Memories of Childhood Class 12: Summary, Themes and Board Answers
Updated 14 October 2026 · Fact-checked
Memories of Childhood, from Vistas, has two autobiographical accounts by women from marginalised communities. In 'The Cutting of My Long Hair', Zitkala-Sa, a Native American, resists a school's forced haircut. In 'We Too are Human Beings', Bama, a Tamil Dalit, discovers untouchability and resolves to study hard. The board tests extracts and answers.
What Memories of Childhood is about
Memories of Childhood presents two autobiographical episodes from the lives of women from marginalised communities, reflecting on their relationship with the mainstream culture.
1. The Cutting of My Long Hair by Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, born 1876), a Native American writer. On her first day at a missionary boarding school in 'the land of apples', she is bewildered by bells, strict table rules and tight clothes. When she learns that the girls' long hair will be cut (among her people, shingled hair is worn by cowards), she hides under a bed but is dragged out, tied to a chair and her braids are cut. She loses her spirit.
2. We Too are Human Beings by Bama, a Tamil Dalit writer, from her autobiography *Karukku*. As a child in the third class, she laughs at an elder of her community carrying a packet of vadais by its string to a landlord. Her elder brother Annan explains that upper-caste people believe they will be polluted if a Dalit touches their food. Angry and sad, she takes his advice to study hard to overcome indignity, and stands first in her class.
What the board asks: a Vistas extract (Q8), 40-50 word answers on the common theme, the kind of discrimination each faces, and their responses (Q11), and 120-150 word answers on oppression noticed early by children, or how education helps fight discrimination (Q13).
Weightage: Section C (Literature) carries 40 of the 80 theory marks; Vistas is tested through a Vistas extract (4 x 1), two of three short answers (2 x 2) and one of two long answers (5).Source: CBSE English Core (301) syllabus and sample paper 2026-27
In real board papers: asked in 2 of the 2 board papers we hold (2026 to 2026), on average 4.5 marks per paper. See the questions
Memories of Childhood: summary
In our own words, in the order of the text. Read the NCERT text itself too: the board quotes from it.
Part I: The Cutting of My Long Hair. Zitkala-Sa's first day at the school in 'the land of apples' is bitterly cold. A loud bell for breakfast, the clatter of shoes and voices speaking an unknown language confuse her; her spirit struggles for its lost freedom. Her blanket has been taken away, and she feels exposed. The Indian girls wear stiff shoes and tight dresses. At breakfast she sits at the first bell, not knowing that a second bell signals sitting; she is the only one seated and has to stand up again. When a third bell rings and everyone starts eating, she begins to cry, afraid to do anything more under the watchful eyes of a 'paleface' woman.
Her friend Judewin, who knows a little English, warns her that the paleface woman plans to cut their long hair. Among their people, only captured unskilled warriors had their hair shingled by the enemy; mourners wore short hair, and cowards wore shingled hair. Judewin says they must submit, but Zitkala-Sa refuses and hides under a bed in a dim upstairs room. Women and girls search and finally find her. She is dragged out kicking and scratching, carried downstairs and tied to a chair. As she feels the cold scissors gnaw off her braid, she loses her spirit. She recalls the indignities she has suffered since being taken from her mother and feels like one of many animals driven by a herder.
Part II: We Too are Human Beings. Bama, in the third class, takes up to an hour to walk home, enjoying the street sights: a performing monkey, a snake charmer, a cyclist pedalling for three days, temple festivities, shops and seasonal fruits. One day she sees an elder of her community carrying a small packet of vadais by its string, without touching it, to the landlord at a threshing floor. She finds it funny. Her elder brother, Annan, explains that upper-caste people believe a Dalit's touch will pollute their food. Bama becomes sad and angry, wondering how people can lose all human feeling, and declares that her people too are human beings who should not run such errands.
Annan tells her how a landlord's man asked his street to find out his caste. He advises her that education is the way to throw off these indignities: if she is always ahead in her lessons, people will come to her of their own accord. Bama studies with all her heart, stands first in her class and makes many friends.
Themes and message
Discrimination against marginalised communities
Zitkala-Sa faces racial and cultural discrimination by white missionaries; Bama faces caste discrimination. Both are treated as less than human by a dominant group.
