Memories of Childhood | class 12th | Important Questions English Vistas

Memories of Childhood Extra Questions and Answers Important Questions Class 12 English Vistas

Memories of Childhood Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type

The Cutting of My Long Hair

Question 1.
What does this chapter tell us about the weather in the land of apples on the very first day?
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa unfolds that 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.

Question 2.
How were the Indian girls dressed? Why did Zitkala feel sinking in the floor?
Answer:
The Indian girls were in stiff shoes and closely clinging dresses. The small girls wore sleeved aprons and singled hair. It appeared very immodest to Zitkala. She felt sinking in the floor because her blanket had been stripped off from her shoulders.

Question 3.
Who was Judewin? What did she tell Zitkala?
Answer:
Judewin was a friend of Zitkala. She knew a little English. She had overheard the white woman saying that they would shingle Zitkala’s long, heavy hair. She said that Zitkala had to submit to them.

Question 4.
What had Zitkala’s mother told her about the tradition regarding hair in their tribe?
Answer:
Zitkala’s mother had told her that only unskilled warriors who were captured had their hair shingled by the enemy. Among her tribe, short hair were worn by mourners and shingled hair by cowards.

Question 5.
Where did Zitkala hide herself to save her hair?
Answer:
Zitkala hid herself in a big room. The windows were covered with dark green curtains, which made the room very dim. No one was there in the room. She crawled under a bed and huddled herself in the dark corner.

Question 6.
How were Zitkala-Sa’s long hair shingled?
Answer:
Women and girls entered the room where Zitkala-Sa was hiding. She was dragged out. She resisted and cried aloud. They tied her fast in a chair. She was shaking her head all the while until she felt the cold blades of the scissors against her neck. Thus her hair were shingled.

Question 7.
At the dining table why did Zitkala-Sa begin to cry when others start eating?
Answer:
At the dining table all the others started eating us¬ing knife and fork. But Zitkala began to cry. She found eating by formula a very hard trial for her.

Question 8
How did Zitkala-Sa’s first day in the land of apples begin?
Answer:
The first day in the land of apples was very cold. Zitkala saw. that the Indian people were bearing tight clinging clothes which appeared very immodest to her. At the dining table, she began crying since she could not eat with knife and fork. And in the end her hair were shingled.

We Too are Human Beings

Question 9.
How long would it take Bama to reach her home?
Answer:
It was actually possible to walk the distance in ten minutes from Bama’s school to her home. But, usu¬ally it would take her thirty minutes at the very least to reach home. Many interesting things would tether her feet to the ground.

Question 10.
What did she see one day when she came from school?
Answer:
One day, when she came to her street she saw at the opposite corner a threshing floor had been set up, and the landlord watched the proceedings, seated on a piece of sacking spread over a stone ledge. The people of her community were hard at work, driving cattle in pairs, round and round to tread out the grain from the straw.

Question 11.
What scene made Bama laugh loudly?
Answer:
Bama saw an elder of her street came along from the direction of the bazaar. He was carrying a small packet in his hands. Bama guessed there was something like vadais in the packet. Bama wanted to laugh loudly when she saw this. He was holding out the packet by its string, without touching it. She thought that in this manner, the packet could be undone and all the contents would fall out.

Question 12.
When Bama did come to know about the social discrimination towards her community?
Answer:
Bama came to know about it when she was just a school going girl. She saw an elder of their commu¬nity carrying a packet of vadais from its string. She thought that in this manner, the packet could be un done and the whole contents would be spilt out. But her brother told her that the reason for that was that the person for whom that snacks brought belonged to high caste and he thought that the very touch of any from their community would pollute him.

Question 13.
What advise did Annan give to Bama?
Answer:
Annan advised Bama that she should study with care and learn all. Then the people would come to her of their own accord and attach themselves to her. These words of Annan made a deep impression on her.

Question 14.
Why did the landlord’s man ask Bama’s brother on which street he lived? What was the significance?
Answer:
The people of the community to which Bama be longed were segregated and lived in a particular street. The landlord’s man wanted to ascertain the caste of Bama’s brother. Therefore he asked him on which street he lived.

Memories of Childhood Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
Explain in detail Zitkala’s experience at the land of apples?
Answer:
It was bitterly cold on the first day at the land of apples. A large bell rang for breakfast. There was annoying clatter of shoes on the floor. An elderly white woman came up after them. She saw Indian (Native-Americans) girls in stiff shoes and closely clinging dresses. It appeared quite immodest to her. While the boys entered from the other door.

