CBSE Class 12 English Memories Of Childhood VBQs

Question. The chapter ‘We Too are Human Beings’ is __________ the book named ‘Karukku’ by Bama.

a) a preface to
b) the blurb for
c) an excerpt from
d) the foreword of

Answer : C 

Question. In the light of the following statement, choose the option that lists the characteristics of Zitkala-Sa.
“No I will not submit! I will struggle first!”
1. servile
2. audacious
3. cocky
4. brash
5. resolute
6. gutsy
a) 1, 2 and 5
b) 2, 5 and 6
c) 1, 3 and 5
d) 2, 4 and 6

Answer : B 

Question. “At times, people from various political parties would arrive put up a stage and harangue us through their mikes.” In which of the following options is the word ‘harangue’ NOT used correctly?
a) The director would often harangue his employees.
b) The professor had no right to harangue by the student.
c) The harangue of the student was applauded by the audience.
d) As the man moved closer, he began to harangue uncontrollably.

Answer : C 

Question. “Among our people, short hair was worn by mourners, and shingled hair by cowards!” This statement is an example of
a) a belief
b) an opinion
c) a myth
d) a fallacy

Answer : A 

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow:

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.

Question. How would you describe the author’s tone when she says, “I was only one of many little animals driven by a herder”?
a) austere
b) apathetic
c) dismal
d) resentful

Answer : C 

Question. Choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
Statement 1: The author had been subjected to humiliation when she was separated from her mother.
Statement 2: Nobody was able to ease her distress and empathise with her.
a) Statement 1 is true but Statement 2 is false.
b) Statement 1 is false but Statement 2 is true.
c) Both Statement 1 and Statement cannot be inferred from the passage
d) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 can be inferred from the passage.

Answer : D 

Question. ‘Then I lost my spirit’. Choose the option that DOES NOT refer to ‘spirit’.
1. resolve
2. energy
3. determination
4. indifference
5. enthusiasm
6. will power
a) 1, 2 and 5
b) 2, 4 and 6
c) 1, 3 and 6
d) 3, 4 and 6

Answer : C 

Question. Look at the given images of books. Which of the following conveys the idea of the extract?

a) Option 1
b) Option 2
c) Option 3
d) Option 4

Answer : D 

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow:

When I heard this, I didn’t want to laugh any more, I felt terribly sad. How could they believe that it was disgusting if one of us held that package in his hands, even though the vadai had been wrapped first in a banana leaf, and then parcelled in paper? I felt so provoked and angry that I wanted to touch those wretched vadais myself straightaway. Why should we fetch and carry for these people, I wondered. Such an important elder of ours goes meekly to the shops to fetch snacks and hands them reverently, bowing and shrinking, to this fellow who just sits there and stiffs them into his mouth. The thought of it infuriated me.

Question. Pick an idiom that DOES NOT describe how the author felt about this incident.
a) at the end of one’s tether
b) be in a black mood
c) up in arms
d) throw up one’s hands

Answer : D 

Question. Based on the given context, choose the option that illustrates when a person can be provoked, out of the examples given below.

a) Option 1
b) Option 2
c) Option 3
d) Option 4

Answer : B 

Question. The elder handing snacks reverently, bowing and shrinking to the fellow indicates that the ‘fellow’ was
1. condescending.
2. unassuming.
3. submissive.
4. disdainful.
5. aggressive
6. domineering.
a) 2, 3 and 6
b) 1, 4 and 5
c) 1, 4 and 6
d) 2, 3 and 4

Answer : C 

Question. The given extract DOES NOT talk about
a) author’s realisation of her misconception.
b) elders being ill-treated in her society.
c) the haughtiness of the ‘fellow’.
d) how the author was enraged.

Answer : B 

More Important Questions For CBSE Class 12 English VBQs Memories Of Childhood 

Short Answer Type Questions :

Question. Why was the girl tied to a chair ?
Answer : The girl was tied to a chair because she refused to accept their decision. They wanted to cut her long hair and she felt insulted because of this. 

Question. Which words of her brother made a deep impression on Bama ? 
OR
What did Bama’s brother want her to do ? Why ?
Answer : When Bama appraised her brother about an incident, her brother told her that they were born in a community of ‘low caste’ people and so were not given any honour, dignity or respect. They could throw away these indignities if they study, make progress and become learned. These words had a deep and lasting impression on Bama and she started studying very hard and stood first in the class.

