Category: English Summary

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 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.

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 13

Helen talks about her attempts to speak. She was inspired by Ragnhild Kaata, a deaf and blind girl in Norway who had been taught to speak.

This chapter records Helen’s attempts at learning to speak. There was a strong impulse to utter audible sounds within her and she was inordinately pleased with anything that made a noise. She was inspired by the story of Ragnhild Kaata, a deaf and blind girl in Norway who had actually been taught to speak.

Helen learnt the elements of speech from Miss Sarah Fuller and uttered her first words with her help. Helen felt as if her soul had come out of bondage. She showed a strong determination and eagerness to show off her new skills to her family. Her joy knew no bounds when she felt people responding to her speech.

She practiced harder even when discouragement and weariness cast her down, but what spurred her on was the thought of revealing her new ability to her loved ones. Helen also describes the delighted surprise of her family at her new achievement.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 13 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How did Helen learn to ‘hear’ with her fingers?
Answer:
Helen would place her fingers lightly on the lips of the speaker and copy the movement. She would feel the purring of the cat and the barking of the dog with her fingers.

Question 2.
Why did Helen make sounds and try to copy others?
Answer:
Helen tried to copy the sounds of others around her because she felt a deep need to exercise her vocal chords.

Question 3.
Why was Helen filled with eagerness after hearing the story of Ragnhild Kaata?
Answer:
Ragnhild Kaata was a deaf and blind girl in Norway who had been taught to speak. On hearing about her, Helen resolved not to rest till she too learnt to speak.

Question 4.
Why is 26 March 1890 a date Helen would never forget?
Answer:
26 March 1890 held deep significance for Helen as she started learning how to speak at the Horace Mann School from the principal, Miss Sarah Fuller.

Question 5.
How did Miss Fuller teach Helen?
Answer:
Miss Fuller passed Helen’s hand lightly over her face and made her feel the position of her tongue and lips as she made a sound. Helen imitated every motion and in an hour learnt six elements of speech.

Question 6.
What did her efforts to learn to speak reveal about Helen’s character?
Answer:
Helen’s tryst with learning to speak reveals her determination as she put in all her effort to overcome her disability.

Question 7.
How did Helen motivate, herself to learn?
Answer:
Helen motivated herself by thinking about her sister’s delight at her achievement and by repeating to herself the statement, “I am not dumb now.”

Question 8.
Why was Helen’s father quiet when he came to receive her at the station?
Answer:
Helen’s father’s joy at hearing her speak was so great that he could not speak himself. He expressed his delight through silence.

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 12

Helen describes a winter spent in a New England village and her first experiences of a snow storm.

This chapter describes a winter spent in a New England village and Helen’s first experiences of a snow storm. New England’s frozen lakes and vast snow fields were a new experience for her and she describes her pleasure in entering the treasures of the snow.

She describes the landscape following the snow storm as a waste of snow with trees rising out of it. She spent the days sitting around the great fire, along with her family members and shared merry tales. Helen describes how she felt the dazzling sunlight after three days of snow. She also describes the fun she had tobogganing and describes the experience as ‘divine’.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 12 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
What surprised Helen about the trees in winter?
Answer:
Helen was surprised to discover that the trees and branches had no leaves in winter; there were no birds on them and their nests were all empty.

Question 2.
Why did Helen rush out of doors even though there were signs of an impending snowstorm?
Answer:
Helen rushed out to feel the tiny snowflakes as they fell from the sky, in spite of dangers of an impending snowstorm.

Question 3.
How did the family spend their time during the snowstorm?
Answer:
During the snowstorm, Helen and her family sat around a fire and enjoyed themselves, sharing merry stories with one another.

Question 4.
Why does Helen say that the pine trees outside had no smell?
Answer:
Helen described the pine trees outside her home to be bereft of any smell because they were covered with snow.

Question 5.
How was Helen able to feel the light in spite of her blindness?
Answer:
The sunrays on the snow-covered trees and branches shone dazzlingly bright, and everything sparkled like diamonds. Helen could feel the brightness in spite of her blindness.