They all were marched for the breakfast.A small bell was tapped and all the students drew a chair from under the table. Zitkala thought they were perhaps going to sit. She also sat down but she found that the others were standing murmuring a sort of small prayer. Zitkala-Sa also stood up.

But then she found that the others had sit in their seats. Then she heard a voice of a man. Every one picked up their knife and fork and began eating. But Zitkala found this eating by formula very difficult. But this was not the hardest trial for her. Her hair were shingled and she felt herself like an animal in a herd.

Question 2.
Reproduce briefly in your own words Zitkala- Sa’s experience in the dining room.
Answer:
The tables and chairs were arranged in the dining room. A small bell was tapped, and each of the students drew a chair from under the table. Zitkala also pulled out the chair and sat down. But she noticed that all others were standing but she was sitting. She began to rise up, but soon the second bell was tapped. All were seated at last.

She heard a man’s voice at one end of the hall, and she looked around to see him. But all the others hung their heads over the plates. The man ceased his mutterings, and then the third bell was tapped. Every one picked up their knife and fork and began eating. But Zitkala started crying instead. This eating by formula proved too hard a trial for her.

Question 3.
What did Zitkala do to prevent her hair? How did her efforts prove futile?
Answer:
Zitkala decided that she would not let her hair shingled. She watched her chance and when no one noticed, she disappeared. She hid herself in a big room. The windows were covered with dark green curtains, which made the room very dim. No one was there in the room. She crawled under a bed and hid herself in the dark comer.

From her hiding place she heard footsteps nearby. In the hall some voices were calling her name. Even her friend Judewin was searching for her. The sounds came nearer and nearer. Women and girls entered the room. She was dragged out. She resisted and cried aloud. They tied her fast in a chair. She was shaking her head all the while until she felt the cold blades of the scissors against her neck. Thus her hair were shingled.

Question 4.
How long did Bama take to reach home from school and why? Write briefly what she did on her way?
Answer:
It was actually possible to walk the distance in ten minutes. But usually it would take her thirty minutes at the very least to reach home. Many interesting things would tether her feet to the ground. There could be a performing monkey. There could be a snake charmer with his snake kept in a basket. There could be a cyclist who had not got off cycle for three days.

She would watch the huge bell hanging at the temple. She would watch the Pongal offerings being cooked. Then there could be some entertainments going on the way-a street play, a puppet show or a magic show. These were the things that stopped her at many points in her way.

Question 5.
When did Bama come to know about the social discrimination towards her community?
Answer:
Bama found that the manner in which the elder of her community carrying snacks was funny. He was holding out the packet by its string, without touching it. She thought that in this manner the packet could be undone and all the contents fall out. But her brother told her that there was nothing funny about it.

The people of upper caste thought that the very touch of the people of their community would pollute them. It was then that Bama came to know about the social discrimination towards her community. This thought filled her with rage. She thought that why their people should run petty errands for the upper caste people. They should just take their wages and that was all.

Question 6.
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 first account refers to a Native American girl, Zitkala-Sa. The European settlers, there are prejudiced against the native people. For them Native Americans are no better than enemies. They shingled Zitkala’s hair much against her wish. They did not care to respect their culture. The second account is of Bama. She belonged to a downtrodden community. The people of upper caste looked at them with hatred. They thought that the very touch of the people of her community would pollute them. Thus we can see that Zitkala and Bama belonged to different cultures and communities. Yet the theme of both the accounts is same that people of downtrodden communities are treated like animals and racial prejudice is there in almost every part of the world.

Question 7.
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:
Elders of downtrodden communities become used to oppression. They consider it a part of their destiny and thus do not protest against any oppression. But the minds of children are very impressionable. They understand every oppression or humiliation. They generally rebel against any oppression.

They feel quite disturbed when they see injustice being done to someone. When they grow up, they try their best to root out all the traditions that consider them to inferior beings. Thus, we can say that the seeds of rebellion are sowed early in life.

Question 8.
Bama’s experience is that of a victim of the caste system. What kind of discrimination does ZitkalaSa’s experience depict? What are their responses to their respective situations?
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa was a Native American. The European settlers have great prejudice against the Native Americans. They consider them inferior beings. They have no respect for their traditions. That was why

Zitkala’s long was shingled. On the other hand, Bama belongs to a downtrodden community. The people of high caste consider them inferior beings. They think that the very touch of theirs would pollute them. Both Zitkala and Bama reacted to their respective situation in their own way.

Zitkala hid herself in a room to prevent her hair from being shingled. But she was found out and her hair were shingled. When Bama came to know the humiliation of an elder of their street’ she was filled with anger. She studied very hard so that the others realise her worth and come to her as friends.