The essence of this chapter for last-minute revision: key facts, both accounts side by side, lines to remember and a fast recap. The full notes, with the whole explanation, are available separately.
1 The Chapter in One Line Each
Memories of Childhood
1. GenreTwo true, first-person autobiographical accounts
2. Account IZitkala-Sa, “The Cutting of My Long Hair”
3. Account IIBama, “We Too are Human Beings,” from Karukku
4. Shared themeA marginalised community’s childhood meeting a mainstream culture
5. DifferenceDress and hair taken by force vs caste-based untouchability
2 Both Accounts, Step by Step
Zitkala-Sa: arrivalBitter-cold first day, confusing “eating by formula”
→
The warningJudewin overhears the plan to cut their hair
→
Resistance“I will struggle first!”, then she hides under a bed
→
The cutDragged out, tied to a chair, hair cut by force; “I lost my spirit”
Bama: the walkA joyful, ten-minute walk that takes half an hour to an hour
→
The packetAn elder carries food by its string, without touching it
→
Annan explainsUntouchability: upper-caste people believed they would be “polluted”
→
ResponseFirst laughter, then sadness and anger, then a decision to study hard
3 Key Facts and Numbers
2true accounts, two authors, one shared theme
1876year Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (Zitkala-Sa) was born
3rdclass by which Bama had already been humiliated by untouchability
| Fact | Detail from the chapter |
|---|---|
| Zitkala-Sa’s real name | Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, born 1876 |
| Zitkala-Sa’s writing | Began publishing in 1900, criticising the Carlisle Indian school |
| Bama’s real works | Karukku (autobiography, 1992), Sangati (novel, 1994), Kisumbukkaaran (stories, 1996) |
| Meaning of “Karukku” | Palmyra leaves, serrated like double-edged swords; also “freshness, newness” by a pun on “karu” |
| Hair among Zitkala-Sa’s people | Short hair = mourners; shingled hair = cowards (and captured, unskilled warriors) |
| Bama’s walk home | Possible in 10 minutes; usually took 30 minutes to an hour |
| Why the elder uses a string | Upper-caste belief that if they touched “us”, “they would be polluted” |
| Result of Bama’s hard work | Stood first in her class; gained many friends |
Zitkala-SaDress and hair taken by force · physical force · immediate resistance
BamaCaste untouchability · no physical contact · resistance delayed into study
Both: autobiography, first-person, marginalised community vs mainstream culture, both resist
5 Words to Know
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Bedlam | A scene of uproar and confusion |
| Indignities | Humiliating treatment |
| Shingled (hair) | Cut very short, close to the head |
| Paleface | A Native American term for a white person |
| Untouchability | Caste-based avoidance of physical contact with certain people |
| Polluted (caste sense) | The book’s word: upper-caste people believed they would be “polluted” if they touched the elder’s community |
| Threshing floor | A levelled area where cattle tread grain out of straw |
6 Lines to Remember
“No, I will not submit! I will struggle first!”
Zitkala-Sa, refusing to accept the hair-cutting without a fight
“Then I lost my spirit… for now I was only one of many little animals driven by a herder.”
Zitkala-Sa, the moment her hair is actually cut
“Why should we have to fetch and carry for these people, I wondered… But we too are human beings.”
Bama, after learning the real reason for the elder’s string
“If we study and make progress, we can throw away these indignities.”
Annan’s advice to Bama
Quick Revision: read this the night before the exam
- Two autobiographical accounts read together: Zitkala-Sa’s “The Cutting of My Long Hair” and Bama’s “We Too are Human Beings” (from Karukku)
- Zitkala-Sa: bitter-cold first day at the school, the “eating by formula” dining ritual, Judewin’s warning, hiding under a bed, being dragged out and her hair cut by force despite “I will struggle first!”
- Among Zitkala-Sa’s people, short hair was worn by mourners and shingled hair by cowards (and captured, unskilled warriors had their hair shingled); “Then I lost my spirit”
- Bama: a joyful walk home from school, the threshing-floor scene, an elder forced to carry food by its string, because upper-caste people believed touch would leave them “polluted”
- Bama, who had already “seen, felt, experienced and been humiliated” by untouchability, first laughs at the elder’s walk; Annan explains; Bama feels sad, then angry, and insists “we too are human beings”
- Annan’s advice: education, not confrontation, is the way to “throw away these indignities”. Bama studies hard and stands first in her class
- Shared theme: both are autobiographies of a marginalised community’s childhood encounter with a mainstream culture, and both show resistance
- Key difference: Zitkala-Sa faces direct physical force and resists immediately; Bama faces enforced non-contact and resists later, through education
- Key terms: autobiography, untouchability, discrimination, marginalised community/mainstream culture, narrative perspective, “polluted” (assimilation and symbolism are general terms the book does not use)
- RWI Q2: children notice injustice early: Zitkala-Sa resists at once; Bama had already been humiliated by untouchability in third class
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