Memories Of Childhood | Class 12 English

Memories of Childhood

Table of Contents

Very Short Answer Type Questions: (1 Marks)

1. Who is the author of “The Cutting of My Long Hair”?
Ans: Zitkala-Sa is the author of “The Cutting of My Long Hair.”

2. What was the weather like in the land of apples?
Ans: 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.

3. What is a ‘belfry’?
Ans: Belfry is a type of bell-tower.

4. Who came after Zit Kala-Sa on her first day among strangers ?
Ans: A paleface woman with white hair came after Zit Kala-Sa on her first day among strangers.

5. Why did Zitkala-Sa feel like sinking to the floor?
Ans: When Zitkala-Sa walked noiselessly in her soft moccasins, then she felt like sinking to the floor, for her blanket had been stripped from her shoulders. She looked hard at the Indian girls, who seemed not to care that they were even more immodestly dressed than her.

6. Who were the ‘three young braves’ in young Zitkala-Sa’s party ?
Ans: “The three young braves” were the three boys who entered at an opposite door while Zitkala and her friends marched into the dining room. Zitkala-Sa watched for the three young braves who came in young Zitkala-Sa’s party.

7. How many times did the bell ring before the children began having breakfast?
Ans: The bell rang three times before the children began having breakfast.

8. Why did little Zitkala-Sa hide under a bed, in a strange large room?
Ans: Zitkala-Sa heard from her friend, Judewin that the paleface woman talked about cutting their long, heavy hair. So/for this reason, Zitkala-Sa hid under a bed, in a strange large room.

9. Who was Zitkala-Sa’s friend ?
Ans: Judewin was Zitkala-Sa’s friend.

10. When did Zitkala-Sa lose her spirits ?
Ans: When Zitkala-Sa felt the cold blades of the scissors against her neck and heard them gnaw off one of her thick braids, then Zitkala-Sa lost her spirits.

11. How long did Bama actually take to reach home from school ?
Ans: It actually took ten minutes for Bama to reach home from school.

12. How long did Bama usually take to reach home ?
Ans: It took usually half an hour for Bama to reach home.

13. Why were the animals muzzled in Bama’s story ?
Ans: The animals were muzzled so that they wouldn’t help themselves to the straw in Bama’s story.

14. What did the elder of Bama’s street carry ?
Ans: The elder of Bama’s street carried vadai or green banana bhajji in the packet.

15. What was the land of apples like ?
Ans: The first day in the land of apples was like a bitter-cold one; for the snow still covered the ground, and the trees were bare.

Short Answer Type Questions: (2 Marks)

1. What were the different noises that seemed to upset little Zitkala-Sa ?
Ans: Among the different noises that seemed to upset little Zitkala-Sa, one was the large bell with its loud metallic voice/sound. The other was the annoying clatter of shoes on bare floors which gave no peace. Also, the constant clash of harsh noises, with an undercurrent of many voices murmuring an unknown tongue made a bedlam/madhouse.

2. Who were marched into the dinning room ?
Ans: A line of girls were marching into the dining room. These were Indian girls, in stiff shoes and closely clinging dresses. Besides/also, the small girls wore sleeved aprons and shingled hair.
3. What was Zitkala’s idea regarding short, shingled hair ?
Ans: Zitkala’s idea regarding short, shingled hair was that only unskilled warriors who were captured had their hair shingled by the enemy. Among their people, short hair was worn by mourners and shingled hair by cowards.

4. What was Zitkala-Sa’s immediate reaction to the cutting of her hair ?
Or: How did Zitkala-Sa feel made one when she was of many little animals led by a harder.
Ans: After cutting of Zitkala-Sa’s hair, she lost her spirit. She had suffered extreme indignities. People had stared at her. She had been tossed about in the air like a wooden puppet. Her long hair was shingled like a coward’s. In her anguish, she moaned for her mother, but no one came to comfort her. Not a soul reasoned quietly with her, as her own mother used to do; for now she was only one of many little animals driven by a herder.