From the text: Zitkala-Sa feels like 'one of many little animals driven by a herder'; Bama declares 'we too are human beings'.
Resistance and rebellion
Both girls respond to injustice. Zitkala-Sa resists physically; Bama resolves to fight indignity through education.
From the text: 'No, I will not submit! I will struggle first!'
Loss of identity and dignity
Cutting Zitkala-Sa's long hair, a symbol of courage in her culture, strips her of her identity. Bama's community is denied 'honour or dignity or respect'.
From the text: 'And now my long hair was shingled like a coward’s!'
Education as empowerment
Annan's advice shows education as the path to dignity and respect for the oppressed.
From the text: Annan urges her to study hard so that people will seek her out.
Children notice injustice early
Even as young children, both writers sense injustice and react with pain and anger; the seeds of rebellion are sown early.
From the text: Bama had 'seen, felt, experienced and been humiliated' by untouchability before she heard the word.
Characters
Zitkala-Sa
Native American girl at a missionary school; the narrator of Part I.
- Proud of her culture
- Rebellious and brave
- Sensitive and homesick
- Crushed by forced assimilation
She hides to avoid the haircut and fights when dragged out; she moans for her mother.
Judewin
Zitkala-Sa's friend.
- Knows a little English
- Practical: advises submission
'We have to submit, because they are strong.'
Bama
Tamil Dalit girl in the third class; the narrator of Part II.
- Curious and observant
- Sensitive to injustice
- Angry but determined
- Hard-working
She is angered by the vadai incident and studies until she stands first in class.
Annan
Bama's elder brother, a university student.
- Wise and aware
- Encouraging
- Believes in education
He explains untouchability and urges her to work hard and learn.
How it is written
| Device | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| First-person autobiographical narration | Both accounts are told by the writers about their own childhood. | Makes the experiences authentic and moving. |
| Simile | 'tossed about in the air like a wooden puppet'; 'like a coward's' | Shows Zitkala-Sa's helplessness and humiliation. |
| Contrast of tone | Bama's comic description of the elder turns to sadness when she learns the truth. | Shows a child's sudden awareness of injustice. |
| Vivid listing | Bama's long list of street sights. | Captures a child's curiosity and the lively world around her. |
Key quotations
Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.
No, I will not submit! I will struggle first!
Zitkala-Sa: When Judewin says they must accept the haircut.
Shows her spirit of resistance.
Then I lost my spirit.
Zitkala-Sa: When her braid is cut.
The haircut breaks her spirit and identity.
only one of many little animals driven by a herder
Zitkala-Sa: After the haircut.
She feels dehumanised by the school.
But we too are human beings.
Bama: After learning about untouchability.
Her assertion of equal dignity.
Work hard and learn.
Annan: His advice to Bama.
Education as the way to overcome indignity.
Memories of Childhood in real life
Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.
Discrimination noticed by children
Suppose a child notices that a domestic worker in a neighbour's house is given tea in a separate cup.
Which incident in 'Memories of Childhood' is this like, and what should the child do? Answer in 40-50 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Like the vadai packet held by a string.
- Untouchability-like practice.
- Question it, treat everyone equally.
Answer: It is like the elder carrying vadais by a string so that upper-caste people would not be 'polluted'. Like Bama, the child should recognise this as discrimination, ask adults why it happens, and treat every person with equal respect.
Memory hook: Separate cups, separate dignity: question it.
Forced change of identity
Imagine a school that bans students from speaking their mother tongue or wearing traditional dress.
Which part of the chapter does this recall?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Zitkala-Sa lost her blanket, moccasins and hair.
- Forced assimilation.
Answer: It recalls Zitkala-Sa's school, which stripped her of her blanket, moccasins and long hair, forcing her to give up her culture.
Memory hook: Uniform should not mean erasing identity.
Education as empowerment
Suppose a girl from a poor family wins a scholarship and becomes the first graduate in her village.
Whose advice does her success reflect?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Annan's advice to study and progress.
- Education removes indignity.
Answer: Annan's advice to Bama: study hard and make progress, and people will respect you.
Memory hook: Learn to rise.
