Memories of Childhood

Introduction

Memories of Childhood is a collection of two autobiographical episodes written by Native American writer Zitkala – Sa and Tamil writer Bama. Both these writers belong to marginalised communities and talk about their experiences of discrimination in their childhood.

Zitkala – Sa remembers how she was taken away from her mother to be introduced into a school run by white Americans. She remembers her first day at Carlisle Indian school when the people who run the school force her to cut her hair. She feels anguish and helplessness as she is completely opposed to that action. 

Bama recounts her childhood the social injustice imposed upon her community in the form of untouchability. A simple funny event that she experiences turns out to be an ugly form of discrimination. 

Summary of Chapter

Zitkala remind her school days when she had to become part of the American culture. She felt bad when her shawl was taken forcefully by the school authorities before entering into the dining hall. She wonders to see Indian girls wearing tight clothes which were immodest according to her. Their hair was cut short.  Her mother had told her short hair was a sign of cowardice.  

Zitkala and other girls were taken to the dining hall where she was keenly noticed for not following the table manners. Judewin, another Indian girl told Zitkala that the warden has decided to cut her hair. Zitkala revolts as she does not want to look like a coward. She hides herself under a bed but she was caught and tied up with a chair. Her hair cuts down. She felt so depressed and humiliated with this. She reminds her mother who would have comforted her during this hard time.

 

When Bama was studying in the third class, she had not heard about untouchability. But she had seen, felt and been humiliated by it. She was walking home from school and enjoying games, street plays puppet show, stunt performances and speeches by leaders.  She saw a landlord sitting and watching his workers in the field. She stood there for a while and noticed that an old man of her community handling packet by a string without touching. He bowed down and offered the packet to the landlord.

She narrated the incident to her elder brother, Anna. She laughed but her brother was serious. He told her that they belong to low caste community and the upper caste people considers low caste people untouchable. She became sad to listen this. She found it disgusting. It increased her anger towards upper caste people. Anna told her that they were not given any respect because they were born in a low caste. He advised her to study and make progress. She studied hard and stood first in her class. Many people then became her friends.

Q2. 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?

Ans. Children are more sensitive and observant than the adults. They see, hear, feel and experience whatever happens around them. They are quick to note any deviation from the normal. 

Bama at first, thinks the behavior of the elder of her community is quite funny. He is holding the packet by string and running with it awkwardly. But when she learns the reason of his behavior in that particular manner her emotions aroused against the cruel, rich people of upper castes who shamelessly exploit and insult them. She is ready to rebel against the oppression by snatching the packet from the landlord and eating them herself.  Her elder brother asked her to study with care and make progress. We see the seeds of rebellion in her.

Zitkala-Sa too shows that she has the seeds of rebellion in her even at an early age. Her friend Judewin tells her that the authorities are going to cut their long, heavy hair. She says that they have to submit, because they (authorities) are strong. But Zitkala-Sa rebels. She declares that she will not submit. She will struggle first. She carried out her resolution. She hides herself to foil their attempt. When she is detected hiding under the bed and dragged out, she resists by kicking and scratching wildly. She is overpowered and tied fast in a chair, but she does not take things lying down. The spark of rebellion in her is not put out by oppression.

Q3. Bama’s experience is that of a victim of the caste system. What kind of discrimination does Zitkala-Sa’s experience depict? What are their responses to their respective situations?
Ans. Bama is a victim of the caste system as she has been born in a dalit community. Zitkala- Sa is a Native American who finds that the people who have overpowered the natives are out to destroy their culture. She notices the discrimination against Native American culture and women. The cutting of her long hair is a symbolic of subjection to the rulers. In their culture, only unskilled warriors who were captured had their hair cut by the enemy. She is deprived of her soft moccasins—the shoes worn by Native Americans. Her blanket has been removed from her shoulders and she feels shy and indecent. The rules observed at the breakfast table are alien to her.
Both of them rebel against the existing circumstances. They do not bow down to their situations. They struggle hard to remove the discrimination and other barriers raised by people in power. Their struggle is against oppression, prejudice, dogma, superstition and ignorance. The tool with which they carry out their struggle is education. Both Zitkala- Sa and Bama study hard and earn a name for themselves. They take to writing and distinguish themselves in their respective fields. Their works depict their viewpoints and carry on their struggle against the discrimination that constraint and binds the free flow of their spirits.