Memories of Childhood Summary

 MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD

By-Zitkala-Sa and Bama

Introduction

The "Memories of Childhood", written by Zitkala-Sa and Bama has extracts taken from the writings of two different female writers from the marginalised communities. In both these autobiographical extracts, the writers narrate the painful experiences of their childhood when they were subjected to humiliation merely as they belonged to backward tribes or communities. The former is a victim of racial discrimination, whereas the latter is a victim of caste discrimination.

The first part titled 'The Cutting of My Long Hair' is by the extraordinarily talented and educated.

Native American writer, Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (pen name Zitkala-Sa).

 Her works criticized the dogma and the evils of oppression towards the Native American culture and women. The second part 'We too are Human Beings' is written by Bama, a Tamil Dalit woman from a Roman Catholic family. This is an excerpt from her 1992 autobiography, "Karukku'. This excerpt relates her first experience with untouchability.

Theme

The chapter, 'Memories of Childhood' explores the theme of prejudices and humiliation faced by the marginalized communities. The chapter tells us how the two brave girls stood up for their own and community rights, using their talent and education.

Summary

The Cutting of My Long Hair-Zitkala-Sa

The first day in school was a bitter and cold day. The noise made by the breakfast bell, the shatter of the shoes and the constant murmuring voices in a foreign tongue annoy the author. She sees many girls dressed in clinging dresses with stiff shoes and shingled hair. She finds the breakfast ritual of doing things according to the bell, strange. She calls it eating by formula. More atrocities were to follow for the new girl. Zitkala-Sa's friend overhears a talk about cutting the long hair of the new girls. For Zitkala-Sa, this was absolutely atrocious. She belonged to a Native American warrior tribe. Their tradition was to keep long and heavy hair. Only those Warriors captured by the enemy had their hair shingled. Short hair was worn by mourners, and shingled hair by cowards. Zitkala-Sa tries to rebel by hiding herself, but finally gets caught.

Her Voluble protests bear no fruit, and her hair is also shingled forcibly now the very first day.

This extract describes the narrator's agony. She lost her beautiful long hair. Nobody provides discomfort to her. Other children in the school had shingled hair too, so she thought of herself as one of the many animals driven by a herder.

We Too are Human Beings-Bama

Bhama was an innocent child living in a village. She had never heard of the word Untouchability during her childhood. But certain small incidents of her life made her feel that she was born in the marginalized caste. She was a happy peppy girl. She loved the short-but- long walk from her school to her home. The plethora of beauty that she experienced on the way back from school made her very happy. The performing monkey, the snake charmer, the Maariyaata temple, the pongal offerings being cooked in front of the temple-she could just go on and on looking at the beautiful sights. Once when she was in the class 3. while going home. she saw her people working hard for their landlords. In spite of their hard work, the landlords humiliated them.

Bama further narrates how an elder of their street had to act in a humiliating manner just because he belonged to the Dalit community. The village landlord sent the elderly man to get some vadai for him. The man held the packet by its string. He was not supposed to touch the packet as his touch would pollute the vadai. That is why, he had to carry the packet by its string. When Bama's elder brother told her all the reasons behind this, her mind filled with revolt. She was enraged thinking why her elders work so hard for those people who despised them so much. She wanted her people to stop paying undue respect and reverence to the upper caste people. Her brother told her that if they study hard and progress in their lives, it would help them in getting rid of the indignities. Education is their weapon with which they fight back the society's absurd and unjust rules. Bama did the same and got many friends in her life. Education gave her double-sided sword to fight very sharply against the unjustified caste system.

NCERT Questions

1. The two accounts that you read above are based on two distant cultures. What is the commonality theme found in both of them?

Answer

The main theme is the universal prejudice, discrimination (both, racial and class discrimination) and oppression. This barrier is across time and space, which is clear from the two accounts given here of women belonging to two different cultures, different places and in different times. The commonality lies in both of them being autobiographical accounts of women of marginalized communities. Both excerpts talk about the prejudices and humiliation faced by the oppressed class from mainstream culture. Both the women bravely use their talent and education to stand up not only for their own, but also their community's rights. Both use the power of pen to fight.

2. 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?