1. What is inspirational about Helen Keller as seen in The Story of My Life and why?

Transcription

1 LONG READING TEXT THE STORY OF MY LIFE( CHAPTERS 1-14) --BY HELEN KELLER 1. What is inspirational about Helen Keller as seen in The Story of My Life and why? Ans. One of the most inspirational points readers can take away from Helen Keller's autobiography The Story of My Life is the importance of perseverance. From her early days, Helen describes herself as having been a bit animalistic in her behavior due to being trapped in darkness, silence, and loneliness. For example, she reports playing with the cook's daughter, Martha Washington, because she loved to domineer over her and that Martha generally submitted to tyranny rather than risk a hand-to-hand encounter. She also reports being able to recognize when she was naughty and having a feeling akin to regret but not to the extent that it ever stopped her from seeking what she wanted. Yet, despite her animalistic nature, she had the perseverance to learn how to do things in her world, such as fold and put away clean clothes. Furthermore, when she starts to be educated by Anne Sullivan, she very quickly comes to understand what was wrong about her previous behavior and to learn that there is a world beyond her isolated self. She quickly learns how to communicate, which opens the doors to a world of knowledge and a new understanding of morality. Hence, not only is Helen able to learn as a result of her perseverance, she is also able to develop into a genuinely good and well-rounded individual. The goodness Helen develops as a result of her perseverance is especially seen later in her determination to help others through charity work for the disabled, the speaking tours she gave, and the articles she wrote to champion the blind and deaf. 2. In her autobiography The Story of My Life, why does Helen Keller call the month of February dreadful? What happened to her in that month? Ans For many residents of regions that annually experience a notable change of seasons, with very distinct transition from the warmth of summer to the cold of winter, the month of February is a particularly bleak time of year. The peak of winter is cold and grey. The merriment of the Christmas season and New Year is long over, and the approach of spring too distant to contemplate. For Helen Keller, the month of February represented something even more pernicious: the illness that deprived her of her sight and of her ability to hear and speak. Keller relates this obviously formative episode of her life in her memoir of growing up a blind mute Later in the published version of her memoir, Keller has again reflected on this period of her life, and of the bleakness of the month in which her illness occurred. She recalls the fever that afflicted her, her

2 troubled mother s efforts to sooth her and the doctor s fears that she might die. The fever took away her ability to speak and hear. For Keller, the month of February would forever be identified with her affliction, which she was able to overcome through the efforts of her extraordinarily gifted and tenacious teacher, Ann Sullivan. There would, however, be another moment of sadness in Keller's life that would also occur in a February. A close friend and financial benefactor, John Spaulding, died in February 1896, adding an even greater sense of languor to that particular month. 3. Helen's intelligence and talent serve her well as revealed in The Story of My Life. In what ways do Helen's intelligence and talent cause her frustration and rage? Ans Just as Helen's intelligence and talent allow her to gain an understanding of her surroundings and to thrive; they also mean that she is more easily frustrated. She has an awareness that she cannot communicate effectively but no amount of intelligence and hard work seem to make any difference. Helen talks about when she is a small child and takes refuge in the garden because she cannot express herself. She also refers to her awareness that her mother and her mother's friends do not use signs like she has to. She moved her lips and gesticulated frantically without result and this is extremely frustrating for her. On another occasion, Helen refers to her father's secret and she mimics his actions as he reads a newspaper, even wearing his spectacles, thinking they might help solve the mystery but it only adds to her confusion. It is the fact that she knows that she is different which contributes to her bouts of rage as she cannot accept it. Helen talks about how inadequate her forms of communication are to the point of having temper tantrums sometimes hourly. This is one of the motivations that drive her parents to seek help and Annie Sullivan's arrival and ability to connect with Helen, contribute to her soul's sudden awakening. Helen loves all her opportunities to learn and it is her natural ability which allows her to learn from life itself. However, she admits that arithmetic is something she is not able to master to her own satisfaction as she sets her expectations high- another reason why her intelligence causes her frustrations. 4. In The Story of My Life by Helen Keller, describe the childhood incidents which become a part and parcel of Helen's sight. Ans Having been left blind and deaf after an illness at the age of nineteen months, Helen Keller relies on her sense of touch to explore and discover the world around her. In The Story of My Life she invites the reader to share her story and learn from her experiences. The reader finds inspiration and is surely motivated to appreciate the potential in the simplest things. Helen describes her home and the garden as the paradise of her childhood. When she is particularly frustrated, she finds solace in the garden, using her sense of touch and smell to find her favorite place and to hide my hot face in the cool leaves and grass. At the age of five, Helen is proud that she can do

