Answer any one of the following questions in 120 – 150 words :

(a) The arrival of the American prisoner upsets Sadao’s home. Give instances from the text in support of the above statement.

(b) Evans outwits everyone, and in spite of the precautions taken by the Governor, he is able to escape from the prison. Describe how he was able to do so.

(c) ‘‘Since the day I was taken from my mother I had suffered extreme indignities.’’ Elaborate with the help of the account written by Zitkala-Sa in ‘Memories of Childhood’.

(a) The American prisoner was an enemy for Sadao and his family, and Sadao knew very well that it would be a crime to provide any kind of help and shelter to the enemy, that too while the war was still on. The consequences, if he was found out, would be harsh and fatal. The family might be condemned as traitors and arrested or even tried for the crime.

This thought had a negative impact on the family. Despite all this, when Sadao chose to provide shelter in his house to the American prisoner, all his servants left the house out of fear of being arrested as well. Hana now started feeling burdened and was not at all happy with the course of action. They had to live in constant fear of getting caught, and all these situations destroyed the peace and happiness at Sadao’s home, causing great grief to the family.

(b) Evans managed to outwit everyone, like all the other times he had before to break free from prison. Despite all the precautions taken by the Governor, he still manages to escape from the prison. He crafts a plan that begins execution right from the moment the German teacher enters the prison.

Evans knew that Mr. Jackson, despite his rough tone and appearance, had some softness for Evans in his heart. Therefore, he requests him to be let on the filthy red and white bobble hat on his head during the examination, which he is allowed to. he actually wore the hat to hide his recently cropped hair. He was also sure of the fact that the prison officers would assume blindly if told something, which is why he later posed as an injured Mr. McLeery. The officers were quick to assume that Evans had hit McLeery and left the scene, and didn’t perform any kind of investigation on him. The prison officers themselves carried Evans out of the prison, and he was able to outwit everyone despite all their precautions, and escape.

(c) Zitkala-Sa says that ever since she was taken from her mother, she had to suffer extreme indiginities. People had gawked at her, tossed her in the air like a wooden puppet. Her blanket had been snatched away from her shoulders; her soft moccasins, the traditional footwear she wore, taken away. She was made to feel immodest about her way of dressing, shocked and oppressed about everything in life. She looked at other girls wearing stiff shoes and sticking dresses and shingled hair, and did not want to be that way.

The worst indignity came in the form of the cutting of her hair, which according to her tradition suited only mourners or cowards. She cried in pain and horror and felt like an animal being forced to do things by the herders. The manner in which she was oppressed and disrespected for her cultural origins made her shatter.