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The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 18

Helen describes her entry into Cambridge School for Ladies where she faced the challenge of keeping up with normal students. She talks about the efforts of Miss Sullivan and Frau Gote to help her. Her success in the examinations encouraged her to study further.

This chapter records Helen’s entry into the Cambridge School for Ladies, a school for children without disabilities, where she faced the challenge of having to keep up with normal students. Her instructors had no experience in teaching special pupils like her and her only means of conversing with them was by reading their lips.

She faced the challenge bravely with the assistance of Miss Sullivan, who painstakingly decoded the lessons to her, through her fingers. She also received support from Frau Gote, who was able to help her because of her knowledge of the finger alphabet. Another teacher, Mr Gilman, also helped her by simplifying the lessons for her. Apart from the problems associated with learning with normal children, Helen quite enjoyed interacting with other girls of her age.

She played games with them, went on long walks and even discussed studies with them. Her sister Mildred also joined the school, making Helen even happier. The chapter also records how Helen appeared for the exams, the challenges she faced and how she overcame them. Her success in the examinations gave her encouragement to carry on her studies further.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 18 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Why did Helen not want to go to Wellesley?
Answer:
Helen did not want to go to Wellesley as only girls studied there.

Question 2.
What was the effect of her decision on the people in her life?
Answer:
The people in Helen’s life, felt it was going to be difficult for her to study in college alongside people who could see and hear.

Question 3.
How did Helen plan to overcome her handicap while studying in college?
Answer:
To help Helen with the lectures, she planned to have Miss Sullivan attend the classes with her and interpret the instructions given to her.

Question 4.
What were the advantages that Helen had over the other students?
Answer:
Helen had a good command over English, and a good start in French, Latin and German.

Question 5.
What were the drawbacks that Helen faced in college, and how did she overcome them?
Answer:
The first problem Helen faced was that Miss Sullivan could not spell everything on her hand and she required books. However, it was difficult to have all the textbooks embossed in a short while. Helen thus had to copy Latin into Braille. Moreover, it took the teachers a little time to understand her speech. They could then correct her mistakes. She then wrote all her compositions and translations on a typewriter.

Question 6.
Who were Frau Gote and Mr Gilman? How did they help Helen?
Answer:
Frau Gote and Mr Gilman were teachers at Cambridge School of Ladies. They were the only two teachers in the school who learned the finger alphabet and were able to instruct Helen. Mr Gilman read the lessons and explained various topics in a simplified manner. Similarly, Frau Gote spelled out her instructions in the special classes she gave Helen twice a week.

Question 7.
How did Helen enjoy herself at the Cambridge School with the other girls?
Answer:
For the first time in her life, Helen interacted with girls of her age. She enjoyed herself thoroughly, playing games like the blind man’s buff, playing in the snow, going on long walks and discussing studies with them.

Question 8.
What made her stay in Cambridge an even happier experience after Christmas?
Answer:
Helen’s sister Mildred joined the same school as Helen, and that made it one of the happiest times of her life.

Question 9.
What method was used to examine Helen?
Answer:
First of all, she was given a number by which she was identified. Then Mr Gilman read the papers to her sentence by sentence, while Helen repeated the words aloud to make sure that she had understood him perfectly. She then typed out her answers on a typewriter. Mr Gilman spelled out what she had written and Helen made changes as she thought necessary, while Mr Gilman inserted the changes. Finally, he sent her written work to the examiners, with a letter certifying that Helen, i.e., candidate 233, had written the papers.

Question 10.
What helped her before her Latin examination?
Answer:
On the day of her Latin exam, Helen’s teacher informed her that she had passed her German exam satisfactorily; this had a very positive effect on her. She felt motivated to do well in the Latin paper as well.

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The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 17

Helen recounts the time spent at the Wright Humason School for deaf, in New York where she found the teachers very dedicated and sincere. She talks about the death of her friend Mr Spaulding.

Helen recounts the time spent at the Wright Humason School for the deaf, in New York City, in 1894. She learnt vocal culture, lip reading, arithmetic, physical geography, French and German. She found French more difficult than German because her German teacher could use the manual alphabet whereas her French teacher could not use it manually. She could not learn to speak as quickly as she wanted to, and hence was disappointed.

She also found arithmetic difficult. Although these disappointments caused her great depression, she pursued other studies with interest, especially physical geography. But for these drawbacks, she found the teachers at the school very dedicated and looked back at the two years spent there with fondness.

She remembers her walks to Central Park and how she loved to have it described to her each time she went there. The chapter ends with Helen’s encounter with yet another death, that of her friend, Mr John Spaulding. His passing away left an irreplaceable void in her life.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 17 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Why was Helen sent to the Wright-Humason School in New York City?
Answer:
Helen was sent to Wright-Humason School to be trained in vocal culture and lip reading. Along with that, she studied subjects like arithmetic, physical geography, French and German.