3 some chores and her attempts to be normal include dressing up and even placing herself in front of a mirror with powder on her face and a bustle around her waist in an attempt to help entertain guests. Helen also wonders why, when she moves her mouth and gesticulates frantically, she cannot make herself understood. Helen recalls cutting Martha's hair and even trying to tip her baby sister out of a cot which Helen thinks should be reserved for her doll Nancy. She recalls almost setting herself on fire while trying to dry her apron in front of the fire and she recalls mimicking her father, putting on his glasses and holding a newspaper up to her face trying to make some sense of what he does. Helen's experiences with Anne Sullivan become her vision, starting with Anne's attempts to teach Helen language. So the turning point in Helen's life comes when she learns the importance of words like 'w-at-e-r' means the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. She also mentions an occasion when she is in a tree and becomes aware of a change in the atmosphere, signalling an approaching storm. Helen admits that a nameless fear clutched at her heart because Anne has left her alone and for a long time afterward Helen avoids climbing trees. Helen admits that "everything that could hum, or buzz, or sing, or bloom had a part in my education" which therefore ensures that she learned from life itself. She relishes holidays, the seasons and the sea which both fascinate and terrify her. She remembers tobogganing as an "exhilarating madness" in the snow. She refers to her efforts to speak and extend her communication abilities and she painfully mentions how she learns lessons that are sometimes almost too hard to bear such as the incident with her story The Frost King. Helen's experiences therefore become her measure of development and, effectively her "sight," giving her valuable memories and allowing her to understand things and accept them. 5. In The Story of My Life, explain the fears experienced by the narrator. How did Miss Sullivan pacify the narrator and motivate her? Ans. The Story of My Life is the autobiographical account of Helen Keller's early life, up to her college days at the age of twenty two. Helen attempts to lift "the veil that clings about my childhood" so that others can be motivated and as inspired as she is by the people around her, such as Miss Sullivan, Helen's beloved teacher. Miss Sullivan is a determined young woman when she is first introduced to Helen and meets her match in the obstinate Helen. Between them, they forge a bond and Helen's education becomes central to everything. Miss Sullivan understands Helen's needs and is able to adapt her teaching to get the most out of Helen. It is Miss Sullivan's persistence and patience that encourages Helen. Even when Helen is seemingly unkind, Miss Sullivan endures as she understands that she must break through the still, dark world in which Helen lived so as to reveal the mystery of language to Helen. The breakthrough comes when Helen feels water on her hand and is able to connect the word that Miss Sullivan spells into her hand

4 with the actual water flowing from the spout which in her words "awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!" There are some occasions when Helen is gripped by fear and Miss Sullivan is always close by to calm her fears. On one occasion, a storm approaches and Helen can sense that she will fall at any minute but her teacher seized her hand and helped her down. Miss Sullivan ensures that Helen can always explore and face her fears and the Mimosa tree becomes Helen's "tree of paradise." Learning abstract concepts, like love, is difficult for Helen but Miss Sullivan, treating Helen like a hearing child, the only difference being that she spells words into Helen's hand rather than saying them, encourages Helen to think. Eventually this reveals the beauty in everything to Helen. As Helen continues to develop, Miss Sullivan's peculiar sympathy allows Helen to experience many things that otherwise would have escaped a blind and deaf child. Helen acknowledges that it is her teacher's genius, her quick sympathy, her loving tact which made the first years of her education so beautiful. The bond between them becomes so strong that "the footsteps of my life are in hers." Helen's first experience at the ocean is also terrifying for Helen as she is gripped by a current but after flailing about in the water she is clasped by her teacher and her confidence is quickly restored. Miss Sullivan is not afraid to allow Helen to be independent and Helen even gets to go tobogganing, even if it is "exhilarating madness." Miss Sullivan encourages Helen to speak, even as she must "practise, practise, practise" and it is Miss Sullivan's "genius, untiring perseverance and devotion"that ensures that Helen never gives up. The incident of The Frost Fairies,when Helen is thought to have plagiarized Margaret Canby's work, has a serious effect on Helen but Miss Sullivan helps Helen cope and is the only one who knows of Helen's torment even though she is cleared of any intent. Throughout Helen's life, Miss Sullivan is the one who ensures that Helen knows her own potential. Even when she is applying to college and the process is so endless and difficult, Miss Sullivan is the only one that could turn drudgery into pleasure, ensuring Helen's continued success. 6. Give a brief character sketch of Helen Keller, Annie Sullivan, Alexander Graham Bell in The Story of My Life by Helen Keller. Ans Helen Keller Helen Keller is the main character in The Story of My Life which is a personal account of Helen's young life after she has a debilitating illness as a baby and is rendered blind and deaf. Annie Sullivan, Alexander Graham Bell and MrAnagnos all change Helen's life dramatically and it is her first meeting with Dr. Bell which starts the process of her education and her fulfillment. In chapter III, Helen reflects how "that interview would be the door through which I should pass from darkness into light." Helen is a very expressive person and once she learns how to communicate, she is tireless in her efforts to learn as much as she can. She is intuitive and very demanding of others but she finds joy in the simplest things and shows appreciation through her acceptance and remarkable development. She is

