CBSE Class 12 English Memories of Childhood Notes Set 04

About the Authors

Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (1876 - 1938), with the pen name 'Zitkala-Sa', was a Native American writer, editor, musician, teacher and political activist. She wrote several works chronicling her youthful struggles with identity and pulls between the majority culture and her Native American heritage.

Faustina Mary Fatima Rani (1958-Present), with the pen name 'Bama', is a Tamil, Dalit feminist, teacher and novelist. She rose to fame with her autobiographical novel Karukku (1992), which chronicles the joys and sorrows experienced by Dalit Christian women in Tamil Nadu.

Memories of Childhood

Chapter Sketch

The chapter is divided into two parts, containing autobiographical episodes from the lives of two women from marginalised communities. The stories belong to their childhood and describes how they were treated by those in ‘assumed’ power or authority.

The first part by Zitkala-Sa is a chapter taken from her book ‘American Indian Stories’ and describes the oppression she faced at the Carlisle Indian School. Her hair, the symbol of her culture, was taken away from her.

The second part by Bama is an excerpt taken from ‘Karukku’. It relates to her first experience with untouchability.

About the Characters

The Cutting of My Hair

• Zitkala Sa: She is a young girl who is taken to an English school away from her culture and land. She feels strange and powerless in the institute. Her dignity is stripped off with the cutting of her hair.
• Judewin: She is Zitkala-Sa’s friend who warns her about the cutting of her hair. She seems to be a submissive girl who gives in to the injustice.
• Other Native American Girls and Boys: These are other children who have been displaced from their native lands and cultures. They depict how the white people forced many communities to accept their system.
• The paleface women and other white people: They are representative of the oppressive structures who forced other communities to forget their own cultures in favour of the white culture.

We too are Human Beings

• Bama: She is a young and innocent school going girl who observes her surroundings keenly. When she gets to know about untouchability, she had a strong reaction and decides to fight against it.
• Annan: He is Bama’s older brother. Her tells Bama about untouchability and how she can overcome the stigma associated with it.
• Other Characters: Old man carrying the vadais as symbol of the stigma associated with untouchability. Others people represent those who belong to the ‘higher caste’.

Summary of the Chapter

The chapters comprises two excerpts taken from different works of two different authors. These works are combined under a common theme of unjust treatment to marginalised communities.

I-The Cutting of My Hair

The Land of Apples
The story started with Zitkala-Sa remembering that her first day in the land of apples was unpleasant. It was time for breakfast as the bell had rung. A white woman placed them in the line of girls who were marching into the dining room. The narrator noticed that they were Native American girls who wore tightly fitted clothes and had short hair. But she was feeling very uncomfortable in the school dress.

Eating by Formula
In the hall, a small bell was tapped and every student pulled out a chair from under the table. Zitkala-Sa did the same and sat down. But she was the only one sitting. Just as she began to rise, a second bell was rung and everybody sat down. Then, she heard a man praying while the students sat with their heads bent. As Zitkala-Sa was glancing at the surroundings, she saw that a white woman was looking at her. After the man stopped praying, a third bell was tapped and everybody started eating with a knife and fork. However, Zitkala-Sa started crying.

Importance of Her Hair
Later, Judewin told Zitkala-Sa that the white woman was talking about cutting their long hair. The thought of having her hair cut was unacceptable to Zitkala. Her mother had taught her that in their society, short hair was worn by mourners and shingled hair by cowards.

Loss of Spirit
Judewin thought that the school people were strong and they would all have to allow their hair to be cut but Zitkala-Sa was ready to put up a fight. When Zitkala-Sa got the chance to escape, she went upstairs and hid under the bed in a large and dark room. After some time, people started searching for her. Soon, she was caught and forcibly taken downstairs. She was resisting, kicking and scratching wildly. However, nothing worked. Finally, her hair was cut and Zitkala-Sa lost her spirit.

