question_answer 3)

Bama's experience is that of a victim of the caste system. What kind of discrimination does Zitkala-Sa's experience depict? What are their responses to their respective situations?  

Answer:

Zitkala-Sa was ill-treated and discriminated against from the beginning of her journey. Native Americans, at that time, did not associate with white people and faced discrimination because of her appearance, her moccasined feet and blanket, regardless of her feelings. After reaching the missionary school, a rosy-cheeked pale-faced woman treated her as a plaything and tossed her up and down, which caused her to be on the verge of tears, because she was so scared and felt extremely uncomfortable. Even though she hated the way she was treated, she still had to abide by rules and orders in those following days or she would get punished. However, no matter how many sufferings from cultural and racial discrimination she had taken, she still always worked her own way through and never gave in to discrimination.  Similarly, Bama remained undeterred. For Bama, regarded as one of India's newest and most challenging voices, life is all about convictions. She was convinced that she had a role to play.  And it was this conviction that made her stand up for her beliefs. She championed the economic and social hardships faced by Dalits due to the discrimination by upper-caste people. Both of them did not succumb to pressure but stood by what they believed to be true.