Online Education for The Story of My Life Extra Questions and Answers for Class 10 English

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Online Education The Story of My Life Extra Questions and Answers for Class 10 English

The Story of My Life Chapter 1 Questions and Answers

The Story Of My Life Helen Keller Study Questions And Answers Question 1.
What does Helen mean by saying that “the shadows of the prison house are on the rest.. “?
Answer:
The expression means that Helen is not able to remember a large part of her childhood.

The Story Of My Life Question Answer Question 2.
When and where was Helen born?
Answer:
Helen was born on 27 June 1880 in Tuscumbia, a town in northern Alabama.

The Story Of My Life By Helen Keller Questions And Answers Pdf Question 3.
What does Helen mean when she makes the statement, “it is true there is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors and no slave who has not had a king among his”?
Answer:
The author means that if one researches one’s lineage, the person will find all kinds of people who were their ancestors. That is, no family can have only powerful and rich people as their ancestors.

The Story Of My Life Chapter 1 Questions And Answers Question 4.
Who were Caspar Keller, Arthur H Keller and Kate Adams?
Answer:
Caspar was Helen’s grandfather, Arthur was her father and Kate her mother.

The Story Of My Life Question Answer 12th Class Question 5.
How do we know that the house in which Helen lived was very beautiful?
Answer:
Though the house was not very big, it was completely covered with vines, climbing roses and honeysuckle.
From the garden, it looked like an arbour. The porch of the house was covered by a screen of yellow roses and southern smilax and it was always buzzing with hummingbirds and bees.

The Story Of My Life Comprehension Answers Question 6.
How did Helen enjoy the beauties of her garden in spite of her blindness?
Answer:
Helen would feel the hedges and find different flowers by her sense of smell. She would find comfort in hiding her face in the cool leaves and grass. She wandered in the garden touching, feeling and smelling the various flowers, bushes and trees and could identify them accurately.

The Story Of My Life Helen Keller Question Answers Question 7.
What does Helen, want to express through the statement “I came, I saw, I conquered”?
Answer:
Helen wants to express the fact that she was a much loved child especially as she was the first born in the family.

The Story Of My Life Comprehension Questions Question 8.
How did Helen get her name?
Answer:
Helen’s father had wanted to name her Mildred Campbell after an ancestor whom he had a high regard for, while her mother wanted to name her after her mother, whose maiden name was Helen Everett. However, by the time they reached the church for the ceremony, her father lost the name and when the minister asked him, he gave the name Helen Adams.

The Story Of My Life Helen Keller Answer Key Question 9.
Give two examples to show that Helen was an intelligent baby.
Answer:
When she was six months old, Helen could say “How d’ye?” and one day she started saying “Tea” very clearly.
Even after her illness, she could recollect many of the words that she had learnt as a baby, like “water”.

The Story Of My Life Answer Key Question 10.
What motivated Helen to take her first steps as a baby?
Answer:
One day, when Helen’s mother was giving her a bath, she was attracted by the flickering shadows of the leaves that were reflected on the bathroom floor. She got up from her mother’s lap and walked towards the reflection to try and catch it.

The Story Of My Life By Helen Keller Answer Key Question 11.
Why does Helen call February a dreary month?
Answer:
It was the month in which Helen was struck by an illness that left her deaf and blind. For her, it was a nightmarish experience.

Question 12.
For how long had Helen been able to see and hear?
Answer:
Helen was able to see and hear for the first 19 months of her life.

The Story of My Life Chapter 2 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How did Helen learn about her surroundings after she became blind and how did she connect with the people around her?
Answer:
Helen used her hands to feel every object and observe every movement that took place around her.
She communicated with others by making code signs like shaking her head to say ‘no’, nodding her head to say ‘yes’, a pull meaning ‘come’ and a push for ‘go’.

Question 2.
Why did Helen rush to her room when she felt the front door shutting?
Answer:
Helen understood that the shutting of the front door indicated the arrival of some guests so she ran up to her room to dress up in clothes she felt were appropriate to receive guests.

Question 3.
What does the above incident reveal about the little girl?
Answer:
It reveals that in spite of Helen’s handicaps, she was extremely bright and observant and tried hard to behave like those around her.

Question 4.
How did Helen realise that she was different from those around her and how did this affect her?
Answer:
Helen realised that her mother used her mouth to communicate instead of using sign language like she did. So she would touch the lips of the people while they were talking and imitate the movements of the lips. But when she was not able to talk like them, she would get frustrated and angry and start kicking and screaming till she was exhausted.

