Class | Subject | Book | Chapter | Session | Questions covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
XII | English | Vistas (NCERT) | 6 – Memories of Childhood | 2026-27 | 3 of 3 |
Chapter at a glance
Aspect | Key point |
|---|---|
Part I | “The Cutting of My Long Hair” by Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, b. 1876), a Native American woman — her first day at a missionary boarding school (“the land of apples”) |
Experiences | Blanket stripped, moccasins exchanged for shoes, eating “by formula” to bells; long hair shingled despite her hiding under a bed — among her people “shingled hair” was worn by cowards |
Part II | “We Too are Human Beings” from Karukku (1992) by Bama, a Tamil Dalit writer |
Experiences | In the third class she sees an elder of her street carrying a packet of vadais by its string to the landlord; her brother Annan explains untouchability and advises her to study hard |
Common theme | Childhood experience of oppression and discrimination by the dominant culture, and early resistance |
Reading with insight
Question R1
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
Both accounts are autobiographical episodes by women from marginalised communities who look back on their childhood and their relationship with the mainstream culture.
- Both depict oppression and discrimination — Zitkala-Sa faces racial and cultural discrimination by white (“paleface”) Americans; Bama faces caste discrimination and untouchability.
- Both experience humiliation and loss of dignity at a young age — Zitkala-Sa’s hair is shingled like a coward’s; Bama is shocked by the elder carrying vadais by a string.
- Both resist — Zitkala-Sa hides and struggles (“No, I will not submit! I will struggle first!”); Bama feels angry and resolves to fight through education (“we too are human beings”).
- Both show that injustice is felt deeply even by children and that the seeds of rebellion are sown early.
Both describe childhood experiences of discrimination and humiliation by a dominant group — racial/cultural for Zitkala-Sa, caste-based for Bama — and their early resistance to it, showing marginalised people’s struggle for dignity.
Question R2
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, children notice injustice: 1. Zitkala-Sa, a small girl, felt the indignities of being stared at, “tossed about in the air like a wooden puppet”, made to eat by formula and stripped of her blanket. When told that their hair would be cut, she rebelled at once — “No, I will not submit! I will struggle first!” She hid under a bed and resisted by “kicking and scratching wildly”. She felt she was “only one of many little animals driven by a herder”. 2. Bama, in the third class, at first found the elder’s way of carrying the vadai packet funny, but when her brother explained untouchability she felt “terribly sad” and “so provoked and angry that I wanted to touch those wretched vadais myself straightaway”. She questioned why her people should run petty errands for the upper castes, and resolved to study hard.
These early experiences sowed the seeds of rebellion; both later became writers who fought oppression — Zitkala-Sa criticised the Carlisle Indian school, and Bama wrote Karukku.
Yes. Zitkala-Sa as a child rebelled against the cutting of her hair, and Bama in the third class grew angry on understanding untouchability. Their childhood awareness of injustice sowed the seeds of later rebellion through their writing.
Question R3
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 racial and cultural discrimination against Native Americans by white Americans. At the missionary school, Native American children were forced to give up their culture and identity — their blankets, moccasins and long hair — and follow alien customs. Cutting her hair was especially humiliating because, among her people, shingled hair was worn by cowards and short hair by mourners. The children were treated without sensitivity — she felt she was “only one of many little animals driven by a herder”.
Responses
Zitkala-Sa | Bama |
|---|---|
Rebels at once — refuses to submit, hides under a bed, kicks and scratches when dragged out | First amused, then sad and angry on learning about untouchability |
Is overpowered; her hair is cut; she loses her spirit and moans for her mother | Questions the injustice — “But we too are human beings” |
Later, as a writer, criticised the Carlisle Indian school and dedicated her life to fighting oppression | Following Annan’s advice, studies hard and stands first in her class, winning friends; uses education to fight caste discrimination and later writes Karukku |
Zitkala-Sa suffers racial and cultural discrimination — Native American children forced to give up their dress, customs and long hair. She resists physically (hiding, kicking) but is overpowered, and later fights through her writing. Bama responds to caste discrimination with anger and the resolve to excel in studies, as her brother advised, overcoming indignity through education.
Topic checklist
- ☒ Common theme (R1)
- ☒ Children and injustice (R2)
- ☒ Types of discrimination and responses (R3)