Summary

The Story of my Life--Helen Keller

Class X

Chapter 1

Helen’s apprehension before writing her autobiography

Helen felt a kind of hesitation before she set on the task of penning down her autobiography and, thus, reveal the story of her life. In addition, the task itself was a difficult one for Helen: looking back, she could hardly distinguish between the facts and the fancies across the years. Furthermore, in the process of learning new things, she had forgotten many important incidents and experiences of her childhood.

Birth of Helen 

Helen Adams Keller was born on a plantation called Ivy Green in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on June 27, 1880. She was the eldest daughter of Captain Arthur H. Keller, a former officer of the Confederate Army, and Kate Adams. Helen was named after her grandmother, Helen Everett. Even as an infant, she showed signs of eagerness and independence. By the age of six months, Helen attracted everyone’s attention piping out words like “How d’ye” and “tea”.

Helen suffers an illness that leaves her deaf and blind

In February, 1882, at the age of nineteen months, Helen fell ill with “an acute congestion of the stomach and brain”, which could possibly have been scarlet fever or meningitis. This illness left her deaf and blind. Later on, her spirit was liberated from the “world of silence and darkness” by her teacher, Anne Sullivan.

Chapter 2

Helen’s initial attempts to communicate

After her sickness, Helen started using “crude signs” to communicate with others. A shake of the head meant “No” and a nod “Yes”, a pull meant “Come” and a push, “Go”. If she wanted anything, she would imitate the relevant action. Her mother encouraged her by involving her in the household activities. This made Helen more observant of the actions performed by the people around her.

Observing herself as different from others

Helen started to observe that unlike her, other people did not use signs for communication but talked with their mouths. She realized that she was different from others. She attempted to copy them but in vain. At times, she released her frustration on her nurse, Elisa, by kicking and screaming at her until she felt exhausted. She regretted her misbehavior but did not try to change it.

Companionship with Martha Washington and Belle

Martha Washington was a little coloured girl who understood Helen’s signs. She was the cook’s daughter. Martha submissively obeyed Helen, who in turn enjoyed domineering over her. Both the girls spent a lot of time in the kitchen, kneading dough balls, grinding coffee, quarrelling over the cake bowl.

Helen enjoyed feeding the hens and turkeys, and feeling them as they ate from her hands. She also loved to hunt for guinea-fowl eggs in the long grass. Even though Helen could not understand Christmas per se, she enjoyed the preparations leading to that occasion.

One July afternoon, when Helen and Martha were bored of cutting paper dolls, they came up with the idea of cutting each other’s hair. Helen cut Martha’s hair and Martha cut off a curl of Helen’s. Martha would have cut them all if it weren’t for Helen’s mother’s timely intervention.

Belle was a lazy old dog and a companion of Helen. Despite of her attempts, it was inattentive to her signs and gestures. As a result, Helen would get frustrated and go looking for Martha.

Helen is saved by the nurse from getting burnt

Once, while drying her wet apron in front of the hearth, Helen ended up going too close to the fire. Her clothes caught fire. Fortunately, she was saved by the nurse, Viny, who threw a blanket around her to extinguish the fire. Except for her hands and hair, she was not badly burnt.

Discovering the use of a key: used as a tool for mischief

About that time, Helen found out the use of a key. The mischievous Helen played a prank on her mother by locking her in the pantry. After Miss Sullivan arrived to teach her, she played the same prank on her. Helen locked her teacher in her room and refused to reveal the hidden key. Eventually, her father had to intervene and take Miss Sullivan out of the room through the window.

When Helen was around five years old, the Keller family moved from the ‘little vine-covered house’ to a large new one.

The loving relationship between Helen and her father

Helen’s father was loving and indulgent. Helen was fond of the stories her father narrated to her by forming spellings on her hand. Her father in turn enjoyed Helen’s reiteration of these stories. Her father’s death in the summer of 1896 was Helen’s “first great sorrow-- [her] first personal experience with death.”

Helen’s relationship with her baby sister

Initially, Helen viewed her younger sister, Mildred, as an intruder. She felt that her sister got all the attention from her mother. Helen vented her frustration and showed her affection on her doll, Nancy. Once Helen overturned Nancy’s cradle in which her sister was sleeping. Fortunately, their mother’s timely arrival saved Mildred. Later, however, the love between the hearts of the two sisters prospered despite the fact that neither of them understood the language of the other.

Chapter 3

The need for a better means of communication

Gradually, the few signs that were used by Helen to communicate became inadequate. Failure to get across her thoughts led to fits of anger and frustration in Helen. She felt miserable. As a result, it became imperative for her parents to find a teacher or a school for Helen so that she could learn a better means of communication.

Helen’s mother’s hope was aroused by an account she read in Dickens’s “American Notes” about the education of Laura Bridgeman, a deaf and blind student, by Dr. Howe. Unfortunately, his methods had possibly died with him. Besides, it would not be easy to find a teacher who would come to their distant town in Alabama to teach Helen.

The train journey to Baltimore 

Helen was six when her father decided to consult an oculist in Baltimore for the treatment of Helen’s sight. Helen enjoyed the new experiences during her trip. She was happy to receive a box of shells from a lady and a doll made out of towels from her aunt during the journey. She also played with the “punching machine” of the conductor. In fact, she did not experience any fits of temper during her journey as there were so many things to keep her mind and hands busy.

Exploring the possibilities of Helen’s education at Baltimore

At Baltimore, Dr. Chisholm said that there was nothing he could do about Helen’s sight. However, he advised Helen’s father to consult Dr. Alexander Graham Bell of Washington, who would be able to guide them in regards to the education of Helen.

Meeting Dr. Bell was a great experience for Helen. He understood Helen’s signs, which made her happy. This meeting was the beginning of a long friendship between Dr. Bell and Helen. Helen later recalled this interview as the foundation of her journey from darkness to light, “from isolation to friendship, companionship, knowledge and love.”

Dr. Bell advised Mr. Keller to write to Dr. Anagnos, the director of the Perkins Institute in Boston. Her father wrote to him without any delay and got a reply in positive. Finally, in the March of 1887, Miss Sullivan arrived at the Keller house.