Question 6.
What does Helen mean when she says that she could not feel the earth under her feet?
Answer:
The snow was so thick that Helen could not feel the ground beneath it.

Question 7.
What did Helen enjoy about tobogganing?
Answer:
Helen enjoyed being shoved off a slope and plunging through drifts, swooping down upon the lake as if she were flying.

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 11

Helen describes several experiences in this chapter like her outing to the summer cottage in the mountains, campfire evening, hunting expeditions. She talks about her pony, Black Beauty.

In this chapter, Helen describes the rich experience she had and how her mind blossomed upon reaching home. She describes the outing to Fem Quarry, the family cottage in the mountains. She elaborately describes the ferns, the great oaks and the splendid Evergreens that surrounded Fem Quarry. She also describes their pretty cottage situated on top of the mountain among the oaks and pines.

She mentions the visitors at the campfire every evening, and the hunting expeditions the men went on. She talks of the barbecues and describes her pony, Black Beauty. Her happiest hours were spent on his back. She enjoyed gathering Persimmons and nuts, and hearing the rail go by. She also recounts the adventure she had when she, Miss Sullivan and her little sister, Mildred got lost.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 11 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Where did the family spend their autumn months?
Answer:
The family spent the autumn at their summer cottage on a mountain, 14 miles from Tuscumbia, called Fern Quarry.

Question 2.
How did the family spend the evenings?
Answer:
In the evenings, the family along with visitors sat by a campfire where the men played cards and spent time talking about their success at hunting.

Question 3.
Why was there such excitement and movement in the mornings?
Answer:
In the mornings, all the visitors who had arrived the night before got ready to go off on a hunting spree amid great excitement and much preparation.

Question 4.
What was ironic about these hunting expeditions?
Answer:
The irony was that though the men boasted about all the animals they had killed and made all kinds of preparation for the hunting expedition, they usually returned without any success.

Question 5.
Who was Black Beauty? Why was it so named?
Answer:
Black Beauty was a pony that Helen rode sometimes. Helen had named it after the horse in the book Black ’ Beauty, as it had the same glossy black coat with a white star on its forehead as described in the book.

Question 6.
What made Helen gather the persimmons?
Answer:
Though Helen did not eat the persimmons, she loved the fragrance and enjoyed looking for them in the leaves and grass.

Question 7.
What does Helen mean by the word “nutting”?
Answer:
By “nutting”, Helen refers to looking for nuts like chestnuts, hickory nuts and walnuts.

Question 8.
Why were Miss Sullivan and the girls forced to walk over the trestle?
Answer:
Since Miss Sullivan, Helen and her sister lost their way in the woods and had been wandering for hours, it was too late for them to take any other way and they had to cross over the trestle, as it was a short way home.

Question 9.
Why did they find the cottage empty on their return?
Answer:
Miss Sullivan, along with the two girls found the cottage empty on return because everyone was out looking for them.

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 10

Helen talks about her vacation at Brewster and her first experiences of the sea. She also learnt a lesson that it was not kind to force creatures of nature to live away from their habitat.

This chapter describes Helen’s vacation at Brewster and her first experience of the sea. It talks about her excitement and terror of the sea. Her encounter with sea filled her with an exquisite and quivering joy. But when her foot struck against a rock, she was overcome by fright and frantically searched for something to support her till she was clasped in her teacher’s loving arms.

The chapter also mentions her first encounter with the Horse-shoe Crab, which she wanted to take home. However, the crab escaped, teaching her that it is not kind to force dumb creatures to live away from their habitat.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 10 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Why was Helen so excited about her vacation?
Answer:
Helen’s vacation at Brewster was her first encounter with the sea. She had read about it and had developed a deep desire to touch the sea and feel its roar. She was very excited when she learnt that they were going to the seaside.

Question 2.
What terrified Helen about the sea?
Answer:
The rush of waves which tossed her from one place to another as they carried her away from the shore terrified Helen. For a moment she could not feel the earth undej her feet and she became panic-stricken.