Question 5.
Did Helen realise when she was being naughty? How did this make her feel?
Answer:
Helen did realise when she was being naughty, but she did not feel any deep regret at her behaviour.

Question 6.
Who were Helen’s companions as a young child? How did she behave with them?
Answer:
Martha Washington, the daughter of Helen’s cook, and her dog Belle were her constant companions as a child. Helen was very domineering by nature. She would force Martha to do what she pleased and tried to do the same with the dog without success.

Question 7.
Why did Martha allow Helen to dominate her?
Answer:
Helen was a very strong and adventurous child who loved taking risks. She would also use physical force to get her way; Martha let her do as she pleased to avoid getting beaten by her.

Question 8.
How did the two girls spend their time together?
Answer:
The girls spent a lot of time in the kitchen kneading dough balls, helping to make ice cream, grinding coffee, fighting over the cake-bowls, feeding hens and turkeys, stealing food and eating it in hiding. They also hunted for guinea-fowl eggs, visited the horses in the stables and touched the cows as they were milked.

Question 9.
How did Helen enjoy Christmas?
Answer:
Helen loved the smell of Christmas cooking and helped in the grinding of the spices and picking of the raisins. She licked off the stirring spoons.

Question 10.
Pick out an example to show that Martha was as mischievous as Helen.
Answer:
One day, when both the girls were sitting on the veranda, cutting out paper dolls, they got bored and started cutting shoe strings and leaves of plants. Suddenly, Helen cut off one of Martha’s curls and Martha retaliated by cutting off one of Helen’s curls. They were stopped short of cutting each other’s hair by Helen’s mother.

Question 11.
“This vexed me and the lesson always ended in a one-sided boxing match.” What vexed Helen and who did she have the boxing match with?
Answer:
Helen wanted her dog Belle to bark at birds and chase them as dogs normally do. But Belle would become rigid on seeing a bird and not obey her commands. This always angered Helen and she would then box her dog.

Question 12.
How did the dog react on being hit by Helen?
Answer:
Helen’s dog, Belle, on being hit, would get up, stretch herself and move away from Helen.

Question 13.
How did Helen almost burn herself up on day?
Answer:
Helen had wet her apron, so she spread it over the fireplace in the sitting room to dry it. As the apron took time to dry, she went closer to the fire and threw it over the ashes. The apron caught fire and she almost burnt herself in the process.

Question 14.
Who saved Helen from burning?
Answer:
Helen was saved by her old nurse, Viny who threw a blanket over her and put out the fire.

Question 15.
Why did Helen lock up her mother?
Answer:
Helen locked up her mother, by mistake, when she learned how to turn a key and lock a door.

Question 16.
What made her parents decide that Helen needed some form of disciplining and education?
Answer:
After Helen locked her mother in the pantry and sat outside laughing at her mother’s plight, her parents felt the need for a teacher to discipline Helen and teach her right from wrong.

Question 17.
Why did Miss Sullivan have to be rescued from her room? Who rescued her?
Answer:
Helen locked Miss Sullivan in her room and refused to reveal where she had hidden the key. Her father had to rescue Miss Sullivan with the help of a ladder.

Question 18.
Who were the other members in Helen’s family?
Answer:
Along with her parents, Helen lived with her two half-brothers and younger sister, Mildred.

Question 19.
Cite examples from the lesson that show Helen’s father to be a very patient man.
Answer:
Helen’s father would spend hours with Helen in the garden, taking her from tree to tree and vine to vine. He would tell her stories by spelling the entire story on her hand and wait for her to repeat his anecdotes to him.

Question 20.
“This was my first great sorrow.” What is Helen talking about in this line?
Answer:
Helen is talking about her father’s death. He died suddenly after a brief illness.

Question 21.
Why did Helen throw her sister out of the cradle?
Answer:
Helen found her sister sleeping in a cradle, where she usually put her doll Nancy to sleep. In a fit of rage, she overturned the cradle and almost killed her sister.

Question 22.
What does Helen mean by the phrase—“valley of twofold solitude”?
Answer:
Solitude means loneliness. For Helen, it was twofold because she could not hear. She was also lonely, unaware of feelings of care and sensitivity towards others. She was, thus, overcome by loneliness of the soul.

