Memories of Childhood — Class 12 English PYQs

I did not open my mouth to answer. I could not assume such an insolent attitude, for I was only a scared and bewildered child. 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 would have done; for now I was only one of many little animals driven by a herder. I was carried downstairs and tied fast in a chair.

Why did Zitkala-Sa not resist when her hair was being cut?

What does the phrase 'I lost my spirit' reveal about Zitkala-Sa's state of mind?

The comparison 'tossed about in the air like a wooden puppet' suggests

Complete the following sentence appropriately.
Zitkala-Sa describes herself as 'one of many little animals driven by a herder' to convey _________.

'The words that Annan spoke to me that day made a deep impression on me.' What inference do you draw about the bond between Annan and Bama?

'I had been tossed about in the air like a wooden puppet' and now my long hair was shingled like a coward's. What inference about the life of Zitkala-Sa can be drawn from the above statement?

'The words that Annan spoke to me that day made a deep impression on me.' How was Annan able to inspire Bama?

Attempt any one of the two extracts (A) and (B) given below :

(c) What did Judewin tell the narrator ? What was the effect ?