Question 2.
Why did Helen find it easier to learn German?
Answer:
The German teacher was able to use the manual alphabet and since Helen had already acquired some proficiency in it, they were able to talk in German easily. Soon, she was able to read the book Wilhelm Tell.

Question 3.
What were the disappointments that Helen had to face at the Institute?
Answer:
Helen’s skill in lip-reading and speech did not improve as quickly as everyone had expected. Hence there was a sense of disappointment for Helen.

Question 4.
Which subject proved the most difficult for Helen? How did she deal with it?
Answer:
Helen found it very difficult to do arithmetic. She tried to deal with it by guessing the answers or jumping at conclusions, but it only aggravated her difficulties.

Question 5.
What did Helen remember of the teachers at Wright-Humason School?
Answer:
Helen remembered her teachers at the school as very dedicated; they tried their best to give their students whatever advantage possible to lead them out of the confined lives they led.

Question 6.
What does Helen mean by saying, “Before I left New York these bright days were darkened by the greatest sorrow”?
Answer:
Helen, here, refers to the death of Mr John P Spaulding of Boston, who had been a great friend of Helen and Miss Sullivan.

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The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 16

Helen writes about her attempts to learn French and improve her speech. She also began to learn Latin from Mr Irons.

This chapter recounts Helen’s attempts at learning French and improving her speech. She had already read the histories of Greece, Rome and the United States. In order to improve her speech, she read aloud to Miss Sullivan and recited passages of her favourite poets. For the first time in her life, she began to take fixed lessons at fixed times.

She started learning Latin from Mr Irons whom she describes as a man of rare, sweet nature and of wide experience. She learnt critical appreciation of literature and enjoyed her Latin lessons. Miss Sullivan helped her in her lessons by spelling into her hand whatever Mr Irons said and looking up new words for her.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 16 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
What does Helen mean when she says that earlier she had studied various subjects in a “desultory manner”?
Answer:
Helen confessed that there had been no fixed pattern to her learning. She had leamt various subjects them in a haphazard manner.

Question 2.
How do we know that Helen was determined to improve her speech?
Answer:
Helen spent a considerable amount of time reading out aloud to Miss Sullivan and reciting passages from her favourite poems which she had memorised. This reflected her urge to improve her speech.

Question 3.
What was the change that occurred from October 1893?
Answer:
The change that occurred in October 1893 was that Helen’s lessons became more structured and she began to have lessons in special subjects at fixed hours.

Question 4.
What did Mr Irons teach Helen?
Answer:
Mr Irons was a Latin scholar. He taught Helen Latin grammar and arithmetic. He taught her critical appreciation of the texts that she read and to recognise the writer’s style.

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The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 15

Helen writes about the time spent in Alabama, her constant anxiety about the originality of her writing, her trip to the Niagara Falls and her visit to the World Fair.

In this chapter, Helen writes about the time she spent in Alabama with her family, and how she returned to writing. She was plagued with insecurity about the originality of anything she wrote. She checked and double-checked her writing to make sure that she had not copied from something she had read, even accidentally.

Miss Sullivan continued to encourage her and persuaded her to write a brief account of her life for the Youth’s Companion. Helen recounts her trip to Washington, the Niagara Falls and World’s fair. The curious bazaar of India, the pyramids of Cairo, the lagoons of Venice and her experience on board a Viking ship at the World’s fair, was a totally new and enriching experience for Helen.

The World Fair proved to be a storehouse of information for Helen who readily absorbed every bit that she came across. She confesses that all these experiences added a great many new terms to her vocabulary.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 15 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How did Helen resume writing?
Answer:
Helen had serious doubts about her ability to write original work. She was anxious if she might be writing things that she had read somewhere else. She would check and double-check her work to make sure she was not inspired by other works. However, Miss Sullivan continued to encourage her and persuaded her to write for the Youth’s Companion, for which she wrote a brief account of her life.

Question 2.
What surprised people about Helen’s appreciation of the Niagra Falls?
Answer:
People could not understand how Helen could appreciate the Niagra Falls without being able to see or hear the loud roar generated by the fall, flowing down the steep mountainside.

Question 3.
Why does Helen feel that her visit to the World Fair had helped to broaden her horizons and become mature?
Answer:
The visit to the World Fair with Miss Sullivan and Dr Alexander Graham Bell was an eye opener for Helen. For the first time in her life, she could ‘see’ all the marvels of invention and treasures of industry. She was able to learn about India, Egypt, Mexico and other parts of the world through the statues and relics displayed in the fair. This broadened her horizons and stirred her interest in the world around, rather than in fairy tales and make-believe.

