Memories of Childhood

Memories of childhood
1. The Cutting of My Long Hair
Main Characters:
1 Zitkala-Sa-   She was a native American. She belonged to a tribe of people who were the original inhabitants of America.
2. Judewin- She was a friend of Zitkala-Sa. She knew a few words of English.

Summary

This extract is a painful revelation of a particular period of the life which the writer had to suffer during her hostel days. It was the first day of her boarding school situated in the land of apples. The children were given the task of apple picking in the bitter and biting cold. They were taken to the breakfast hall and the girl was feeling stressed. She did not know the table manners. She was being watched very carefully by a strange pale-faced woman. The girl felt very fearful and insulted. Her friend who could understand some English, told her that the pale strange woman intended to cut her long hair. Zitkala-Sa learned from her mother that hair would be shingled only for the unskilled warrior, cowards and mourners. She decided to fight back and got herself hidden in a dim room under the bed. Everybody looked for her and called her name but eventually caught. Her long hair was cut, although she resisted a lot. She spent her rest of the life there like a small animal being a part of a herd, which was driven by a herder.

Q1.How did Zitkala-Sa feel when a large bell rang for breakfast?  OR
     Describe Zitkala-Sa's experience on her first day in the 'land of apples'.
Ans. Zitkala-Sa felt very miserable when a large bell rang for breakfast. She went to the breakfast hall with other girls. She was feeling very stressed. She did not know the table manners. She did not like the manner of eating by formula. She felt very insulted when she could not act according to the command of bells as other girls were doing. She was almost crying.

Q2. Why was Zitkala-Sa in tears? OR How did Zitkala-Sa feel after her long hair had been shingled?
Ans. Zitkala-Sa was forced to part with her long thick hair. She felt humiliated and shocked after her long hair had been shingled.She was moaning but no one came to comfort her. She felt herself as one of many little animals driven by a herder.

Q3. How was Zitkala-Sa's long hair shingled?
Ans. Zitkala-Sa was a native American. She loved her long thick hair very much. She did not want them shingled. But she was forced by the school authorities to part with her braids.  She hid herself in a dark room but she was found out and tied fast in a chair.Then the blades of the scissors ran through her thick hair and cut off one of the braids.

Q4.How long did Bana take to reach home from school and why? Write briefly what she did on her way.

Ans. Bama was a dalit girl. Her school was hardly a ten minutes walk from her home. But usually she took thirty minutes to reach there. It was because she came watching all the little things happening on the way. She used to see games of performing minkey, snake charmer, a cyclist riding on cycle continuously for three days. She used to see huge bell hanging in the temple and pongle offerings being cooked in front of the temple. Sometimes she saw a puppet show or a magic show. She enjoyed all these sights with childish longing  and reached home late.