Chapter 4

The most important day of Helen’s life

Miss Anne Mansfield Sullivan arrived at the house of the Keller family on the third of March, 1887. This was the day from which Helen’s life started to transform; the ailing spirit of Helen could only find solace by the knowledge delivered by Miss Sullivan.

Beginning of the journey of knowledge with Miss Ann Sullivan

Miss Sullivan gave Helen a doll, which was a present from the little blind students of the Perkins Institute and was dressed by Laura Bridgeman. Miss Sullivan spelled the word ‘D-O-L-L’ on Helen’s hands. Helen managed to imitate the movements of her fingers even though she was not aware of the fact that Miss Sullivan was trying to teach her the name of the thing. It took several weeks for Helen to realize that everything has a name. Miss Sullivan tried to teach the names of several other objects to Helen, such as “M-U-G” and “W-A-T-E-R”, but Helen was annoyed at the repeated attempts of her teacher and she broke her doll on the floor.

One day, when they were walking in the garden, Miss Sullivan put Helen’s hand under a spout of water. As the cool stream gushed over Helen’s hand, Miss Sullivan spelled the word “water” on the other. Then Helen realized that ‘water’ meant that “cool something that was flowing over [her] hand”. She experienced the joy of gaining knowledge. When she returned to the house, she was eager to learn since “every name gave birth to a new thought”.

That day Helen learnt several new words, including “father”, “mother” and “teacher”. This eventful day left her very happy and excited. She waited eagerly for the upcoming new day.

Chapter 5

Helen could experience new joy as she learned the names of the objects and their uses. This made her more confident and familiar with the outside world.

Learning lessons in the lap of nature

Helen had many new experiences during her summer trip to the banks of the Tennessee River with Miss Sullivan. There, sitting on the warm grass, Helen learned lessons from her teacher. She got to know how birds make their nests; how trees grow with the help of the sun and the rain; how animals find food for themselves, etc. She became more sensitive to nature and rejoiced the company of the world about which she was now more informed.

Helen learns that nature is not always kind

One day Miss Sullivan helped Helen to climb up a tree. It was a pleasant sunny afternoon and they decided to have their luncheon there. Miss Sullivan left to fetch the food, with Helen sitting on a tree alone. Suddenly the weather became dark and stormy. Helen was terrified and felt alienated from the world. Helen longed for the return of her teacher and above all to get down from the tree. Too scared to jump, she “crouched down in the fork of the tree”. Just as she thought she would fall along with the tree, her teacher rescued her. Helen felt relieved to reach the ground safely. This experience taught her that nature is not always kind, that nature “wages open war against her children…”

Rejoicing independence and a new bond with nature

Helen continued to be terrified of climbing a tree for a long time. One day, however, she was lured to climb a ‘Mimosa tree’ by its beautiful fragrance. She did experience some difficulty in holding on to the large branches but the pleasure of attempting something new and wonderful kept her going. Finally, she sat down on a “little seat” and felt like a “fairy sitting on a rose cloud”.

Chapter 6

With the acquisition of words, Helen turns more inquisitive

Gradually, Helen’s knowledge grew in terms of vocabulary and subsequently, her area of inquiry broadened. She returned to the same subject repeatedly, eager for more and more information.

Challenges in understanding abstract ideas

One day Helen brought a bunch of violets for her teacher. Miss Sullivan put her arm around Helen to show her affection and spelled into her hand, “I love Helen”. But Helen failed to understand the meaning as she tried associating it with a thing and not with an emotion or an abstract idea. She was disappointed by the fact that her teacher could not “show” her what love meant.

The first conception of an abstract idea

A couple of days later, when Helen was stringing beads of different sizes, her teacher kept on pointing out mistakes to her. Helen was trying to think about the correct arrangement when Miss Sullivan touched her forehead and spelled the word “think” on her hand. Helen suddenly realized that the word is the name of the process going on in her mind. This was Helen’s first conscious awareness of an abstract idea. Finally, her teacher explained to her that, “you cannot touch love either; but you feel the sweetness that love pours into everything.”

The tedious process of learning for a deaf and blind child like Helen

Miss Sullivan encouraged Helen to talk to her. She supplied her with several words and idioms by spelling them on her hand. It was a long and tedious process that continued for several years. This was because Helen could neither distinguish between the different tonalities of the speaker nor look at his expressions.

Chapter 7

Learning to read

The next important lesson for Helen was learning how to read. Once Helen had managed to spell a few words, her teacher gave her slips of cardboard with raised letters printed on them. Helen promptly learned that each printed word stood for an object, an act, or a quality. She was given the slips of paper, which represented, for example, “doll”, “is”, “on”, “bed”, and each name was placed on the relevant object. Her doll was put on the bed with words is, on, bed arranged beside the doll, thus making a sentence out of it.

From the printed slips Helen moved on to read printed books. Helen enjoyed hunting for the words she knew in her book “Reading for Beginners”.

Learning lessons out of doors and through illustrations

Miss Sullivan taught Helen with the help of illustrations through beautiful story or a poem. In this way, she made each difficult lesson easy to learn.

The early lessons were carried out in the sunlit woods. Among other places that Helen often visited were the garden and the orchard. Helen’s favourite walk was to the Keller’s Landing, an old wharf on the Tennessee River. There she was also given geography lessons in a playful manner without any exhaustion or feeling of being taught lessons. Helen built dams with pebbles, made islands and lakes, and dug river-beds. Miss Sullivan built “raised maps in clay” on a sheet so that Helen could feel the mountains, ridges and valleys by following her fingers. She illustrated the division of earth into different zones with the help of illustrative strings and “orange stick” representations.

Miss Sullivan taught Helen arithmetic, botany and zoology with the same leisurely approach.

Learning in the form of stories that were based on the gifts received by Helen

A collection of fossils was once gifted to Helen by a gentleman. These served as a key to the “antediluvian world” on which Miss Sullivan narrated dreadful tales about various beasts and devils with unpronounceable names.