Topics in this chapter
How the board asks Memories of Childhood
The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.
| Question type | How it is asked | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Vistas extract (Q8, 4 x 1) | Passages on the dining hall, the haircut, the vadai incident or Annan's advice. | Know which part each passage comes from and its cultural meaning. |
| Short answer (Q11, 40-50 words) | Common theme; kinds of discrimination; responses; why the elder carried the packet by its string; why hair-cutting mattered. | Compare the two accounts point by point. |
| Long answer (Q13, 120-150 words) | Seeds of rebellion sown early; education against discrimination; comparison of the two writers. | Use one incident from each part, then extend to society today. |
Tricks to remember Memories of Childhood
Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.
Two parts, two authors
Hair → Zitkala-Sa (Native American, school); Human → Bama (Tamil Dalit, Karukku).
Use it when: Avoiding mix-ups.
Three bells
Bell 1: draw chairs; Bell 2: sit; Bell 3: eat. Zitkala-Sa sat too early and cried.
Use it when: Dining-hall questions.
Responses
Zitkala-Sa: fight (hide, kick). Bama: study (first in class).
Use it when: Comparison answers.
Memories of Childhood: extract-based questions
Read the extract, answer every part on paper, then open the answers.
Extract 1: The cutting of the hair
I cried aloud, shaking my head all the while until I felt the cold blades of the scissors against my neck, and heard them gnaw off one of my thick braids. Then I lost my spirit. Since the day I was taken from my mother I had suffered extreme indignities. People had stared at me. I had been tossed about in the air like a wooden puppet. And now my long hair was shingled like a coward’s!
(1) · 1 mark · Very short answer
Why did Zitkala-Sa lose her spirit?
(2) · 1 mark · MCQ
In her culture, shingled hair was worn by:
(a) warriors (b) mourners (c) cowards (d) chiefs(3) · 1 mark · Very short answer
Name one indignity she had suffered since leaving her mother.
(4) · 1 mark · Very short answer
What does the simile 'like a wooden puppet' suggest?
Show the answersAnswers
- Because her long hair, a symbol of courage in her culture, was cut like a coward's.
- (c) cowards
- People had stared at her (or she had been tossed about like a wooden puppet).
- She was treated as a lifeless object without will or feelings.
Extract 2: Annan's advice
But if we study and make progress, we can throw away these indignities. So study with care, learn all you can. If you are always ahead in your lessons, people will come to you of their own accord and attach themselves to you. Work hard and learn.”
(1) · 1 mark · Very short answer
Who is the speaker?
(2) · 1 mark · MCQ
The speaker begins by saying that, because they are born into this community, they are stripped of all honour, dignity and respect. What, according to the speaker, are people of their community denied?
(a) food (b) honour, dignity and respect (c) land only (d) jobs only(3) · 1 mark · Very short answer
How can they 'throw away these indignities'?
(4) · 1 mark · Very short answer
What was the result of this advice for Bama?
Show the answersAnswers
- Annan, Bama's elder brother.
- (b) honour, dignity and respect
- By studying hard and making progress.
- She studied hard, stood first in her class and made many friends.
Memories of Childhood: board-level solved questions
Ordered from board level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.
Example 1: Common theme · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
The two accounts come from distant cultures. What theme do they share? Answer in 40-50 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Both from marginalised communities.
- Both face discrimination and humiliation as children.
- Both resist.
Answer: Both accounts show children from marginalised communities facing discrimination by a dominant group: Zitkala-Sa by white missionaries, Bama by upper-caste people. Both feel humiliated, notice the injustice early, and respond with resistance, physical in one case and through education in the other.
Example 2: Kinds of discrimination · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Bama faces caste discrimination. What kind of discrimination does Zitkala-Sa face, and how do they respond? Answer in 40-50 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Zitkala-Sa: racial and cultural, forced assimilation.
- Responds by hiding and fighting.
- Bama: studies hard.
Answer: Zitkala-Sa faces racial and cultural discrimination: white missionaries force her to give up her dress, customs and long hair. She resists by hiding and kicking. Bama, facing untouchability, responds by studying hard on Annan's advice and standing first in class.
Example 3: The vadai packet · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
Why did the elder carry the packet of vadais by its string, and how did Bama react on learning the reason? Answer in 40-50 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Upper caste believed Dalit touch pollutes.
