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I cried aloud, shaking… (Class 12 English SQP 2024-25, Q8B)

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EnglishCBSE Class 12 · Sample paper, session 2024-25 · 4 marks · Case-based

CBSE Class 12 English sample paper 2024-25: question 8(B)

From the official CBSE sample question paper for 2024-25, section C, question 8(B), for 4 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q8(B) · 4 marks · Case-basedCompetency-basedMemories of Childhood

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! In my anguish I moaned for my mother, but no one came to comfort me. Not a soul reasoned quietly with me, as my own mother used to do; for now, I was only one of many little animals driven by a herder. (Memories of Childhood: The Cutting of My Long Hair)

  1. I.

    Complete the following suitably.
    Zitkala-Sa's description of her experience at the boarding school conveys a sense of abandonment through her portrayal of __________

    1 mark
  2. II.

    List any one emotion that Zitkala-Sa experiences as her hair is being cut.

    1 mark
  3. III.

    Select the suitable option to complete the following.
    The metaphor of being 'tossed about in the air like a wooden puppet' contribute to the reader's understanding of Zitkala-Sa's feelings of being ________.

    1. (A)forced to interact with others
    2. (B)manipulated and controlled
    3. (C)preached at and insulted
    4. (D)made to exist like toy animals
    1 mark

Source: official sample paper from cbseacademic.nic.in (PDF). See it in the full Sample paper 2024-25.

Hints

Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.

Hint 1

For I, notice who does not come to comfort her.

Hint 2

For II, look at the word she uses just before 'moaned'.

Hint 3

For III, ask who moves a puppet.

Step-by-step solution

Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.

Verified: two independent solves agree and the official marking scheme matchesChecked 2026-11-01

  1. (I) ...her isolation and lack of support: no one comes to comfort her, and she is treated like an animal driven by a herder, which suggests a loss of identity.

    1 mark

  2. (II) Anguish (also fear, shame or helplessness).

    1 mark

  3. (III) Option B. Being tossed like a puppet shows she is manipulated and controlled, with no say.

    1 mark

Answer: (I) isolation and lack of comfort; (II) anguish; (III) B

Where the marks are

  • Isolation or lack of support (1 mark)
  • Relevant emotion such as anguish (1 mark)
  • Option B (1 mark)

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Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Memories of Childhood, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paperSample paper 2024-25: every question, by section.

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