The Story of My Life Chapter 3 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
What was the reason for Helen’s emotional outbursts? How did it affect her parents?
Answer:
Helen’s inability to express herself to those around her frustrated Helen so much so that she would break down in tears and find consolation in her mother’s arms. Her parents were anxious to find someone who would be able to help their daughter communicate and express herself.

Question 2.
Why did the family decide to travel to Baltimore?
Answer:
Helen, along with her family, travelled to Baltimore to meet an oculist called Dr Chisholm in the hope of finding out whether he could help Helen regain her eyesight.

Question 3.
Why was Helen disturbed with the doll that her aunt gifted her?
Answer:
The doll that Helen’s aunt gave her did not have eyes. This disturbed Helen as she was anxious for it to have eyes.

Question 4.
Why does Helen describe her meeting with Dr Bell as a “light at the end of a tunnel”?
Answer:
For Helen, the meeting with Dr Bell was full of hope because he sympathised with her condition and informed her parents about the institute from where a suitable tutor for Helen could be found.

Question 5.
Why did Mr Anangos prove to be godsend for Helen?
Answer:
Mr Anangos was the director of the Perkins Institution, which had done a lot of work for the benefit of blind people. He helped Helen by recommending Miss Sullivan as a teacher for her.

Question 6.
Why does Helen make references to Egypt and Mount Sinai?
Answer:
By making this reference, the author alludes to the story from the Bible about Moses who led the Hebrews from Egypt and had a vision of the divine at Mount Sinai. Similarly, for Helen and her family, their meeting with Dr Bell at Washington followed by their communication with Mr Anangos seemed to be touched by the divine. They were finally able to find a suitable teacher for Helen who helped her come out of the dark world that she had been confined to since her illness.

The Story of My Life Chapter 4 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Why does Helen say that 3 March 1887 was an important day for her?
Answer:
Helen calls it an important day because her teacher, Miss Sullivan, came to live with her on that day.

Question 2.
How did Helen learn the name of things around her?
Answer:
Helen’s teacher spelt out the names of the articles around her onto her hand and Helen would imitate her movements. Helen leamt several words, in the same process, even though she did not fully understand them.

Question 3.
What made Helen break her new doll?
Answer:
Helen broke her doll out of frustration as she was unable to understand the difference between the words ‘mug’ and ‘water’ even though her teacher tried her best to explain it to her.

Question 4.
What was significant about Helen trying to pick up the broken pieces of her new doll?
Answer:
Helen showed signs of regret and sorrow, which she had never felt before. It signified her transformation and her ability to recognise her feelings. The episode was significant as Helen showed the first signs of registering emotions.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life 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.

The Story of My Life Chapter 19 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
What were the difficulties that Helen faced in the second year at the school?
Answer:
Firstly, the books Helen needed were not embossed in time before her classes started. Secondly, the number of students in the class was very large and the instructors were unable to give her individual attention. Moreover, she found algebra and geometry difficult to follow and problems in physics difficult to solve till they brought in a Braille writer.

Question 2.
How did Helen deal with these problems?
Answer:
Helen’s problems became easier when her embossed books arrived. In addition, she started putting in greater effort to overcome her problems.

Question 3.
“I was beginning to overcome these difficulties when an event occurred which changed everything.” What event is Helen referring to?
Answer:
Helen, here, is referring to Mr Gilman’s opinion that Helen was being forced to study too hard and that she should remain in his school for three more years. However, Helen, herself, was keen to pass with the other girls in her batch. The problem escalated into a major disagreement between Mr Gilmore and Miss Sullivan. Finally Helen and her sister Mildred left the school and started tuition under a private tutor, Mr Keith, from Cambridge.

Question 4.
How did Helen learn algebra and geometry?
Answer:
Mr Keith taught Helen algebra and geometry twice a week, along with Greek and Latin. He was very patient and took lot of pains to teach her. He repeated his lessons till Helen was able to understand the concepts.

Question 5.
Why were Helen and Mr Keith distressed before the algebra exam?
Answer:
Helen used Braille to write her exams; but there were different versions of Braille. She was comfortable with English Braille, whereas the papers that were sent to her for practice were in American Braille, which she realised two days before her exams. Even though she tried hard to understand the symbols used in the version, she found it very confusing. Moreover, she could not see what she was typing which made solving algebra sums very hard. She was used to solving the sums in her mind and she found it hard to write in the exam papers.