Question 3.
What surprised Helen about the horseshoe crab?
Answer:
Helen had never seen or felt a creature like the crab and was surprised to learn that it carried its house on its back.

Question 4.
What lesson did Helen learn after the crab disappeared?
Answer:
Helen learnt that it was unkind to force dumb creatures to live away from their habitat; it was best to let creatures be in their own element.

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 9

Helen talks about her visit to Boston with her teacher and mother and how her doll Nancy got ruined. She talks about her visit to Perkins institute for the Blind and how she was inspired by the positive attitude of the institution. She met Mr William Endicott and his daughter.

This chapter talks of Helen’s trip to Boston with her mother and teacher. It reveals the change in her behaviour from her previous journey by train. Better behaved as compared to her previous train ride, she preferred to sit quietly beside her teacher. Miss Sullivan described the world outside the train by writing on Helen’s hand.

At Boston, Helen once again visited the Perkins Institution for the blind, and met other blind children. Unfortunately, her doll Nancy was ruined over there as the laundress at the Perkins Institution had secretly given it a bath, hoping to clean her, but the doll lost its shape and became a ‘formless heap of cotton’.

Helen was deeply influenced by the positive attitude at the Institution. She also went to Bunker Hall where she received her first lessons in history. Helen also talks of Mr William Endicott and his daughter, who took great care of her.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 9 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How was Helen’s train journey with her teacher different from her earlier one?
Answer:
Helen was extremely well behaved and sat quietly by the side of her teacher, eagerly listening to her description of the world outside the train window. This was in contrast to her earlier journey when she had been undisciplined, restless and required constant attention.

Question 2.
How did Nancy the doll change into a “formless heap of cotton”?
Answer:
The laundress at the Perkins Institution tried to give Nancy, Helen’s doll, a bath. It was reduced to a “formless heap of cotton” after being laundered.

Question 3.
What delighted Helen at the Institution?
Answer:
Helen was delighted to meet other children who could not see and was deeply impressed by their positive spirit.

Question 4.
Why was Helen taken to Bunker Hall?
Answer:
Helen received her first lessons in history at Bunker Hall. She was extremely excited to climb the monument, built in memory of the soldiers from the past, who had fought here.

Question 5.
Why did Helen cry during the steamboat ride?
Answer:
Helen mistook the sound of the rumble of the steamboat to be thunder. She began to cry, worried that they would not be able to have their picnic outdoors if it rained.

Question 6.
Who does Helen think of when she calls Boston the “city of kind hearts”?
Answer:
Helen refers to Mr William Endicott, who along with his daughter, took great care of Helen when she stayed at their farm in Boston.

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 8

Helen talks about the Christmas day full of surprises and the highlight of the day was the time she spent with the school children. She describes how she took care of Little Tim, the canary and her sorrow after its death.

This chapter describes how Helen enjoyed celebrating Christmas with her teacher. Helen had fun preparing surprises for everybody along with Miss Sullivan. The game of guessing which they played taught Helen more about the use of language.
It was a day foil of surprises, the highlight being the time spent with school children on Christmas Eve.

Helen had been invited to the school by the Tuscumbia schoolchildren to celebrate Christmas with them. There was a gift for each child by the tree and Helen was allowed to distribute them. Helen was delighted to hand the presents to the children. On Christmas day, she found surprises not just in the stockings but all around the house.

The chapter also talks of Helen’s joy at receiving a canary as a gift from her teacher, and how she took care of ‘Little Tim’, the canary bird. The chapter ends by describing her sorrow at its death.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 8 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
What was the most’exciting aspect of Christmas for Helen?
Answer:
With the help of her teacher, Helen had prepared surprises for her family members. This proved to be the most exciting part of celebrating Christmas. Also, she was excited about trying to guess what gifts the others were going to give her. Spending Christmas Eve with the Tuscumbia school children was another thrilling episode for her, especially as she was allowed to hand the gifts to all the children.

