Boyhood Days

 Questions and Answers

1. What were the two issues that colored people discussed after gaining freedom?

Coloured peopled discussed two main things after gaining freedom. 1. About changing their names and 2. About leaving the plantation for at least a few days to know what freedom really was.

2. Where did the narrator travel to? Why? What were the difficulties that they faced during their travel?

The narrator traveled to Kanawha Valley in West Virginia. He traveled because his step-father had sent for his mother. His step-father and his mother had different owners.  The journey from Virginia to West Virginia was difficult and painful. Children had to walk most of the journey. They had to sleep in the open and cooked their food outdoors. Thus they walked for several weeks.

3. Our new house was worse than the one we had left on the old plantation in Virginia. How was the new house worse? What was the culture in the new surroundings?

Their new house was in an overcrowded cluster of cabins. It was filthy and intolerable. Their old house on the plantation provided pure air always. Thus, the new house was worse. The culture was like that that the people in the new surroundings were all colored people who often quarreled and fought.

4. What were the difficulties that the colored race faced in their desire to educate their children?

The colored race were slaves till then and they were not allowed in the schools run by white people. They had no schools of their own. They were too poor to buy any books for their children. They had no teachers to teach in the Negro schools. These were some difficulties that colored race faced in their desire to educate their children.

5. The narrator’s mother was not schooled, yet very wise woman. Give two reasons to justify this statement.

The narrator’s mother was wise as she appreciated the importance of education in spite of being illiterate. She procured a spelling book for his son. The narrator wanted a hat as every student was wearing a hat at school. She sewed one for him instead of borrowing money to buy one. Her strength of character inspired the narrator.

6. I think there are not many men in our country who have had the privilege of naming themselves in the way that I have. What is the privilege the narrator is talking about? How did the narrator name himself?

The teacher demanded two names because the attendance register required a first and a last name for every student. The narrator is talking about the privilege of naming oneself.  The narrator named himself Booker Washington. As soon as he learned that his mother had named him Taliaferro, he made his full name Booker Taliaferro Washington.

7. Washington’s family became free but that was not the end of his troubles. Explain.

The freedom of colored people lifted them out of their former misery. The road to a better life was still full of obstacles, discouragement, and temptations. The introduction of education was a step in the direction of advancement.

8. As a member of the colored race, how were the narrator’s experiences while growing up different from other boys of his age?

The narrator felt that the experiences of white boys were different from the experiences of black boys. While the white boy was expected to succeed in a task, the black boy’s success came as a surprise. The black youth had to face many obstacles in their path to success. Prejudice and presumptions about the black community were a major setback.

9. The experience of a whole race beginning to go to school for the first time presents one of the most interesting studies in the development of any race. Do you think education builds cultural bridges? How?

Education is the first step towards the development of any culture. The advancement of a race is by education as it opens the doors to the future. Culture is the social behavior of any society which focuses on the knowledge of ethics, norms, and traditions. Education prepares the students to deal with cultural ethics and norms and facilitates a better future. Thus education builds cultural bridges.