The Story of My Life Chapter 20 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Why did Helen delay her admission to college?
Answer:
Helen delayed her admission because everyone advised her to study for another year with Mr Keith before joining college.

Question 2.
How did Helen feel on entering Radcliffe?
Answer:
At first, Helen was excited and happy to have realised her dream of studying at Radcliffe, but slowly she started feeling disillusioned and realised that there were many disadvantages of going to college.

Question 3.
What was the biggest disadvantage of college, according to Helen?
Answer:
Helen felt that the greatest disadvantage of college was the lack of time to think or reflect on what they were taught.

Question 4.
What does Helen mean when she says that she prefers “present day joy to hoarding riches against a rainy day”?
Answer:
Helen felt that college studies were so exhaustive that one hardly had enough time to understand and internalise all the available knowledge. Helen wished to leam at a slower pace and enjoy the present, than store all the knowledge to be understood sometime in the future.

Question 5.
How did Helen understand the lectures given by her professors? What were the disadvantages of this method?
Answer:
The lectures were spelled onto Helen’s hand as quickly as possible. The disadvantage of this method was that she had no time to pay any attention to the core of the subject or to understand the personality of the lecturers. She lost out on the flavour in a bid to know everything.

Question 6.
How did Helen write her answers?
Answer:
Helen wrote her answers on a typewriter. She used the Hammond typewriter, which had movable type . shuttle. It could be fitted with different shuttles, each with a different set of characters: Greek, French or mathematics, according to the subject she wanted to study.

Question 7.
What were the other challenges that Helen faced?
Answer:
Helen faced several problems. Very few of the books she needed were printed in Braille, which meant that all the information had to be spelt out on her hand. This made her learning quite time consuming.

Question 8.
Why did Helen enjoy her composition classes?
Answer:
The teacher, Mr Charles Townsend Copeland was a witty and vivacious man, whose lessons were always interesting. This made Helen enjoy the composition classes.

Question 9.
What made Helen enjoy the second year of college?
Answer:
Helen enjoyed the second year in college more, because she studied subjects like economics, Elizabethan literature, Shakespeare and philosophy, which made her feel happy.

Question 10.
Why did Helen object to elaborate explanations of the lessons by her teachers?
Answer:
Helen felt that too many explanations acted as a barrier to one’s appreciation of the text. She felt that one should be allowed to enjoy the texts on one’s own rather than have them dissected and analysed.

Question 11.
What were Helen’s views on reading just to pass the examinations?
Answer:
Helen felt that if one studied only to pass the exams, then it was like taxing ones brains without really understanding anything. Hence, the mind was unable to enjoy’and appreciate the beauty of the texts one was reading.

Question 12.
Why did Helen call exams the “bugbear” of her college life?
Answer:
Helen called exams the “bugbear” of college life because the thought of appearing for examinations made her very nervous. The day before the exam was spent memorising formulae and facts, until she was completely overwhelmed by them. Finally, in the exam hall when she tried to recall the facts, she would feel like she had forgotten everything.

Question 13.
What did Helen say she had learnt from her time spent in college?
Answer:
Helen said that she had learnt the importance of patience and the fact that learning cannot be rushed. She also found that knowledge was power, because true knowledge equips one to differentiate true from false and lofty from mean. These thoughts helped her understand how man has progressed through the centuries, towards more and more elevated thought.

The Story of My Life Chapter 21 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Why did Helen love books?
Answer:
Helen loved books, not only because they gave her pleasure, but also because through them, she received knowledge of the world around her.

Question 2.
Why was May 1887 an important month in Helen’s life?
Answer:
May 1887 was an important month for Helen because it was the month when she started reading her first connected story.

Question 3.
Why did she not read too many books in the beginning?
Answer:
Helen could not read too many books in the beginning because there were very few books in raised print for beginners.

Question 4.
Why did Helen like reading to herself more than when Miss Sullivan read to her?
Answer:
Helen liked reading herself because she could then read the stories she liked, over and over again. It offered her independence of choice.

Question 5.
How did her first visit to the Institution in Boston fuel her love for reading?
Answer:
At the Institution in Boston, Helen was allowed to spend a lot of time in the library, where she wandered from bookcase to bookcase, taking down whatever book her fingers lighted on. Thus, she was able to read whatever she wanted, which made her keen to read more.