5 trustful and loving. Her high expectations do result in disappointments and one of her greatest regrets is after she unwittingly plagiarizes The Frost Fairies by Miss Margaret T. Canby which affects her confidence and belief in herself and after which her relationship with the beloved MrAnagnos is irreparably damaged. Dr. Alexander Graham Bell Dr. Alexander Graham Bell is compassionate and kindhearted and an incredibly gifted inventor (as history will confirm). Helen dedicated The Story of My Life to him. He has a special relationship with children, especially the deaf, and his methods ensure that children are motivated and enthusiastic to learn. He is funny and immediately connects with Helen. He recommends The Perkins' Institute to the family which will begin Helen's long and extremely demanding path to learning. Miss Anne Sullivan Anne comes from The Perkins' Institute for the Blind where she learnt to manage and overcome her own difficulties and is the person whom Helen recognizes as most significant in her education. Anne makes Helen think and the day she arrives is according to Helen,"the most important day I remember in all my life," such is the impact which Anne has on Helen's success. Anne is patient, determined and even stubborn, and it is her resolve which ensures that Helen is given time to adapt and to learn language.anne is visually impaired herself and, despite her young age and her complete lack of experience, she is dedicated and wise. She takes every opportunity to teach Helen, whether it be during lessons or out in the environment where she ensures that Helen has every opportunity to explore, discover and overcome her fears. She becomes Helen's constant companion to the point that Helen feels that "the footsteps of my life are in hers." 7. In The Story of My Life, explain the fears experienced by the narrator. How did Miss Sullivan pacify the narrator and motivate her? OR Comment on the role of Miss Sullivan in Helen Keller s life Ans. The Story of My Life is the autobiographical account of Helen Keller's early life, up to her college days at the age of twenty two. Helen attempts to lift "the veil that clings about my childhood" so that others can be motivated and as inspired as she is by the people around her, such as Miss Sullivan, Helen's beloved teacher. Miss Sullivan is a determined young woman when she is first introduced to Helen and meets her match in the obstinate Helen. Between them, they forge a bond and Helen's education becomes central to everything. Miss Sullivan understands Helen's needs and is able to adapt her teaching to get the most out of Helen. It is Miss Sullivan's persistence and patience that encourages Helen. Even when Helen is seemingly unkind, Miss Sullivan endures as she understands that she must break through the still, dark world in which Helen lived so as to reveal the mystery of language to Helen. The breakthrough comes when Helen feels water on her hand and is able to connect the word that Miss Sullivan spells into her hand

6 with the actual water flowing from the spout which "awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!" There are some occasions when Helen is gripped by fear and Miss Sullivan is always close by to calm her fears. On one occasion, a storm approaches and Helen can sense that she will fall any minute but says, my teacher seized my hand and helped me down. Miss Sullivan ensures that Helen can always explore and face her fears and the Mimosa tree becomes Helen's tree of paradise. Learning abstract concepts, like love, is difficult for Helen but Miss Sullivan, treating Helen like a child capable of hearing, the only difference being that she spells words into Helen's hand rather than saying them, encourages Helen to Think. Eventually this reveals the beautiful truth in everything to Helen. As Helen continues to develop, Miss Sullivan's peculiar sympathy allows Helen to experience many things that otherwise would have escaped a blind and deaf child. Helen acknowledges that it is her teacher's genius, her quick sympathy, her loving tact which made the first years of her education so beautiful. The bond between them becomes so strong that Helen says,"the footsteps of my life are in hers