Question 2.
Who or what was Little Tim?
Answer:
Little Tim was a pet canary gifted to Helen by her teacher Miss Sullivan.

Question 3.
How did Helen take care of her pet?
Answer:
Helen would prepare its bath, clean its cage, fill its cups with fresh seed and water and hang a spray of chickweed in its swing.

Question 4.
Why did the bird not respond to Helen when she opened its cage one morning?
Answer:
The canary was eaten by a cat when Helen had gone to fetch water for its bath and had left the cage open.

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 7

Helen began to learn things by the play method and Miss Sullivan conducted all the lessons amidst nature where she could pick up concepts of geography, botany and zoology by touching real objects.

In this chapter, Helen describes how she learnt to read with the help of real objects through play. Miss Sullivan proved to be an exceptionally gifted teacher, holding most classes out of doors and making use of games to teach her. For Helen, learning was more like play than work. Helen enjoyed learning about the things around her and spent several happy hours in the orchard.

Miss Sullivan used all her ingenuity and resourcefulness to teach her during their walks to Keller’s Landing, making geography lessons come alive through three-dimensional models which she made on the river bed. She made use of stories and poems to teach Helen.

Helen learnt science through fossils, the lily plant and tadpoles. Helen also talks of her difficulties in learning arithmetic. Different aspects of nature became a part of Helen’s learning. Education thus became Helen’s one of most precious memories. Miss Sullivan became an inseparable part of Helen’s life.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 7 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How did Helen learn to read?
Answer:
Helen learnt to read with the help of slips of cardboard with words printed in raised letters. She learnt that each word represented an object, an act or a quality and she arranged these words to form sentences in a frame. She moved on to the printed book in which she felt for the words she knew, learning to read in the process.

Question 2.
Why did Helen stand in the wardrobe?
Answer:
When Helen realised that each word represented an object or an act, she started placing words on all objects and then arranging them to form sentences. One day, she pinned the word girl on her dress and stood in the wardrobe, while on the shelf she arranged the words ‘is’, ‘in’ and ‘wardrobe’, thus making the sentence, ‘the girl is in the wardrobe’.

Question 3.
How do we know that Miss Sullivan was an exceptionally gifted teacher?
Answer:
Miss Sullivan proved to be a gifted teacher and found innovative methods of teaching Helen. Everything she taught was illustrated by a story or a poem. She would take an interest in whatever interested Helen.

Her method made grammar, mathematics and definitions interesting. She never nagged Helen and tried to make every subject as real as possible. She took Helen out of doors and taught her about the things around her by making her touch and feel them. Helen writes to support this view, “any teacher can take a child to a classroom, but not every teacher can make him learn.”

Question 4.
How did Helen learn geographical facts?
Answer:
Miss Sullivan taught Helen geography by building islands, lakes and dams made of pebbles. She talked to Helen about volcanoes, the shape of the world, glaciers and so on. She made raised maps in clay so that Helen could feel the mountain ridges, valleys and the course of rivers. She used innovative techniques to teach her about the time and temperature zones.

Question 5.
How did the collection of fossils become meaningful to Helen?
Answer:
Miss Sullivan used the fossils to teach Helen about pre-historic animals and plants that had existed on the planet in the past.

Question 6.
What did Helen learn from the lily plant?
Answer:
Helen learnt her first lessons in Botany from the lily plant. She realised the process of budding and that the whole process followed an order and a system.

Question 7.
“He had made his leap, he had seen the great world and was content to stay in his pretty glass house.” Who and what is Helen talking about?
Answer:
Helen observed that one of the 11 tadpoles kept in a glass globe, leap out and land on the floor, where Helen found him more dead than alive. The moment she put him back he revived and started swimming as vigorously as the rest of the tadpoles.

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 6

Helen describes her joy at her increasing vocabulary and how she learnt to perceive abstract concepts like ‘love She also appreciates Miss Sullivan’s patience at dealing with her.

