AHSEC (ASSEB) Class 12 English Vistas Chapter – Memories of Childhood Summary & Solutions | Assam Eduverse
Chapter Overview:
Assam Eduverse presents the summary of Class 12 English (AHSEC/ASSEB) – Vistas, Chapter Memories of Childhood by Zitkala-Sa and Bama, along with complete solutions for all textbook questions. This chapter from the Class 12 English Vistas syllabus highlights the themes of discrimination, cultural identity, resilience, and social inequality, making it important for exam preparation.
The lesson combines two autobiographical extracts: Zitkala-Sa’s struggle against racial prejudice in an American boarding school and Bama’s experiences with caste discrimination in India. Both narrations reveal the harsh realities faced by marginalized communities.
The lesson Memories of Childhood conveys themes of courage, equality, and human dignity. It inspires Class 12 students (AHSEC/ASSEB) to value justice, self-respect, and social awareness, making it an essential chapter for Vistas exam preparation with summary and solutions provided.
AHSEC (ASSEB) Class 12 English Vistas – Chapter : Memories of Childhood Solutions & Question Answers
📖 Summary of Memories of Childhood
Two Autobiographical Accounts of Injustice
Memories of Childhood contains two autobiographical pieces that highlight the struggles of marginalized communities. The first, The Cutting of My Long Hair by Zitkala-Sa, recounts her painful experience at a residential school for Native Americans. There, she and other girls were forced to abandon their traditions. Her long hair—considered a symbol of honor and dignity in her tribe—was cut against her will. Despite her resistance, she was overpowered, symbolizing the humiliation and loss of cultural identity faced by her people.
The second account, We Too are Human Beings by Bama, reflects on caste discrimination in India. As a child, Bama witnessed the humiliation of an elder from her community. Shocked and angered, she turned to her brother for answers. He explained the harsh reality of caste inequality and encouraged her to fight it through education. Inspired, she studied diligently and excelled in her class, realizing that education was the only path to dignity and self-respect.
Conclusion: Both stories present childhood experiences of injustice, revealing how children perceive oppression and how these moments spark their determination to resist and rise above it.
— From the book Vistas
Page 99
Page 99Reading with Insight
Q1. The two accounts that you read above are based in two distant cultures. What is the commonality of theme found in both of them?
Answer: The commonality of theme in both accounts is the injustice and discrimination faced by people from marginalized communities. In Zitkala-Sa’s story, it is based on her Native American heritage, where her culture and identity are suppressed. In Bama’s story, it is based on her caste, where she and her community are treated as “untouchables.” Both stories show how children from different cultures experience and respond to oppression.
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?
Answer: Yes, injustice cannot escape being noticed even by children. Both Zitkala-Sa and Bama immediately recognized the humiliation and unfairness of the situations they were in. Zitkala-Sa instinctively rebelled against the cutting of her hair. Bama felt angry and provoked when she understood the reason for the elder’s actions. Their early rebellion, though small, shows that the seeds of resistance are planted when people, regardless of age, realize they are being treated unfairly.
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?
Answer: Bama’s experience is about caste discrimination and untouchability. Zitkala-Sa’s experience depicts racial and cultural discrimination, where she is forced to abandon her traditions and conform to a new, foreign culture. Bama’s response is to get angry and want to retaliate, but her brother guides her toward a more effective response: education. Zitkala-Sa’s response is one of physical rebellion and defiance. She hides and resists when they try to cut her hair, but she is ultimately overpowered. She later finds a different way to resist through her writing, just as Bama does through her studying.
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