Question 6.
Which book did Helen read while sitting on the hammock with Miss Sullivan?
Answer:
Helen read the book Little Lord Fauntleroy while sitting on the hammock with Miss Sullivan.

Question 7.
Why did Helen feel impatient when Miss Sullivan tried to explain any part of the story?
Answer:
Helen did not like the stories to be broken up with explanations because she thought they were unnecessary. She was content to hear the story without leaping into analysis or explanation of its events.

Question 8.
Why did Helen not enjoy fables?
Answer:
Helen did not like the fact that animals were made to talk and act like human beings. She also found it difficult to believe that animals like monkeys and foxes could teach humans the truths of life.

Question 9.
What was her view about other books featuring animals?
Answer:
Helen enjoyed reading books like The Jungle Book and Wild Animals I have Known, because the animals featured in these books were not caricatures of human beings. Moreover, the morals carried by these stories were subtle.

Question 10.
What did Helen enjoy about Greek literature and history?
Answer:
Helen had a special fascination for the Greek gods and goddesses. In fact, she loved them so much she almost worshipped them.

Question 11.
Why does Helen recommend The Iliad?
Answer:
Helen recommends The Iliad because of the enjoyment she got while reading it. She felt her soul being uplifted above the narrow circumstances of her life and it made her forget the physical limitations of her world.

Question 12.
What was Helen’s view about the Bible?
Answer:
At first, Helen did not find Bible interesting, but as she continued to read it, she found it very uplifting and inspiring. However, she found some parts in it objectionable.

Question 13.
What were Helen’s views on Shakespeare?
Answer:
Helen loved reading Shakespeare’s plays from childhood. Of all his plays, she was impressed by Macbeth the most. She was also deeply impacted by characters like King Lear and Shylock.

Question 14.
What did Helen think of anti-heroes like Shylock and Judas?
Answer:
Helen felt sorry for anti-heroes as she felt that they could not be good even if they wished to, because no one seemed willing to help them or to give them a fair chance.

Question 15.
Why did Helen call literature her “Utopia”?
Answer:
In the world of literature, Helen felt the happiest, as the books were her friends who spoke to her without any barriers or awkwardness. In spite of her blindness and deafness, she could interact with them through her fingers and they would reveal the world to her in a way that her senses could not.

The Story of My Life Chapter 22 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How did Helen row boats even though she could not see?
Answer:
Whenever Helen rowed boats, someone was made to sit at the stem and manage the rudder, while she rowed. Sometimes, she would row without the rudder and would try to steer by the scent of the water grasses, lilies and bushes growing along the shore. The oars had leather bands which kept them in position in the oarlocks. The resistance of the water also let her know when the oars were evenly poised and when she was pulling against the current.

Question 2.
How did Helein enjoy the moonlit canoe rides?
Answer:
Even though Helen could not see the moon, she enjoyed lying back among the pillows, in the canoe, with her hand trailing in the water. She would feel the air around her and the warmth that suddenly enfolded her, though she could not be sure if it came from the trees or from the water.

Question 3.
What does the incident of the sailboat in the gale reveal about Helen’s character?
Answer:
The incident of the sailboat reveals Helen’s love for adventure and her fearlessness. She felt excited when the people around her tried to keep the boat afloat in the gale and had no fear of drowning.

Question 4.
Why does Helen enjoy spending time in the countryside?
Answer:
Helen enjoyed the countryside because there, one did not become saddened by the cruel struggle for existence that one saw in the cities. Not only was the atmosphere purer, with clean air, green earth and murmuring rivers, life itself was simple and honest.

Question 5.
Why did Helen wish that the poor would leave the city and return to the village?
Answer:
Helen failed to understand why the poor lived in hideous, sunless tenements in the city, growing into ugly, withered people with children who are half-clad and under-fed. She felt that these people lived such a tough life for very poor returns, and that they should return to the countryside where life was simpler and their children could grow into noble individuals.

Question 6.
Why did Helen enjoy interacting with little children?
Answer:
Helen liked interacting with little children because they usually liked her and took her around, showed her things. She interacted with very small children who could not write on her hand, by reading their lips or by resorting to miming actions. She also enjoyed telling them stories and teaching them games.

Question 7.
Why did Helen enjoy watching plays even more than reading about them?
Answer:
Helen enjoyed having the play described to her while it was being enacted, because she felt as if she was living in the middle of those events. Moreover, it gave her the opportunity to meet the actors and actresses and by touching their costumes, she was able to understand the characters even better.