- Bama: sad, angry.
- Wanted to touch the vadais.
Answer: Upper-caste people believed that if a Dalit touched their food it would be polluted, so the elder held the packet by its string. On learning this, Bama stopped laughing and felt terribly sad and angry; she wanted to touch the vadais herself and felt her people should not run such errands.
Example 4: Why the hair mattered · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why was the cutting of her hair so painful for Zitkala-Sa? Answer in 40-50 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Cultural meaning of shingled hair: cowards.
- Loss of identity.
- Final indignity after many.
Answer: Among her people, only captured warriors had their hair shingled by the enemy, and shingled hair marked cowards. Cutting her long hair stripped her of her identity and pride. Coming after many indignities since she left her mother, it broke her spirit completely.
Example 5: Seeds of rebellion · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Oppression may take long to be resisted, but the seeds of rebellion are sown early. Do you agree that even children notice injustice? Answer with reference to both accounts. Answer in 120-150 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Zitkala-Sa's resistance.
- Bama's awareness and anger.
- Annan's advice and her resolve.
- Conclusion: children sense injustice.
Answer: Yes. Both writers show that children sense injustice long before they can name it. Zitkala-Sa, a small Native American girl at a missionary school, feels the humiliation of losing her blanket and moccasins and being watched at meals. When she hears that her hair will be cut like a coward's, she refuses to submit and hides, fighting fiercely when she is dragged out. Though she loses, the experience plants a lifelong spirit of protest; she later wrote against such schools.
Bama, in the third class, laughs at an elder carrying vadais by a string until her brother explains untouchability. At once she feels sad and angry and declares that her people too are human beings. She channels her anger into study and stands first in class.
These childhood moments show that injustice leaves a deep mark on young minds, and that rebellion against oppression often begins in childhood.
Example 6: Education against discrimination · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level
How does Annan's advice show that education can help people overcome discrimination? Discuss its relevance today. Answer in 120-150 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Annan's advice.
- Bama's success.
- Today: education, reservations, awareness.
- Limits and need for social change.
Answer: Annan, a university student, tells Bama that their community is denied honour, dignity and respect simply because of birth. But if they study and make progress, they can throw away these indignities, and people will come to them of their own accord. Bama takes this to heart, studies with all her being, stands first in her class and makes many friends. Education gives her confidence, recognition and a voice; she later became a writer whose books challenge caste.
The advice is still relevant. Education opens doors to jobs, independence and leadership, and helps people know and claim their rights. Many from marginalised communities have risen through education to positions of influence.
Yet education alone is not enough. Society must also change its attitudes, and laws against discrimination must be enforced. When education and social reform work together, people like Bama can live with the dignity every human being deserves.
Where the marks are
How a typical answer is marked: the value points the examiner looks for and the marks each earns.
What is the common theme of the two accounts? (40-50 words, 2 marks) (2 marks)
| Step | Marks |
|---|---|
| Discrimination against marginalised communities seen through children's eyes. | 1 |
| Both resist / notice injustice early; within word limit. | 1 |
Long answer on seeds of rebellion (120-150 words, 5 marks) (5 marks)
| Step | Marks |
|---|---|
| Evidence from both accounts. | 2 |
| Reasoned view. | 1 |
| Organisation. | 1 |
| Accuracy. | 1 |
Where students lose marks in Memories of Childhood
The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.
Mistake: Writing that Zitkala-Sa escaped the haircut
Do this: She was found, tied to a chair, and her braid was cut.
Usually costs: 1-2 marks.
Mistake: Confusing Annan with the elder
Do this: Annan is Bama's elder brother; the elder carried the vadais to the landlord.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Calling Zitkala-Sa's discrimination caste-based
Do this: Hers was racial and cultural (forced assimilation by white missionaries); Bama's was caste-based.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Treating the chapter as a single story
Do this: It has two separate autobiographical accounts; name both in comparison answers.
Usually costs: Content marks.
Memories of Childhood: previous year questions
- Asked in 2 of the 2 board papers we hold (2026 to 2026), on average 4.5 marks per paper; 2 questions in all, counting OR alternatives. In 3 of 3 sample papers.