5. Why was Annan not amused by Bama’s story ?
Ans: Annan knew that the man or the elder was not being funny. The man or the elder belonged to a low caste like Annan and Bama. If he touched it, then it would be polluted. So, Annan not amused by Bama’s story instead he was very sad for the story.

6. When did Bama experienced untouchability ?
Ans: One day, Bama saw that an elder man carried a small packet of vadai or green banana bhajji in the packet without touching it. The man went directly to the landlord and gave it to him and the landlord began to eat after opening it. In this scene, Bama was so amused and elaborated to her brother, Annan. When her brother explained about the lower caste and untouchability then she understood and experienced the untouchability.

7. Why did Bama feel terribly sad and provoked ?
Ans: When Bama mentioned the story of the elder then Annan was not amused. Annan told Bama that the man or the elder was not being funny. The man or the elder belonged to a low caste like Annan and Bama. If he touched it, then it would be polluted for his lower caste.
After hearing this, she did not want to laugh any more, and she felt terribly sad and provoked for the upper caste people.

8. What did Annan say about his community to the narrator?
Ans: Annan told the narrator or Bama that they were born into the lower cast community. They were never given any honour or dignity or respect and they were stripped of all that.

9. What things were seen by Bama in the bazaar, according to the season?
Ans: Bama enjoyed all the fun-games, entertaining novelties and oddities of streets, the shops and the bazaar. According to the season, there were mango, cucumber, sugar-cane, sweet-potato, palm-shoots, gram, palm-syrup and palm-fruit, guavas and jack-fruit in the bazaar. The people were selling sweet and savoury fried snacks, payasam, halva, boiled tamarind seeds and iced lollies.

10. Why did Zitkala-Sa feel uncomfortable in the dining room?
Ans: Zitkala-Sa felt uncomfortable in the dining room as she was the newest. She could not adjust with the Indian girls, in stiff shoes and closely clinging dresses, sleeved aprons and shingled hair. Her blanket had been stripped from her shoulders. She could not adjustment the sound of bells and the uses. She was very much disturbed by the paleface woman who wondering keenly watched her. She was afraid to venture anything more and began crying instead. The eating formula was the hardest trial for her.

11. Why was Zitkala-Sa terrified when Judwin told her that her hair would be cut short?
Ans: Zitkala-Sa was terrified when Judwin told her that her hair would be cut short. Because, Zitkala-Sa’s mother had taught her that only unskilled warriors who were captured had their hair shingled by the enemy. Among their people, short hair was worn by mourners and shingled hair by cowards.

Short Answer Type Questions: (3 Marks)

1. How was the narrator inspired by the words of her elder brother, Annan ?
Ans: Annan told the narrator or Bama that they were born into lower cast community. They were never given any honour or dignity or respect and they were stripped of all that. Annan suggested Bama that if they studied and made progress then they could throw away these indignities. Also, he advised her to study and make progress. Besides, he told that If she were always ahead in her lessons, people would come to her of their own accord and attach themselves to her.

2. How did Zitkala- Sa try to hide herself from the other people in the school? Did she succeed?
Or: What did Zitkala-Sa do to escape getting her hair shingled.
Ans: To hide herself from the other people in the school, Zitkala-Sa escaped and entered a large room with three white beds. She crawled under the bed and huddled herself in the dark corner.
Someone threw up the curtains and the room was filled with sudden light. After that, she was carried downstairs and tied fast in a chair. She resisted by cried aloud, shaking her head all while but she was failed and not succeeded to escape getting her hair shingled.

3. “Because they had scraped four coins together…. what was the reason for this outburst by Bama ?
Ans: Bama was outburst by thinking about the upper caste people. They had scraped ‘four coins together’ that means lost their all human feelings. They did not feel that the lower caste people were also human beings. Bama was also depress/sadness at the matter that their people always ran after them and worked in their fields and took home their wages.