Question. Why was Zitkala-Sa in tears on the first day in the land of apples ? 
Answer : Zitkala-Sa was in tears on the first day in the land of apples because her cloak had been taken away from her. She was further informed by her friend that they would cut her long, heavy hair. Zitkala-Sa resisted but her hair was forcefully cut and she felt insulted.

Question. What were the indignities that Zitkala-Sa had to suffer for being from a marginalized community?
Answer : Zitkala Sa had to suffer many indignities on account of belonging to marginalised community. She had been stared at, she had been thrown here and there like a puppet, her blanket and moccasins had been taken from her, she had to wear tight fitting clothes and finally her hair was shingled. She felt she had lost her freedom. She wanted to go back to her mother. 

Question. How did Zitkala-Sa’s first day in the land of apples begin ? 
Answer : Her first day in the land of apples was full of embarrassment and indignities. It was a bitter cold day and the ground was covered with snow. A large bell rang for breakfast and everybody moved towards the dining hall. The annoying clatter of shoes disturbed the place. Before entering the dining room, she was given tight fitting clothes which she found immodest. They took away the blanket wrapped around her and Zitkala-Sa felt embarrassed.

Question. Why did Zitkala – Sa not want her hair to be cut short ? 
Answer : Zitkala–Sa did not want her hair to be cut short because her mother had told her that shingled hair was worn by unskilled warriors who were captured and short hair was worn by
mourners. She felt indecent and undignified. 

Question. What is common between Zitkala Sa and Bama ?
Answer : Zitkala Sa and Bama both came from marginalized communities. They both were the victims of discrimination and protested against social injustice which they both faced during their childhood. They both became writers and used their education to fight against discrimination and social injustice.

Question. At the dining table, why did Zitkala-Sa begin to cry when others started eating ?
Answer : Zitkala-Sa cried at the table because she was very embarrassed. She did not know the practices involved while eating. When the first bell was sounded everyone pulled their chairs. She did too. But while everyone was waiting for the second bell to ring in order to sit and start eating, she sat down on the first bell itself. This made her feel embarrassed and she started crying.

Question. According to Zitkala-Sa, what does ‘eating by formula’ mean ?
Answer : When Zitkala-Sa was admitted in the Carlisle Indian School, she faced a number of rules that the students had to follow. One of them was the manner of eating. There were three
bells which were rung before the students were allowed to start eating. Being a natural being, Zitkala-Sa could not digest the meaning of these polished manners which were alien to her culture.

Question. Why did Bama reach home late after school ?
                                            OR
What made Bama return home invariably late from school ?
                                            OR
What were the articles in the stalls and shops that fascinated Bama on her way back from school ?
                                            OR
Which activities of the people would Bama watch keenly in the bazaar ?
Answer : Street plays or a puppet show or a stunt performance, arrival of political parties and their speeches through mikes, coffee clubs in bazaar, the chopping of onions or almonds being blown away by the winds, all these activities fascinated Bama on her way back from school. 

Question. How could Bama rise above indignities ?
Answer : Bama was deeply hurt by the untouchability rampant in her society and she rose above indignities by studying hard and standing first in her class. This made many people her friends.

Question. Mention any two reasons because of which it would take thirty minutes to an hour for Bama to reach home ? 
                                                   OR
How long would it take for Bama to walk home from school and why ?
Answer : It would take Bama thirty minutes to an hour to reach home because she would watch all the fun and games that were going on the road. She would look at the shops and the bazaars. She would also look at the snake charmers and the monkey performing. 

Question. What comic incident did Bama narrate to her brother ? Why was he not amused ?
Answer : Bama told her brother about the incident of an elderly man who was walking holding the packet with a string which seemed to be very funny.
Her brother was not amused for he knew the harsh reality of caste discrimination faced by the people of his community.

Long Answer Type Questions :

Question. What activities did Bama witness on her way back from school ?
Answer : Bama watched all the fun and games in the streets. There was a performing monkey. Then, there was the snake charmer. There was the cyclist who had not got off his bike for three days. There were the spinning wheels. The Maariyaata temple was a great attraction. There were all sorts of shops and stalls. There was a hunter gypsy with a lemur in a cage, people selling needles, clay pots and instruments for cleaning ears.
There would be some political party arranging mikes. At times, there was a puppet or a magic show. There were the coffee clubs in the bazaar. Some people could be seen sitting in front of the shops chopping onions. Then, according to the season, there would be people selling fruits, sweets, tasty fried snacks, payasam, halwa, boiled tamarind seeds and iced lollies. 