Another time, a beautiful shell was gifted to Helen, and it helped her to learn about the habitat of the marine animals. She associated the shell building process with the working of the mind. Just as the Nautilus changes the material it absorbs from water and makes it a part of itself, similarly, the mind converts the “bits of knowledge” that one gathers into “pearls of thought”.

Lessons of science from life itself

Miss Sullivan picked up illustrations for her lessons from life itself. She taught the growth of a plant by making observations on a growing lily plant kept on the window. Helen learnt about the behaviour of animals by feeling the tadpoles in a “glass globe” and monitoring their growth.

Teaching skills of Miss Sullivan

Miss Sullivan was a teacher with great teaching skills: she was sympathetic and loving. She could seize the right moment for delivering knowledge to Helen, which made learning experience pleasant. Helen developed such closeness with her teacher that she hardly thought herself distant from her. She acknowledges her teacher for all the good in her and as a source of aspiration to gain knowledge

Chapter 8

Preparing for Christmas celebration

Helen eagerly waited for the first Christmas after the arrival of Miss Sullivan. Everyone in the house was planning surprises for Helen and she, in turn, was preparing surprises for them with the help of her teacher. Her friends incited her excitement by throwing hints at her with “half spelled words” and “incomplete sentences” which were both amusements and language lessons for her. Meanwhile, Miss Sullivan and Helen played the guessing game every evening to help her learn the use of language.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, Helen was invited to a school in Tuscumbia. She felt excited in the presence of a beautiful Christmas tree standing in the centre of the room. She was delighted when asked to distribute presents among the school children. She received her gifts as well. However, she was not satisfied with these and wanted those gifts that were being planned by her family and friends. Later, she waited eagerly for the morning to discover her Christmas presents from Santa Claus and others.

Helen’s new pet: Tim:

Helen woke up to a large number of gifts. She was most pleased by her teacher’s gift: a canary bird.

Helen named the little bird as ‘Tim’ and Miss Sullivan taught her to take proper care of it. Tim was a friendly bird who clenched to Helen’s fingertip and loved to eat candied cherries out of her hand. Helen grew quite fond of Tim, until one fateful day when a cat ate the bird. That day, she had forgotten to shut the door of the cage and as she was returning with water for the bird’s bath, she felt a pussy cat pass by her. Soon she realized what happened: she would not be able to see it again.

Chapter 9

The journey to Boston in May, 1888

In May, 1888, Helen travelled to Boston with Miss Sullivan and her mother. This journey was different from the previous journey to Baltimore as she was no longer a young “restless” child. Instead, she was now a calm child sitting beside her teacher who was informing her about the views outside the car window: the Tennessee River, cotton fields, hills, woods and so on.

Helen recalls the tragic end of Nancy, her doll

After their arrival at Boston, Helen’s doll Nancy underwent a sad experience. During the journey, the doll became dirty and hence, the laundress at the Perkins Institution gave her a bath. Consequently, the doll turned into a “formless heap of cotton” and could only be recognized by Helen by her “two bead eyes”.

Helen’s friendly arrival at the Perkins Institution for the Blind

Helen could befriend the blind children at the Perkins Institute quite easily. She was delighted to be able to communicate with the blind children in her own language. Besides, she was happy to be at the same institute where Laura Bridgeman had been taught. She envied the blind children only in one aspect: their ability to hear. Eventually, Helen felt contended and happy in their company and forgot all her pain.

Helen’s first history lesson at Bunker Hill

While Helen was at Boston, she visited the Bunker Hill. There she had her first history lesson. She was thrilled to imagine that she was standing at the high stairway which was once used by the soldiers to shoot their enemies.

Helen’s maiden ocean voyage: trip to ‘Plymouth’:

The next day, they went to Plymouth by water. It was Helen’s first trip on the ocean and first voyage on a steamboat. On reaching their destination, she felt the curves and cuts of the Plymouth Rock and the “1620” engraved on it. A gentleman at the Pilgrim Hall museum gave her a small model of the rock. She was familiar with the wonderful stories about the Pilgrims that visited that rock. She could idealize them for their bravery and zeal to acquire home in an unknown territory. Later on, she was disappointed to know about their shameful acts of persecuting minority groups like the ‘Quakers’.

Close companionship with Mr. William Endicott and his daughter

Among her close friends at Boston were Mr. William Endicott and his daughter. She was delighted by their stroll through their rose-garden of their house at Beverly Farms. Their dogs, Leo and Fritz, were quite friendly with Helen and the horse, Nimrod, poked his nose in her hand to get a pat.

She also enjoyed playing in the sand near the sea. Mr. Endicott told her about great Europe-bound ships that sailed by from Boston. Helen recounts her whole experience at Boston as full of pleasure and denotes the city in one phrase as “The City of Kind Hearts”.

Chapter 10

The vacation at Brewster with Mrs. Hopkins

When the Perkins institute closed for the summer, Helen and her teacher went to Brewster, on Cape Cod, to spend the vacation with a dear friend, Mrs. Hopkins. Helen had read about the sea in her book Our Worldand was excited to visit it.

Helen’s first encounter with the sea

The horseshoe crabOnce at the sea shore, she hurriedly plunged into the water. She was enjoying the water, when suddenly her foot struck a rock. Her “ecstasy” changed into fear as she started drowning. She struggled for a while and finally, the waves threw her back on the shore and she was supported by the embrace of her teacher. After she recovered from the panic, she innocently asked her teacher, “Who put salt in water?”

After she had recovered from the incident, Helen enjoyed sitting on a big rock and feeling the dashing of waves against the rock, sending up a shower of spray.  She noticed the movement of the waves and their affect on the pebbles and the beach.

Miss Sullivan drew Helen’s attention to a sea organism---the horseshoe crab. Helen was so fascinated by it that she carried the heavy crab all the way to their house. On reaching their home, she carefully placed it in a trough of water. But to her surprise, it disappeared the next morning. Helen slowly but surely realized her mistake of separating the crab from his habitat and felt happy thinking that it had possibly safely travelled to its home.

Chapter 11

Spending a leisurely autumn at the Fern Quarry

Helen returned to her Southern home in autumn. She felt happy and content with her experiences in the north. She spent her autumn months with her family at their summer cottage, Fern Quarry. The cottage was like a “rough camp” situated on top of a mountain, near a limestone quarry.  Helen spent her time in a leisurely manner at the cottage.

Many visitors came to Fern Quarry. In the evening, men played cards and talked about their hunting experiences. She woke up in the morning with the sound of rattling guns and the smell of coffee. All the men went off to hunt after bidding each other good luck for the season.

Later in the morning, barbecue was prepared. The “savoury odour” of meat made her hungry even before the tables were set. Afterward, the hunting party also joined the feast of veal and roast pig, following their discussion on their hunting events during the day.

Helen had a pony and she named it Black Beauty, having just completed the book. Sometimes, accompanied by her teacher, she rode the pony. At times, Miss Sullivan would release the rein and the pony would stop at his will to eat leaves from trees. On other days, they would go for walks in the woods and return home with armful of laurels, ferns and other beautiful flowers. Sometimes, she would go on similar trips with her sister and cousins.

Adventure with the train at the rail road

At the foot of the mountain there was a railroad and about a mile distant was a trestle spanning a deep gorge. Helen had never actually been there until one day when she, along with her sister and Miss Sullivan, got lost in the woods. They came across the trestle, which was a short cut to their home. Since they were lost, they decided to take this way in spite of the dangers: the ties were wide apart and quite narrow. Feeling the rails with the toes, Helen moved on the trestle cautiously but without fear. Suddenly, train was heard coming in from the other side. They had to climb quickly down upon the crossbraces while the train passed by. With some difficulty, they regained the track. When, ultimately, they reached back home, it had grown quite dark and all the family members were out looking for them.

Chapter 12

Chilly winter at a New England Village

After her first visit to Boston, Helen continued to visit the north every winter. Once Helen went on a visit to a New England village. This village had frozen lakes and vast snow fields. It was here that Helen got to experience the snow. She explored the snow-covered hills and fields that were devoid of any life, the empty nests and the bare trees.

One day, the advent of a snowstorm made Helen rush out-of-doors to enjoy the first few descending snowflakes. Gradually, the whole area was covered by snow and the morning became dark. In the evening, there was a snowstorm. Helen and her teacher spent their time sitting around the fire and narrating stories. At night, they could hear the terrifying noise of the wind on the trees around the house and the creaking and breaking sounds of the rafters. On the third day, the storm was over and sunlight peeped out from the clouds. It scattered to the different places making everything shine and glow. The trees were standing still as if statues of “white marble”.  The roads and paths were all covered with snow. Helen could scarcely feel the earth below her feet.

The favorite amusement during winters: tobogganing

Helen’s favorite pastime during the winters was tobogganing. Helen enjoyed plunging through the drifts, leaping hollows, drifting and swooping down upon the lake while riding on a toboggan.

Chapter 13

Helen’s urge to speak

With the loss of the ability to hear, Helen’s speech had died down. However, from a young age, she had an impulse to speak. She tried to feel the noise that she made by keeping one hand on her throat and the other on her lips, feeling their movements. She produced sounds not to speak but for the exercise of her vocal chords. There was a feeling of lack in Helen which needed to be fulfilled. She was not satisfied with the means of communication she used and desperately wanted to learn to speak.

In 1890, Mrs. Lamson, one of the teachers at the Perkins Institutions, told Helen about a deaf and blind girl, Ragnhild Kaata who had been taught to speak. Helen resolved that she will also learn to speak and Mrs. Lamson took her for advice and assistance to Miss Sarah Fuller, the principal of Horace Mann School.

Speaking lessons from Miss Sarah Fuller

Miss Sarah Fuller was a “sweet-natured lady” who started tutoring Helen on the 26th of March, 1890. Miss Fuller passed Helen’s hand lightly over her face to make her feel her tongue and lips when she made a sound. Within the first hour itself, Helen learnt six elements of speech: M, P, A, S, T, I. “It is warm” is the first complete sentence that Helen managed to utter. In total, eleven lessons were given to her by Miss Fuller. The syllables were broken but, nevertheless, human. She was eager to share her happiness with her family and to see the joy on their faces. Miss Fuller taught her the elements of the speech but she was to continue practicing herself with Miss Sullivan’s help.

Helen learns to speak with Miss Sullivan’s assistance

Miss Sullivan dragged Helen’s attention to the “mispronounced words”. Helen had to depend on the vibrations felt by her fingers, the movement of the mouth and expressions of the face. Discouragement wearied her efforts initially but as soon as she thought of the joy of her family, she felt optimistic. Helen gave up the manual alphabet method to develop her speech even though Miss Sullivan and her friends continued to use it to communicate with her.

The final moment of joy: Helen’s speech

Finally, the happiest moment arrived. Helen had developed speech and was eager to return home. As she reached the station and her family heard her speak, they were overjoyed. Her mother was speechless with delight and hugged her tightly; Mildred danced in joy clasped her hand and kissed her; and her father expressed his pride and affection by a “big silence”.

Chapter 14

Helen’s first attempt to write a composition on her own

During her stay at the Fern Quarry, Miss Sullivan described to her the beauty of the “late foliage” plants. This apparently revived in Helen the memory of a story that had been read to her in the past. The story had been unconsciously retained in her mind but she thought that she was making up the story herself. She eagerly jotted down her ideas before they would slip away from her mind. The words and images smoothly flowed from her mind and she felt the joy of composing a story. The story was called “The Frost king”. She did not realize that the words and images coming to her mind without effort were not her own. For her, the boundary line between her own ideas and those she gathered from the books were blurred because most of the impressions came to her mind through the “medium of others’ eyes or ears”.

“The Frost King” appreciated by family and friends

After completing the story, she read it to everyone at dinner. Despite some pronunciation errors, she managed to impress everyone with her story. However, someone did ask her if she had read the story in a book. Helen did not have the faintest recollection of the story been read to her and so she denied it saying that it was her story and she had written it for Mr. Anagnos. Mr. Anagnos was delighted with her story and published it in one of the Perkins Institution reports.

Helen’s happiness gets crushed in Boston

During her short stay in Boston, Helen was astonished to discover that her story “The Frost King” was similar to “The Frost Fairies” written by Miss Margaret T. Canby. This story had appeared in the book, “Birdie and His Friends”, which was published even before Helen's birth. The fact that the language of the two stories was alike confirmed that Miss Canby’s story had been read to her and that hers was “a plagiarism”. Her joy changed into grief.

Mr. Anagnos felt deceived. He believed that Helen and Miss Sullivan had deliberately stolen the thoughts of a great writer to win his appreciation.

Helen at the court of investigation

Helen was brought before a court of investigation where she was examined and cross-examined by the teachers and officers of the Perkins Institution. The investigators seemed to force Helen to acknowledge that she remembered “The Frost Fairies” being read to her. Helen felt heavy at her heart because of the doubts and suspicions from her loved ones. She could respond to them only in monosyllables. Her consciousness could not be unburdened by the realization that she had only committed a ‘dreadful’ mistake. At last she was allowed to leave the room. Her friends and family assured her that she was a brave girl and that they were proud of her. That night, Helen wept pitiably, suffering for her mistake.

The problem in the composition of “The Frost King” acknowledged

Miss Sullivan had never heard “The Frost Fairies”, let alone read it to Helen. So, with the assistance of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, she investigated the matter. At last, it was found out that Miss Canby’s story had been narrated to Helen by Mrs. Sophia Hopkins when she had spent a summer with her at Brewster. Even though Helen did not recall hearing the story, it sustained in her memory.

During this distressing time, Helen received a lot of messages of love and sympathy from her loved ones. She also received a kind note from Miss Canby herself, encouraging her to write something of her own in future that might help others.  This was comforting to Helen but she was afraid of “playing with words” again for a long time fearing that she would repeat her mistake again. Miss Sullivan’s encouragement, however, helped her to continue writing in future.

Helen’s early compositions

Helen recognized herself as a part of the process of learning by “assimilation” and “imitation” to put ideas into words. Her early compositions are mainly assimilation of the descriptions from various forgotten sources. Helen gives an example of the composition she wrote for Mr. Anagnos about the beauty of the Greek and Italian old cities. Mr. Anagnos appreciated the ‘poetical essence’ in her ideas. Helen was happy that even though the works resembled a “crazy patchwork” comprising of her own thoughts and others’, they proved her ability to express of her admiration for beautiful objects in clear and “animated” language.

Effects of “The Frost King” incident in the later life of Helen

The good part of the tragic experience of “The Frost King” was that Helen started thinking about the problems of composition.

After the publication of “The Story of My Life” in the “Ladies’ Home Journal”, Mr. Anagnos, in a letter to Macy, stated his views supporting Helen in the matter of the “Frost King”. He also stated that he had cast his vote in favour of Helen in the court of investigation.

Helen remarks the “Frost King” incident as an important one for her education and, therefore, has included it in the chapter without an attempt to defend herself or laying the blame on anyone else.

Q.Ans. of The story of my Life Class X SA1

1. From The Story of My Life, who is revealed as the teacher of Helen Keller?

As revealed in The Story of My Life, Helen Keller's autobiographical account of her first twenty two years, Annie Sullivan is Helen's teacher but she becomes so much more to Helen to the point that Helen admits in chapter seven that "I scarcely think of myself apart from her." Helen is aware of the huge impact that Annie's arrival has on her whole family and talks about Annie's arrival in March 1887 as "the most important day I remember in all my life" (chapter 4). Helen was left blind and deaf after an illness when she was a baby, and it is her parents' desperation that leads them to seek help. Dr. Alexander Graham Bell represents the turning point for Helen whose outbursts have admittedly escalated to the point of being "sometimes hourly" (chapter 3). It is Helen's inability to communicate which causes so much frustration and which Annie understands, herself only being partially sighted. She intends to teach Helen "language" and "W-A-T-E-R" (ch 3) becomes the first significant word which then allows Helen to form associations between what Annie spells into her hand and what needs to be understood.

Annie's style of teaching means that Helen is not bored by lessons which would be difficult to grasp for any child and Helen feels that she "learned from life itself" (ch 7) as Annie's methods are inspiring and bring everything into context. Annie's patience and perseverance ensure that Helen is able to reach her true potential. 

    

2.What is an overview of The Story of My Life?The Story of My Life is an autobiography about Helen Keller who lost her sight and hearing after suffering an illness at 19 months of age. She had to reestablish her communication and feel every object around the house and use crude signs to facilitate her learning and communication. Her situation frustrated her at first, especially when she realized that other people communicated by talking while she had to use signs. The entry of her teacher and life-long companion, Anne Sullivan, helped the young girl surmount some of the challenges of her condition. Helen was mostly interested in the written word, which she eventually relied on mostly to express herself. She even achieved the major milestone of writing her books. Despite the challenges, Helen went on to become a social activist and participated in lecture tours accompanied by her teacher Sullivan.

The story shares her brief memories before she lost her sight and hearing and her life with the condition up until her college years, when she actually wrote the book. She went on to write other books and articles throughout her lifetime.

3. Based on her autobiography The Story of My Life, how was Helen Keller as a childand as a student?
In her autobiography, The Story of My Life, Helen Keller confesses to having been quite a wild child before she met her teacher Anne Sullivan. Her wildness is seen in the fact that she was prone to temper tantrums and used manipulation to get her way. But she also explains that her temper tantrums were a result of feeling angered by being trapped in a world she didn't understand and her poor behavior a result of having no way to learn morals.

One example she gives of a tempter tantrum due to frustration concerns the times she observed people around her moving their lips to communicate. After recovering from her high fever, as she got older, she explains that she felt a basic need to communicate with others around her and started making gestures to do so:

4. A shake of the head meant "No and a nod, "Yes," a pull meant "Come" and a push, "Go." Was it bread that I wanted? Then I would imitate the acts of cutting the slices and buttering them. (Ch. 2)

At some point in her early life, she realized that other people didn't use gestures to communicate. She used to stand between two people she knew were talking and touch their lips. She could feel their lips moving but didn't understand why. She tried moving her lips too but knew she wasn't communicating anything by doing so. As she explains, "This made [her] so angry at times that [she] kicked and screamed until [she] was exhausted" (Ch. 2).

She also explains that she spent all of her time with their cook's daughter her age namedMartha Washington, mostly because she "seldom had any difficulty in making [Martha] do just as she wished" (Ch. 2). She further says she realized when she was behaving badly and felt something "akin to regret" anytime she hurt someone with her kicking butnot enough regret to stop herself from behaving that way in the future.

However, all of this changed when she started learning from Sullivan. The lessons were very challenging at first, but, soon, Helen learned manners, how to do new tasks on her own, and how to communicate, which opened up the door for her to be able to understand kindness, compassion, and moral behavior.

5. According to Helen Keller's autobiography, The Story of My Life, who was Arthur H. Keller? What did he do?

As we learn from the first chapter of Helen Keller's autobiography, The Story of My Life, Helen came from a very noteworthy Southern family of Tuscumbia, Alabama. Her father was Arthur Henley Keller, who served as a captain of the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Captain Keller owned a homestead in Alabama that they named Ivy Green because, as Helen informs us, the house and the surrounding trees and fences were covered in beautiful English ivy. Helen also informs us that, after the Civil War, when he married Helen's mother, Kate Adams, his second wife, he built a small house annexed from the main house, in Southern tradition, and Helen was born in this house and lived their until her illness had passed.
6. Why did Helen call Boston "the city of kind hearts"?

To start, Helen's experiences with kind people in Boston have greatly influenced her thoughts about the city. Because of the people, Helen will forever equate Boston with kindness, welcome, and compassion. The main example of someone who embodies the spirit of such welcoming hospitality would be Mr. William Endicott. Helen tells us that she was thinking of Mr. Endicott when she called Boston The City Of Kind Hearts. Mr. Endicott opens up his house to Helen and talks to her as if they are great friends who have always enjoyed each other's company.

Another example you might consider using would be that of Mr. Anagnos (director of the Perkins Institution For The Blind in Boston). When Helen's father writes to request a teacher for Helen, we are told that Mr. Anagnos answers with a 'kind letter' filled with ' the comforting assurance that a teacher had been found.'

In May 1888, Helen gets a chance to visit the Perkins Institution For The Blind. Her  joy is complete when the children greet her with eagerness and enthusiasm. She feels so thoroughly at home in Boston that she begins to regard Boston 'as the beginning and the end of creation.'

Another instance of kindness is experienced in the presence of the child actress, Elsie Leslie, who stars in the play, 'The Prince and The Pauper,' in Boston. Despite fatigue, Elsie receives Helen with a generous warmth and a kind welcome after the play. Helen tells us that it 'would have been hard to find a lovelier or more lovable child than Elsie...'

Helen tells us of her sadness at the death of Mr. John Spaulding, a great supporter of Helen's studies.

Only those who knew and loved him best can understand what his friendship meant to me. He, who made every one happy in a beautiful, unobtrusive way, was most kind and tender to Miss Sullivan and me. So long as we felt his loving presence and knew that he took a watchful interest in our work, fraught with so many difficulties, we could not be discouraged. His going away left a vacancy in our lives that has never been filled.

7. What is the relationship between Helen and Martha?

Before the arrival of her teacher, Annie Sullivan, Helen Keller sought out the companionship of Martha Washington, the African American child of the family cook.

Helen and Martha developed a system of signs to communicate during play, and Martha appeared to tolerate Helen’s eccentric behavior. Helen tells how she used to “double [her] hands and put them on the ground” when she wanted to go egg-hunting with Martha. Helen describes how she cut off all of Martha’s black curls, and Martha proceeded to cut off all of Helen’s curls before her mother intervened. Martha and Helen helped in the kitchen and played in the family stable. Helen admits that she was a domineering child, but it is apparent that Martha and Helen learned to share similar interests and enjoy each other’s company. Martha lived with the Keller family until Helen moved to a larger house before the birth of her sister, Mildred, and the untimely death of her father.

In The Story of My Life by Helen Keller, what explains Helen's love for nature?

In The Story of My Life by Helen Keller, nature is fascinating, comforting and terrifying for Helen. When she is very young, Helen finds that the garden brings her relief from her frustrations; it is "the paradise of my childhood" (chapter 1). She recognizes sections of the garden by the smells and also the texture of the leaves and she is particularly in awe of the roses. The garden is her refuge because she can rely on her other senses (not sight and hearing) and, even if only momentarily, she is not restricted by her disabilities.

In chapter 5, after Annie Sullivan arrives and begins teaching Helen, she encourages Helen's love of the outdoors and helps her make the connection between her world and the world around her by making Helen feel that "birds and flowers and I were happy peers." Helen even remembers that her first lessons with Annie are "in the beneficence of nature." Helen notes that Annie does not concentrate on academic subjects at first but rather on "beauty in the fragrant woods, in every blade of grass, and in the curves and dimples of my baby sister's hand." However, Helen also learns about the unpredictability of nature and remembers how whilst climbing a tree "a nameless fear clutched at my heart." However, she sees it as another learning opportunity, and although she takes a long time to get over her fear, she does do so and feels "like a fairy on a rosy cloud."

Helen's education revolves around nature and she recognizes that "everything that could hum, or buzz, or sing, or bloom had a part" (chapter 6). Annie uses clay to teach Helen Geography and people send her collectibles which allow Helen to make associations and "learn from life itself." Helen recognizes that this love of nature stems from Annie's "genius" and continues to relish it. When out in the snow, she even suggests that the light is so bright that "it penetrated the darkness that veils my eyes" (ch 12). She finds the wind "exhilarating" while tobogganing and never misses an opportunity. She is inspired by her surroundings and this contributes to her positive frame of mind. 

9. In Helen Keller's autobiography The Story of My Life, the arrival of Anne Sullivan coincided with the coming of spring. What symbolic significance does it hold?

In Chapter III of her autobiography The Story of My Life, Helen Keller explains her experiences with traveling to various doctors and being recommended a teacher in "the summer of 1886," when she was six years old. It was a little less than a year later, the next March, that her teacher Anne Sullivan came to them. While we certainly can see spring as being symbolic, one might hesitate to call spring in Helen's autobiography symbolic since Helen is accounting for us the true facts of her life. In real life, life occurrences do not happen at certain times for deeper symbolic meaning; they simply happen. While one might attribute symbolic meaning to a real-life event, it would be a stretch to say that the event actually has symbolic meaning because an historic event is simply an historic event. Only in literature do events really have symbolic meaning.

In the summertime during 1886, she and her family had journeyed from their home in Alabama to Baltimore, where they went to see Dr. Chisholm, an oculist who had helped many cases of blindness. Dr. Chisholm was unable to do anything for Helen but suggested they speak with Dr. Alexander Graham Bell in Washington, D.C., the inventor of the telephone, for advice on seeing to Helen's education. Dr. Bell recommended they write to Mr. Anagnos, the director of the Perkins Institution for the blind in Boston, for a teacher he could recommend. Mr. Anagnos responded within a few weeks giving "comforting assurance that a teacher had been found." However, Anne Sullivan "did not arrive until the following March."

Spring is a time of growth, rebirth, and rejuvenation. All of nature that had been asleep during the winter awakens and begins to grow. Plus, new seeds that had taken root in an earlier season begin to grow. In addition, baby animals are born. This period of growth and birth helps nature progress through its endless cycle. We can also symbolically apply nature's time of growth, rebirth, and rejuvenation to our own mental and spiritual states to see spring as a time of awakening and of transforming ourselves into something new. Hence, Miss Sullivan's appearance in early spring is certainly coincidental because itcoincides with Helen's own awakening and rebirth into a person with new knowledge and eventually new spiritual and moral understanding.

10. What were the fears around Helen in The Story of My Life? Who helped her to overcome these fears?

Helen was a brave child, but being blind and deaf meant that she would sometimes become fearful of things she could not see or hear.  Since she could only sense, fear of the unknown led her to panic.  For instance, one day she was in a tree before a thunderstorm hit, and became very frightened.

I knew it, it was the odour that always precedes a thunderstorm, and a nameless fear clutched at my heart. I felt absolutely alone, cut off from my friends and the firm earth. The immense, the unknown, enfolded me. I remained still and expectant; a chilling terror crept over me. (Ch. 5)

After this, it is a long time before she climbs another tree.   She says the “mere thought filled me with terror” (Ch. 5).  Yet when she climbs a tree again, it is like a wonderful new world, a paradise.  She has proven that she can conquer any fear, eventually.  Nature is too beautiful and bountiful to be missed.

Another example of fear also involves nature, in a way, because it involves water.  Helen again gets into a situation where she is in over her head.

The buoyant motion of the water filled me with an exquisite, quivering joy. Suddenly my ecstasy gave place to terror; for my foot struck against a rock and the next instant there was a rush of water over my head. (Ch. 10)

She manages to get herself out of the situation because the waves throw her back out.  Like the incident with the tree, Helen got out of the situation on her own just like she got into it on her own.  Sometimes, however, as in this time, it is her teacher Anne Sullivan who comforts her.

Helen describes an episode of more personal fear in the winter of 1892.(The Frost King)The winter of 1892 was darkened by one cloud in my childhood's bright sky. Joy deserted my heart, and for a long, long time I lived in doubt, anxiety, and fear. Books lost their charm for me, and even now the thought of those dreadful days chills my heart. (Ch. 14)

The incident involved a mistaken plagiarism on Helen’s part, where she wrote a story that she thought was her own, that turned out to be remembered from a story read to her when she was a child.  It was an innocent mistake, but it hurt her pride and turned her world upside down.  Anne Sullivan knew that she did not make the mistake deliberately or plagiarize, and comforted her. 

At first some people believed her and others did not, but then she was brought up upon charges “brought before a court of investigation” and her beloved teacher “Miss Sullivan was asked to leave” her (Ch. 14).  She was terrified that this would happen, because she relied on Anne Sullivan and had come to cherish her company. 

Fortunately, Anne Sullivan was able to investigate the incident and figure out where Helen first heard the original story, and soon the whole incident was forgotten.  Still, from then on, Helen notes that the “thought that what I wrote might not be absolutely my own tormented” her (Ch. 15).  From then on she was absolutely careful about what she wrote. This was a fear that her teacher Anne helped her with, but no one else knew about.

Helen was always strong, and strong-willed.  Able to overcome every challenge and every fear, she went from facing scary thunderstorms and the sea to the perils of writing and academics.  Through all of this, she had her impenetrable will and her steadfast teacher Anne Sullivan to help her face her fears and stay successful.

 11. Helen comes face to face with nature in its new white attire in Boston. How did the snow reveal its mysterious force to Helen in The Story of My Life?

Helen spends every winter in the North during her childhood, and that is where she experiences snow.

Helen is very excited during her first big snowstorm, even though it is somewhat scary.  She describes a visit to a New England village in her childhood when she was able to “enter into the treasures of the snow” (Ch. 12).  This was something that delighted her, though she could not see or hear it.  She could still experience it with the ways of communicating she had developed.

On the third day after the beginning of the storm the snow ceased. The sun broke through the clouds and shone upon a vast, undulating white plain. High mounds, pyramids heaped in fantastic shapes, and impenetrable drifts lay scattered in every direction. (Ch. 12)

This incident shows that Helen Keller could still live a very full life, and enjoy new experiences, even though she did not have all of her senses.  See how vividly the visual descriptions are included?  They must have been described to her using her signs.  Then she wrote them for us.

Even if you cannot see and hear, there are plenty of senses left in a snowstorm.  You can still feel the cool wind on your face (she says, "air stung my cheeks like fire"), and taste the icy snow, smell the pines in the air, and feel the crunch under your feet.  I imagine that between the descriptions and these other senses, she was able to imagine the rest. 

Our favourite amusement during that winter was tobogganing. In places the shore of the lake rises abruptly from the water's edge. Down these steep slopes we used to coast. We would get on our toboggan, a boy would give us a shove, and off we went! (Ch. 12)

A snowstorm is like sensory overload.  I think this is probably why little Helen liked it so much.  Even though she did not have use of two of the main senses that we have come to rely on to experience the world, she could use the others much more during this time.  Most little kids love playing in the winter snow, but when you live in the dark, everything takes on that much more meaning.

12. Why does Keller say that "many of the joys and sorrows of childhood have lost their poignancy" in The Story of My Life?

Keller means that as you get older, memories are not as strong because more time has passed.

At the beginning of her autobiography, Keller describes the difficulty of writing about her early life.  Sometimes some memories are distant, and others are forgotten or misremembered.

When I try to classify my earliest impressions, I find that fact and fancy look alike across the years that link the past with the present. The woman paints the child's experiences in her own fantasy. (Ch. 1)

Keller says that in order to avoid making her biography “tedious” she will focus on the episodes that stand out to her as the most “interesting and important (Ch. 1).  The point is that some people’s lives are more interesting than others, but not all parts of even the most interesting person’s life are interesting.

Helen Keller led an interesting life.  When she was a toddler, she became very ill, and lost her sight and hearing.  Yet she was so intelligent that she managed to learn to read and write with the help of her teacher, Anne Sullivan.  Keller shares the pivotal movements that shaped her childhood in her biography.  She describes her life from when she was born until the time of writing, as an adult. 

The book begins by describing her home and parents, then describes her early childhood and teacher, and then her education.  Despite what Keller comments about memory being faulty, her descriptions of even early childhood are very specific.  She can describe how she felt, even as a child.  Consider this description of her child self struggling with not being able to communicate before she was brought a teacher and only new a few signs.

The few signs I used became less and less adequate, and my failures to make myself understood were invariably followed by outbursts of passion. … I struggled–not that struggling helped matters, but the spirit of resistance was strong within me… (Ch. 3)

Keller’s strength as a writer is her ability to help the reader imagine events, because she can describe them in such vivid detail and include the emotional component.  She always describes not just what happened, but how she felt about what happened.

13. Describe Christmas before and after Miss Sullivan came in The Story of My Life.

In The Story of My Life, Helen Keller recounts her life before and after "the most important day in all my life" (chapter 4), that being the day Annie Sullivan arrives. The book is an autobiographical account of Helen's first twenty-two years in which Helen attempts to provide inspiration to those who find life's struggles almost unbearable. Before Annie's arrival, and despite her frustrations, Helen describes Christmases as "a delight." It is the "smells... and tidbits" (chapter 2) that Helen enjoys the most rather than the actual event itself and Helen admits that she is never inspired to rise particularly early in the morning to receive presents.  

Helen's life changes dramatically after Anne Sullivan's arrival and in chapter 8, Helen talks about the family's first Christmas with Miss Sullivan. Having learnt "language," Helen can now enjoy the subtleties and "mystery" of Christmas. Now it is Helen who lies awake at night and who wakes the family early in the morning on Christmas morning and who delights in the discovery of presents everywhere. It is the canary that Annie gives her that makes her "cup of happiness overflow." Therefore, even though Helen loved Christmas before she learnt to communicate effectively, how different Christmases are after she "learnt from life itself" (chapter 7).

14. 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?

Helen Keller recounts the first twenty-two years of her life in The Story of My Life. She intends for the autobiographical book to serve as an inspiration to others and therefore, although often described as poetic and told purely from her perspective, it is honest and includes many of those instances of which Helen is not proud but all of which contribute to her development and ability to motivate others.

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. In chapter 2, 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 my 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. 

In chapter 3, 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" (chapter 5). Helen loves all her opportunities to learn and it is her natural ability which allows her to "learn from life itself" (ch 7). 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.

17. Describe Helen's sailing experience in The Story of My Life by Helen Keller.

Helen Keller, in her autobiography, The Story of My Life, recounts many of the experiences she had up to the age off 22 when she wrote The Story of My Life as a means to inspire others to rise to challenges that otherwise can become a "nameless fear." (ch 5) Helen learns to appreciate everything and "learns from life itself." Amongst her many pleasurable activities, including reading and "outdoor pursuits," is sailing.

Helen has been to the ocean before but on her trip to Nova Scotia, she is able to experience the ocean in a completely different way through sailing to various places such as Bedford Basin, McNabb's Island and other fascinating places and relishing thoughts of past events and men-of-war who would have sailed the same waters. Helen recalls one "thrilling experience" in particular when she goes to "watch" races between the boats from some of the warships when the water is calm but, on the way back to shore the wind rises and a black cloud threatens. She is in a boat on the sea, the best vantage point to be a part of the excitement. Helen is not afraid and her "hands trembled with excitement" as she has complete confidence in the "skipper" who receives applause from the large boats for his bravery in facing the stormy weather. Despite being tired and hungry, Helen returns satisfied from her experience.

18. Give a brief character sketch of Helen Keller, Annie Sullivan, Alexander Graham Bell and Mr. Anagnos in The Story of My Life by 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 Mr Anagnos 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 trusting 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 Mr Anagnos is irreparably damaged.
 

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.  

Annie 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. Annie makes Helen "think" and the day she arrives is "the most important day I remember in all my life," such is the impact which Annie has on Helen's success. Annie is patient, determined and even stubborn, and it is her resolve which ensures that Helen is given time to adapt and to learn "language." Annie 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 will become Helen's constant companion to the point that Helen feels that "the footsteps of my life are in hers."

Dr Anagnos is the director of The Perkins' Institute for the Blind and he understands potential, encouraging Annie as her mentor when she is uncertain whether she is ready to teach at the Keller's home. He recognizes Helen's enormous capacity for learning and becomes a dear friend to her. Unfortunately, although he claims to believe Helen, he is unable to shake the feeling that she may have deceived him  in writing her version of Canby's story and he never regains his unquestionable faith in her to the point of his attitude being "hostile and menacing" (ch XIV). However, his contribution to Helen's amazing success and to the lives of many blind children with whom Helen comes into contact is indisputable.