Question 8.
How did Helen play board games like chess and checkers?
Answer:
Helen played board games, specially designed for her. In the chess boards, the squares had been cut out so that the men stood firmly on them. The chessmen were of two different sizes, so that she could follow her opponent’s manoeuvres easily. In the game of checkers, the black checkers were flat, while the white ones were curved on top. Each checker had a hole in the middle, where a brass knob could be placed, to distinguish the king from the commoners.

Question 9.
How did Helen enjoy her visits to the museum?
Answer:
Helen enjoyed her museum visits as she was able to touch the objects, which helped her learn more about the world. Touching the sculptures also helped her identify the feelings and emotions of the sculptors who had carved them.

Question 10.
Though Helen described her happy times in this chapter, yet it ends on a solemn note. What does this reveal about Helen as a person?
Answer:
At the end of the chapter, Helen hints at the limitations of her world, which is dark and silent. She also speaks of her dependence on others to perceive the world and its beauty. It reveals the struggles that she had to face on a daily basis, and her determination to look at the brighter side of things and to make the most of the opportunities that came her way.

The Story of My Life Chapter 23 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How was Helen impacted by people who were warm and sympathetic towards her?
Answer:
The warmth and sympathetic nature of some of the people in Helen’s life made her feel restful and helped dissolve her confusion, irritation and worries. It gave her the feeling that everything was fine.

Question 2.
Who were the people Helen tried to avoid?
Answer:
Helen tried to avoid people who asked her silly questions, like news reporters, and people who looked down on her, talking to her in a patronising and condescending manner.

Question 3.
What did Helen mean by calling the hands of people “dumbly eloquent”?
Answer:
Helen tried to make her readers aware that though hands cannot talk, they can still say a lot about the personality of a person. On shaking hands with people, Helen could differentiate between a warm, loving person and a cold, aloof person.

Question 4.
Why did Helen apologise to her “far-off friends”?
Answer:
Helen apologised to her “far-off friends” because she had never met them, yet they wrote to her from far-off places. She was grateful to them for reaching out to her. However, she was apologetic because she was not able to write back and thank them.

Question 5.
What did she learn from Bishop Brooks?
Answer:
Helen leamt a lot about the spiritual side of life from Bishop Brooks. The most important thing she learnt was that the underlying message of all religions was the same: the brotherhood of man and the importance of love.

Question 6.
Why did Dr Oliver Wendell Holmes cry during his meeting with Helen?
Answer:
When Helen recited a few lines from Tennyson’s poem, Dr Oliver Wendell Holmes was so moved that tears streamed down his cheeks and fell on Helen’s hand.

Question 7.
Why did Whittier call Miss Sullivan Helen’s “spiritual liberator”?
Answer:
Whittier recognised the great work done by Miss Sullivan in exposing Helen to the world of literature, and helping her to develop the passion to understand and appreciate it. Therefore, though she was blind she had a deep understanding of the classics, which enriched her soul.

Question 8.
Why did Helen feel indebted to Dr Edward Everett Hale?
Answer:
Helen was grateful to Dr Edward Everett Hale for his support and sympathy to her own self and Miss Sullivan, when they were disheartened and upset during their great struggle.

Question 9.
Why did Helen think that Dr Bell was not only a great scientist but an even greater human being?
Answer:
Dr Bell had many revolutionary inventions to his credit, but Helen felt, that his scientific ability was dwarfed by his human goodness, as he spent a lot of time with deaf children and made great contributions towards making their life easier.

Question 10.
What did Helen enjoy about her meetings with the literary giants of her time?
Answer:
Helen loved being part of the literary discussions with the great literary minds of her time, even though she was not able to understand everything they said. However, it was extremely enlightening for her to spend time listening to such conversations.

Question 11.
How did Helen describe Mark Twain?
Answer:
Helen found Mark Twain to be extremely positive and bright and imagined him to have a twinkle in his eye. He had the compassion and patience to read out his stories to Helen, who lip-read them. She felt that behind his cynical, droll sense of humour, lay a tender-hearted and sympathetic man.

Question 12.
Was Helen able to mention the names of all her friends? Why?
Answer:
Helen expressed her inability to mention all her friends because firstly, there were too many people she felt indebted to and there were many others who did not want their contributions to be made public.