Question. What are the similarities in the lives of Bama and Zitkala-Sa though they belong to different cultures ? 
                                                                                          OR
The two accounts that you have read above are based on two distant cultures. What is the commonality of theme found in both of them ? 
Answer : Memories of Childhood’ presents two autobiographical episodes. Both are from the lives of women. The first account is by an American Indian woman born in the late nineteenth century. The second episode is narrated by a contemporary Tamil Dalit writer. But the women belong to two different cultures. Gertrude Simmons Bonnin describes the shameful treatment that red native Indians meet at the hands of the white people. On the other hand, “Bama” narrates how the people of ‘high’ castes don’t consider the people of ‘low’ castes as human beings.
The first common feature of both the writings is that both the episodes describe the sufferings of two women. Both the women are from ‘marginalised communities’. Native Indians don’t get respect, dignity and importance in America. They are marginalised and sidelined. The white people suffer from racial prejudices. They force the minorities to follow their traits, traditions and whims. The poor Indian girl in ‘The Cutting of My Long Hair’ is dragged out, tied to a chair and her long and heavy hair was shingled. No one helped or even consoled her. She lost her identity. She was now one of the many little animals driven by a herder. Similarly, the girl in ‘We Too Are Human Beings’ is upset by the curse of untouchability. What they share is the cruel discrimination and adverse situations faced by both of them and how they both educated themselves and brought forward their accounts in the form of telling the whole world what they faced through their stories.

Question. What were Zitkala Sa’s experiences on the first day in the land of apples ?
Answer : It was Zitkala-Sa’s first day in the land of apples. She was an American-Indian who had been brought there. She had two unpleasant experiences. She had to face an embarrassing position in the dining room as she didn’t know the eating pattern that was followed there. When a large bell rang, she marched into the dining room along with the other Indian girls. A small bell was tapped. Each of the pupils drew a chair from under the table. She thought they were going to eat. So she pulled out her chair and slipped into it. When she looked around, she found that she alone was seated while the rest were standing. She found herself in an embarrassing position.
Then, she got the shocking news that they were going to shingle her long, heavy hair. She was in a great panic. When nobody was noticing her, she crept up to the stairs. She hid herself in an empty room under the bed. But she was found out. She was dragged out and brought downstairs. She was tied fast to a chair. Her hair was shingled. She cried but no one came to her rescue. 

Question. It may take a long time for oppression to be resisted, but the seeds of rebellion are sowed early in life. How did Zitkala-Sa face oppression as a child and how did she overcome it?
Answer : Children are much more sensitive and observant than the adults. They see, hear, and feel whatever is happening around them. They are quick to notice any deviation from the normal. Zitkala-Sa shows that she has the seed of rebellion at a tender age. Her friend Judwin tells her that the authorities will cut her long, heavy hair and she will have to submit as the authorities were stronger than her. But Zitkala-Sa rebels and declares that she will not submit. And, she does carry out her resolution. She hides herself to foil their attempt. When she is detected to be hiding under the bed, she is dragged out. She kept resisting by scratching and kicking them wildly. But, she was overpowered and tied to a chair. She doesn’t take things lying down and instead keeps resisting. The spark of rebellion is not put out even by the oppression.

Question. Untouchability is not only a crime, it is inhuman too. Why and how did Bama decide to fight against it ? 
Answer : Bama was in school when she first came to know of the social discrimination faced by the people of her community. On her way back home from school, she saw an elderly man carrying a small packet containing some eatables; he was holding it by its strings and not at all touching it. She found it funny at first but, soon, was shocked to know from her brother
that it was a form of discrimination the people of their community had to face because they were Dalits.

Question. What was the incident watched by Bama in her street ? How was she affected by it ?
                                                                                 OR
For a long time we have been treating certain castes with a prejudice. What did Bama see which made her realise this injustice ?
Answer : One day Bama was walking home from school, when she came to a street where she saw the landlord seated on a piece of sacking spread over a stone ledge. He was watching the proceedings of threshing. Just then, she saw an elder of their street coming along from the direction of the bazaar. He was holding out a packet of vadai by its string, without touching it. He was walking in such a ludicrous manner that she could not help laughing. He went straight up to the landlord, bowed low and extended the packet towards him. The landlord opened the packet and began to eat the vadais.
She was too young to understand why the man carried the packet like that. She told the whole incident to her elder brother. He explained to her that everybody believed that they were upper caste than that particular man and they were from the lower caste and therefore, must not touch the people of their community. If they did, then the upper caste would consider themselves be polluted. This is when Bama realised the injustice done to certain castes. She felt very sad to hear this. She was filled with rage. She wanted to rebel against the caste system which made the distinction between human beings. They too were human beings. Then, why should they bow and cringe before these other people.