We have decided to create the most comprehensive English Summary that will help students with learning and understanding.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 14

Helen describes the writing of the story ‘The Frost King ’. She sent the story to Mr Anagnos as a birthday gift. The story was published by him but a court of investigation found similarities between her story and another one and accused her of copying ideas. This incident had a deep impact on her life.

In this chapter, Helen describes the writing of the story ‘The Frost King’ and the appreciation she received from her family. Although she received great joy in composing the story, her joy was short-lived. She sent the story to Mr Anagnos as a birthday gift. Mr Anagnos was delighted with the story and published it in one of his institution’s reports.

However, this innocent gift backfired as people found similarities between Helen’s story and another story tided the ‘Frost Fairies’. Mr Anagnos was annoyed and believed that she had copied the story and sent it to him under her own name. He thought that Helen and Miss Sullivan had deliberately stolen the thoughts of others and imposed them on him to win his admiration.

He made Helen face a court of investigation composed of teachers and officers of the institution which passed a judgment implicating Helen of copying. Helen went into deep depression as a result and lost all confidence in herself. Mr Anagnos cut off all relations with her.

Helen ends this chapter by making clear that her intention in giving an account of the event was neither to defend herself nor to put the blame on anyone but simply because this particular incident was important in her life and education.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 14 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Why does Helen say that the winter of 1892 was darkened by one cloud? What was this cloud?
Answer:
In the winter of 1892, Helen’s story The Frost King was accused of being copied.

Question 2.
How did Helen write the story?
Answer:
Helen wrote the story at home, immediately after she learnt to speak. One day, after her teacher had described the beauty of the foliage around Fern Quarry, Helen was motivated to write the story which seemed to flow out of her.

Question 3.
How did her teacher, family and friends react to the story?
Answer:
Helen’s teacher, family and friends were all very impressed with the story and complimented her.

Question 4.
Why did Helen send the story to Mr Anagnos?
Answer:
Helen sent her story to Mr Anagnos as a birthday gift.

Question 5.
Why does Helen write, “I little dreamed how cruelly I should pay for that birthday gift”?
Answer:
Mr Anagnos published Helen’s story in one of the reports of the Perkins Institution. It was soon brought to his notice that the story was almost identical to another story called The Frost Fairies by Miss Margaret T Can by. Thus, Helen was accused of deliberately copying the story and sending it as her own. Helen was deeply troubled by the accusation and regretted sending her story.

Question 6.
What was Helen’s reaction to these allegations?
Answer:
Helen was deeply distressed because she could not remember having read The Frost Fairies and could not understand how she came to write something so similar. She lost confidence in herself and it was a long time before she started writing again.

Question 7.
What does the behaviour of Mr Anagnos and the committee that examined her reveal about them?
Answer:
The episode shows how the insensitive adults were quick to blame Helen without understanding the effect of their harsh behaviour on a little girl who was blind and deaf. In fact, Mr Anagnos cut off all relations with Helen, which hurt her deeply.

Question 8.
What was the role played by Perkins Institution in Helen’s life?
Answer:
Perkins Institution was the first place where Helen interacted with people outside of her family circle. It was the first place where she saw a library which she could peruse to her heart’s content. Here she leamt the basics of lip reading and reading with the help of Braille. “Later, however, it was also the place that undermined her confidence and left a deep scar on her psyche, when she was criticised and unfairly condemned for supposedly copying a story and saying that it was written by her. This curbed her efforts at self-expression for a long time, and made her far more cautious when she interacted with people and institutions in the future.

Question 9.
Do you think Mr Anagnos’ behaviour towards Helen after the story was published was justified?
Answer:
Mr Anagnos’ behaviour towards Helen seems to be unfair. To begin with, he was very supportive of her and when she sent him a story as his birthday gift, he was very pleased. He was the one who sent the story for publication. However, when it came to light that the story was very similar to another existing story, he changed his attitude almost overnight. He could have clarified the matter and explained that the story was not to be treated as a copied one, but as the triumph of their efforts in enabling a young blind girl to read and write.

Instead, he refused to be associated with her, as though he was trying to distance himself and hide the fact that he had sent it for publication. Perhaps he did this out of consideration of his own position within the institute, but it was certainly very unjust towards Helen. As a result of his harsh behaviour, she was made the victim, her confidence was shattered and it was a long time before she could bring herself to write again. Apart from stalling her growth, Mr Anagnos also exposed the hypocrisy of the institute, which was supposed to help disabled people, but was completely insensitive to the pain and mental anguish that they caused Helen.