II-We too are Human Beings

The Entertaining Walk Home
The story starts with the narrator was a carefree child. She used to return home from school in thirty minutes as she loved observing the entertaining sights on the journey. She used to see the performing monkey, the snake charmer, the cyclist who kept pedalling for many days, the Maariyaata temple and the pongal offering being cooked outside it along with a political procession, puppet shows and stunt performances.

Encounter with Untouchability
One day, when Bama was returning home, she noticed an elder of her street, carrying a small packet of vadai holding it with a string. The narrator found this scene to be humorous and told about it to her elder brother Annan. She was laughing uncontrollably, but Annan didn’t seem to be amused. Annan told her about untouchability. He told her that the upper caste people thought that if low caste people touched them or anything that belonged to them, they would be ‘polluted’. That’s why the elder was carrying the packet by its string. He added that because they were born into a low caste community, they were never given any honour, dignity or respect.

Annan’s Advice
After hearing about untouchability, Bama got angry and wanted to rebel. However, Annan advised her to study hard and learn all that she could, because only education could help them refute all the indignities. These words made a deep impression on Bama. She studied hard and stood first in her class.

Word-Meaning

• marginalised — made to feel unimportant, confined to the outer edge of society
• mainstream — ideas, attitudes or activities that are shared by most people and, therefore, considered normal
• dogma — rules laid down by authorities and unquestionably accepted
• excerpt — extract
• serrated — having a saw-toothed edge or margin
• felicitous — appropriate
• pun — a play on words, exploiting their different meanings
• belfry — a bell tower
• undercurrent — whisper
• bedlam — a scene of great confusion and noise
• paleface — white
• shingled — closely cropped or cut
• moccasins — soft leather shoes
• immodestly — indecently
• venture — have the courage to do or say anything
• trial — a trying or difficult experience
• whither — to what place
• indignities — humiliating or abusive treatment
• herder — a person who drives cattle
• untouchability — practicing caste system
• novelties — new and unusual things
• oddities — strange things
• spur (him) on — incite or stimulate
• hunter gypsy — a member of a group of wandering hunters
• lemur — a mammal resembling a monkey, but with foxy face and long tail
• instruments — tools
• harangue — deliver a long pompous speech
• smart — pain sharply
• savoury — with pleasing taste or smell
• payasam — a sweet South Indian dish made by boiling rice with milk
• iced lollies — ice cream on a small wooden stick
• tread out — to press or crush beneath the feet
• vadais — an Indian dish consisting of a ball made from ground pulses and deep-fried in oil
• together — to collect with difficulty
• run (these) petty errands — do small odd, insignificant jobs
• appa — a term of address
• thambi — fellow
• community — here, caste
• stripped of — deprived of
• of (their) own accord — without being asked or forced

Important Themes of the Chapter

It is important to note here that both the excerpts deal with different themes that could be clubbed under social injustices. However, we will study these themes separately.

The Cutting of My Long Hair

• Cultural identity, oppression, and resistance: The story portrays the struggles of Native American children forced into assimilation at boarding schools and the traumatic experience of having their cultural identity stripped away.
• Resistance and defiance: The excerpt also highlights the themes of resistance and defiance in the face of oppression as Zitkala-Sa rebels against forced assimilation. The autobiographical account sheds light on the profound impact of colonialism and cultural assimilation on indigenous communities.

We too are Human Beings

• Caste-based Discrimination: The narrator vividly describes instances of untouchability and caste-based discrimination that she witnesses in her community. These incidents highlight the rigid social hierarchy and the dehumanising treatment of marginalised groups.
• Social Injustice: The excerpt portrays the systemic injustices faced by the Dalit community, including being relegated to menial tasks and denied basic dignity and respect due to their caste status.
• Education and Empowerment: The narrator’s brother emphasises the importance of education as a tool for empowerment and social mobility. Education is presented as challenging societal norms and gaining respect and recognition.
• Struggle for Dignity and Equality: The narrator’s reflections on the indignities faced by her community underscore their ongoing struggle for dignity and equality in a society marked by caste-based prejudices and discrimination.