Counted from the real papers on our previous year papers page, not estimated. Average marks are over every board paper we hold, with an OR pair counted once. Chapter tags are ours.
Every Memories of Childhood question, by year
- For 2027
Sample paper 2026-27: Q8(B) (4 marks)
- 2026
Set 301/1/1: Q8(A) (4 marks)
Set 301/5/1: Q13(b) (5 marks)
- For 2025
Sample paper 2024-25: Q8(B) (4 marks)
- For 2024
Sample paper 2023-24: Q11 (4 marks), Q13(B) (5 marks)
Practice questions on Memories of Childhood
Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.
Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Who wrote 'The Cutting of My Long Hair'?
(a) Bama (b) Zitkala-Sa (c) Judewin (d) AnnanHint
Native American writer.
Answer
(b) Zitkala-Sa
Q2 · 1 mark · Very short answerBoard level
What does 'Karukku' mean?
Hint
Leaves with serrated edges.
Answer
Palmyra leaves, whose serrated edges are like double-edged swords; it also suggests freshness or newness.
Q3 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why did Zitkala-Sa cry at breakfast on her first day? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Bells and rules.
Answer
She did not know the rules of eating by bells. She sat at the first bell and found she was the only one seated, then a man spoke and a paleface woman watched her closely. Confused and afraid to make more mistakes, she began crying instead of eating.
Q4 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How did the landlord's man find out Annan's caste? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Street.
Answer
Seeing Annan as a stranger on the tank bank, the man asked his name and then which street he lived on. In the village, the street showed a person's caste, so the question was a way of finding out whether he was from the Dalit community.
Q5 · 1 mark · Very short answerHarder board level
What did Judewin advise, and why?
Hint
They are strong.
Answer
To submit to the haircut, because the school authorities were strong.
Q6 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Compare Zitkala-Sa's and Bama's responses to the injustice they faced. Which do you think was more effective, and why? Answer in 120-150 words.
Hint
Physical vs educational resistance.
Answer
Zitkala-Sa responds to the threat of the haircut with immediate, physical resistance. She refuses Judewin's advice to submit, hides under a bed and kicks and scratches when she is dragged out. Her protest is brave but fails; tied to a chair, she loses her braid and her spirit.
Bama's response is different. When her brother explains untouchability, she feels sad and angry, and asserts that her people too are human beings. Instead of fighting physically, she follows Annan's advice to study hard. She stands first in class and wins friends and respect.
Both responses are valid. Zitkala-Sa's courage shows that the spirit of resistance starts early, and she too later used education and writing to protest. But Bama's path was more effective in the short term because education gave her lasting power to rise above discrimination. In the long run, both women used their words to fight injustice.
Test your recall
Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.
1.What was Zitkala-Sa's real name?Show answer
Gertrude Simmons Bonnin.
2.What did Zitkala-Sa call the place of the school?Show answer
The land of apples.
3.Where did Zitkala-Sa hide?Show answer
Under a bed in a dim room upstairs.
4.In Native American culture, who had shingled hair?Show answer
Cowards (short hair was worn by mourners).
5.From which book is Bama's account taken?Show answer
Karukku.
6.In which class was Bama?Show answer
The third class.
7.What did Bama achieve after Annan's advice?Show answer
She stood first in her class and made many friends.
Quick revision checklist
The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?
- Can you summarise both parts?
- Can you explain the meaning of shingled hair?
- Can you describe Zitkala-Sa's first breakfast?
- Can you explain the vadai incident and Annan's explanation?
- Can you compare the two writers' responses?
- Can you write 120-150 words on education or early rebellion?
Memories of Childhood: frequently asked questions
What is the theme of Memories of Childhood?
The discrimination faced by children from marginalised communities and their early resistance to it.
Who are the two writers?
Zitkala-Sa, a Native American woman born in 1876, and Bama, a contemporary Tamil Dalit writer.
Why did Bama stop laughing?
Annan explained that the elder carried the packet by a string because upper-caste people believed a Dalit's touch would pollute it.
Are both parts in the 2026-27 syllabus?
Yes. The syllabus lists both 'The Cutting of My Long Hair' and 'We Too are Human Beings'.
Based on: CBSE English Core (301) syllabus 2026-27; NCERT Vistas, Supplementary Reader in English for Class XII