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…
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…
When Bama approached her brother about an incident, he 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 and overcome racial discrimination if they studied, made progress and became learned. These words had a deep…
Zitkala–Sa resisted the shingling of her hair because cropped hair were a sign of either mourning or cowardice in her community. Her mother had told her that shingled hair was worn by unskilled captured warriors who were captured by the enemy, and thus it was indecent and undignified to have short hair.