Helen describes her joy at expanding her vocabulary in this chapter. She learnt to name abstract feelings like love. Miss Sullivan explained things to her with great patience, connecting feelings like love to aspects in nature. Helen understood that abstract ideas could also be named.

The chapter also tells us about Miss Sullivan’s determination to find a way of conversing with Helen, and helping her to enter into a dialogue with those around her. She spelt out sentences into Helen’s hand instead of speaking them.

It took several years for Miss Sullivan to teach her this but she persevered, determined to supply the stimulus that Helen lacked. This reveals the infinite patience and wisdom of the teacher.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 6 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Why did Helen not question her teacher when introduced to a new thing?
Answer:
Helen never questioned her teacher as her ideas were vague and her vocabulary was inadequate.

Question 2.
Why did Helen find it difficult to understand the meaning of the word ‘love’?
Answer:
Helen found it difficult to comprehend the meaning of the word ‘love’ because she understood the things that she could either smell or touch. She had no understanding of abstract ideas.

Question 3.
How did Helen realise the meaning of the word ‘think’?
Answer:
As Helen tried to string beads of different sizes in symmetrical groups of two large beads followed by three smaller ones, she kept on making mistakes, but was patiently guided by her teacher. As she concentrated, trying to make sense of her mistake, her teacher spelled the word ‘think’ on her forehead. That is when she realised what it meant.

Question 4.
What, according to Helen, was love?
Answer:
Helen understood love to be a feeling that, like invisible lines, bound her spirit to those of others.

Question 5.
How did Miss Sullivan converse with Helen?
Answer:
Miss Sullivan would spell sentences onto Helen’s hand instead of speaking them. Helen would repeat verbatim what she spelt on her hands. Whenever Helen would be at a loss of words to express herself, Miss Sullivan would prompt her, supplying her with the necessary words and idioms. She taught Helen how she . could take part in a conversation like a person with normal hearing.

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 5

Helen talks about her growing awareness of the world around her and how she started to bond with nature. She also became familiar with the dark side of nature.

This chapter continues with the description of Miss Sullivan’s effect on Helen. She helped Helen become aware of the world around her. Miss Sullivan helped her connect with nature and develop a strong bond with it by taking her out to the fields and the river banks. Miss Sullivan slowly taught her to find beauty in every little thing in nature.

Helen also learnt about the darker aspects of nature, when she was caught in a fierce storm while sitting on the branches of a tree. Miss Sullivan had gone to the house to fetch lunch for them and Helen was left alone. When she was caught in a storm and about to fall from the tree, her teacher came to her rescue.

This incident shook her up and it took a long time for her to overcome her fear of climbing trees. But nature again lured her and she managed to climb back onto a tree following the odour of a flower.

The Story of My Life Summary Chapter 5 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How did Helen’s awareness of the world deepen? What effect did it have on her personality?
Answer:
Helen’s teacher encouraged her to explore the world around her with her hands and taught her the names of every object that she touched. She explained their use. With a greater awareness of her surroundings, Helen became a happier and more confident individual.

Question 2.
Why did Miss Sullivan take Helen out of doors as much as she could?
Answer:
Miss Sullivan wanted Helen to feel the positive aspects of nature and learn how plants grow. She wanted her to learn about the interdependence between plants and animals, develop an appreciation for the beauty of nature and realise the deep bond that she shared with it.

Question 3.
How did Helen learn about the dark side of nature?
Answer:
Helen climbed onto a cherry tree with the help of her teacher and they decided to have their lunch on the tree. The teacher left her there while she went to get the luncheon basket. In the meantime, the weather suddenly changed and there, was a fierce storm which almost threw Helen out of the tree. For the first time Helen experienced the dark side of nature and it took a long time for her to gain the confidence to climb up a tree again.

Question 4.
How did Helen finally overcome her fear of climbing?
Answer:
The sweet smell of the mimosa flowers drew Helen near the tree and tempted her to climb it, where she sat for a long time dreaming of the future. She overcame her fear by being overwhelmed by the lure of nature.