explain the theme "discrimination" of the lesson "memories of childhood".

Both the accounts of Zitkala-Sa and Bama refer to the universal theme of exploitation and oppression of the socially marginalized classes. These autobiographical accounts deal with women of marginalized communities, narrating instances of prejudice faced by them thanks to the ignorance and petty-mindedness of the mainstream cultural groups. The girls in Zitkala's school were carefully scrutinised, they were made to wear clothes and shoes which were ill-fitting and suffocating. This disciplinarian system was extended to dictate the length of hair so much so that girls with long hair had to get them shingle and submit to the authorities who were quite cruel. Zitkala was terrified when she was informed of the impending hair loss because it was an infringement on her liberty to make these choices about the length of hair she wanted to keep. Zitkala's long hair was her own choice, something personal that could not come under the ambit of regulation on the part of the school authorities. When she refused to comply, she was dragged out and tied to a chair. She resisted but in vain and felt anguished after the hair cut. She felt that her spirit had been broken, it wasn't just her hair but her life spirit that had been pruned into submission.