MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD ASSIGNMENT
ATTEMPT THESE QUESTIONS IN YOUR NOTEBOOK
1.What all happened with Zitkala-Sa on the first day in the land of apples?
Zitkala-Sa remembered the beginning of the first day in the land of apples
as a bitterly cold one. She was feeling uncomfortable in her school dress
and was embarrassed in the dining hall. The narrator was made to wear a
new dress at school. Her shawl had been removed. She was feeling ashamed
of her body-clinging dress. When she was walking to the dining hall, she
felt like sinking to the floor with shame at the unfamiliar way of dressing.
Zitkala-Sa was already feeling uncomfortable in her new dress when she
entered the dining hall. A small bell was tapped. Thinking that they had to
be seated, Zitkala pulled out a chair and sat on it but to her surprise
everybody kept standing. She was getting up when the second bell rang and
all were seated. Finally, she could not use the knife and fork for eating and
she started crying because of her embarrassment. She was very perplexed
and found it difficult to get accustomed to the rules and regulation in her
new surroundings. Moreover, the separation from her mother aggravated
her problem. Then unfortunately the fateful incident happened when the
shingling of her hair took place and she felt as if they have taken away her
identity from her of being a true warrior and a brave representative of her
tribe and had reduced her to the level of a coward. They had tormented her
and left her crestfallen and dejected.
2. What precautionary warning was given by Judewin?
Judewin had warned Zitkala-Sa that she had overheard the white woman
talking about cutting of the hair. Zitkala-Sa was horrified with the thought
of getting her hair cut as among her people short hair was worn either by
cowards or my mourners and she was a girl with grit, determination and
an innate pride within herself. Judewin further told her friend that they
had to submit to the will of the authorities as they were strong and the
children had to succumb to their desires unwillingly. Zitkala-Sa reacted
strongly and said that she would not give up without struggling and would
fight with all her might. She tried a lot to resist and fought back bravely
but being a feeble child was helpless in front of them and had to finally give
up.
3.Why did Zitkala-Sa resist the cutting of her hair?
Zitkala-Sa was terrified by the thought of having her hair cut because, in
her community, shingled hair was worn by unskilled warriors who were
captured by the enemy. Thus, it was a sign of cowardice. She decided that
she would not go down without a fight. She was very upset with this
compulsion as neither she was mourning nor she was a coward. She was
very firm and resolute that she would put up a fight and will not surrender
easily.
4. What endeavours were made by Zitkala-Sa try to prevent the shingling
of her hair?
When Judewin informed Zitkala that their hair would be cut short,
Zitkala-Sa decided to struggle first. When no one was noticing, she crept up
the stairs and found a large dark room to hide in. She hid under the bed
farthest from the door but to her astonishment they discovered her hiding
place and she was dragged downstairs and tied fast to a chair where her
hair where shingled. Zitkala-Sa felt anguished and ashamed when her long
hair was cut. She missed her mother very much. No one could comfort her
like her mother did. She was feeling like an animal driven by a herder. She
was filled with a sense of despair and dejection.
5. What sort of shows or entertainment attracted Bama on her way back
home?
The bazaar, on the way home, was always buzzing with activity. The snake
charmer, street plays, puppet shows and stunt performance were a few
interesting things going on there. Bama used to love all these things and
would be attracted by them. Bama witnessed a variety of interesting things
which fascinated her. She saw the dried fish stall, the sweet stall and the
stall selling fried snacks. Then there were wild lemurs, needles being sold,
clay beads and tools for cleaning out the ears on sale. She loved to watch
the waiters cool the coffee and people chopping onions.
6. When did Bama first come to know of the social discrimination faced by
the people of her community?
Bama came to know of the social discrimination faced by the people of her
community when she was in the third class. She saw an important elder of
her community serve vadais to a landlord without touching them. The
incident was funny to her until Annan told her the horrific truth. The
manner in which he carried the packet by holding its string made Bama
laugh initially but late after the revelation of the truth she was outraged
and wanted to touch it. Her brother, Annan told Bama that the elder was
behaving that way because people of their community were considered of
low caste and people believed that their touch would contaminate the food
particles. This horrific truth made Bama sad and full of despair as being a
child she could not comprehend the gravity of the situation. It infuriated
her even though the vadais were first wrapped in a banana leaf and then in
a newspaper then how could it be contaminated.
7. Why did the landlord's man ask Bama's brother on which street he
lived? What was the significance?
Annan was returning home from the library in the neighbouring village,
when the landlord's man asked him his name. Then, he wanted to know
where Annan lived. He asked this to ascertain Annan's caste because all the
lower caste people lived in one area of the town. They wanted to be sure
that no person of the low caste had ventured into their territory lest their
land would have been contaminated with his presence.
8. What impact did Annan's advice have on Bama?
Annan advised Bama that only education could help them earn some
respect in the society. If she wants to be accepted and revered by the upper
caste people then education was the key to success. Annan told Bama that
because they were born into a community which was considered low caste,
they were stripped of all honour, dignity and respect but if they studied
hard and made progress, then they could throw away all such indignities.
These words had a very deep impact on her. She studied very hard and she
stood first in her class. They had to unfortunately prove their worth in
order to command respect in the society unlike the other people who were
respected because they belonged to the upper castes. So she studied with
perseverance and came out with flying colours.
