Read the given extracts and answer the questions for ANY ONE of the two, given.

What are the similarities and differences between Zitkala-Sa’s and Bama’s experiences of discrimination and resistance? Compare and contrast their accounts in terms of the themes, tones, and styles.

Answer as written by the student:

Zitkala-Sa and Bama both faced discrimination in their childhood because of their cultural and social identities . 

• Zitkala-Sa was a Native American who was forced to attend a boarding school where her culture and language were suppressed . Bama was a Dalit who was treated as an untouchable by the upper caste people in her village. They both resisted the discrimination in different ways. 
• Zitkala-Sa rebelled against the school authorities and refused to cut her hair, which was a symbol of her identity. She also wrote stories and articles to expose the injustice and oppression faced by her community. Bama was angry and hurt by the humiliation she witnessed, but she was guided by her brother to channel her anger into education. She studied hard and became a teacher and a writer, who spoke for the rights and dignity of her community.

Step by step explanation of the answer:

The question asks us to compare and contrast the experiences of discrimination and resistance of Zitkala-Sa and Bama, who are the narrators of the two stories in the chapter “Memories of Childhood”.

To answer this question, we need to identify the similarities and differences between their accounts in terms of the themes, tones, and styles.

• The themes are the main ideas or messages that the stories convey. Some common themes are discrimination, identity, culture, resistance, education, etc.
• The tones are the attitudes or emotions that the narrators express through their words and actions. Some possible tones are anger, sadness, defiance, pride, hope, etc.
• We can use a table to organize our points of comparison and contrast: