Memory of Childhood – Summary (Class 12 Vistas)

Zitkala-Sa describes her experience at a Native American boarding school run by white Americans. On the first day, she is horrified to learn that her long hair will be forcibly cut. In her tribe, only warriors who had been defeated in battle had their hair cut. She hides under a bed, but is dragged out and has her hair cut, leaving her feeling completely defeated and humiliated.

Bama, a young Tamil Dalit girl, describes seeing an elderly man of her community carrying a food parcel for the landlord — holding it by the string to avoid 'polluting' it with his touch. When she tells her brother Annan what she saw, he explains it is because of their low caste. He tells her the only way to destroy this discrimination is through education and hard work.

Both stories deal with the childhood experience of realizing that society views you as inferior because of your identity (race or caste). Both women choose resistance — through knowledge and writing.