do you think is the impact of the incident on the speaker?
(a) The speaker was sympathetic and helpless
(b) The speaker was angry and condemning
(c) The speaker was excited to see the incident
(d) The speaker was very impressed and motivated
Answer: (b) The speaker was angry and condemning

Question. Complete the sentence suitably. I wanted to touch those wretched Vadais myself The above expression indicates the speaker’s .................... .
Answer: defiance and urge to challenge the discriminatory practice

Question. Select the correct option from those given in brackets to fill in the blank. The incident made the speaker realise that the discrimination was ......... (dehumanising/elevating)
Answer: dehumanising