Summary- Memories of Childhood(English Core)
Author-Zitkala Sa and Bama
>>>> The chapter contains two extracts from two different autobiographical episodes from the lives of two women- Zitkala Sa and Bama- both are victims of social discriminations. Former is the victim of racial discrimination whereas Bama is the victim of caste discriminations. In both the extracts, the writers look back on their childhood and reflect on their relationship with mainstream culture, which ill-treated them when they were child.
Gertrude Simmons adopted the pen- name Zitkala Sa and began publishing articles criticizing about her school. 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 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. Every body 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.
>>>> The second episode depicts the humiliations suffered by a Tamil dalit woman. She wrote her novels and articles by the name Bama.
Bama never heard of the word untouchability during her childhood. Certain small events of her life made her feel that she was born in the marginalized caste. She was a happy peppy girl and once when she was in the third class, while going home she saw her people working hard for their land- lords. In spite of their hard work the landlords treated the workers very humiliatingly. She saw from the direction of the market an elder from their community was coming with a parcel in his hands. The manner he carried the poly bag, the manner he was carrying it with its strings, without touching the vadas inside the parcel, really made him to be funny. He handed over the parcel to the landlord very sacredly too. She narrated the incident to her brother, taking the incident as humorous and funny. He told that it was not humorous but humiliating as the elderly person was not supposed to touch the item inside the parcel. On hearing that Bama felt infuriated.
She saw her people bowing, to the upper caste people. She was enraged why her elders work so hard for those people who despised them so much. She wanted her people to stop paying undue respect and reverences to these upper caste people. Her brother told her that if they study hard and make progress in their lives, it would help them in throwing away the indignities. Education is their weapon with which they fight back the society. Bama did the same and got many friends in her life. Education made her as double- sided sward to fight very sharply against the unjustified caste system.
Anupam
I am writing summeries in very short time.So please don`t blame me for the grammer.See the summery i am giving.If any point that i have mentioned is wrong then plz specify that.
You can check the summery of
Rate me if found useful.
