The Story My Life Chapter -17

The Story of My Life

The Story of My life- Novel for class 10- English CBSE

By Helen Keller

Chapter 17- Notes and Study Material

Introduction of Chapter 17- the Story of My Life by Helen Keller

For the next two years, Helen studied at the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York. Ms Sullivan attended as her interpreter. That school was chosen because it was the best for continuing the development of Helen’s speech and lip-reading skills. She also studied French. German, Math and Geography. Helen was disappointed and so were her teachers since she could not learn to speak more like other people, no matter how hard she worked at it. She did not have any liking for Maths. M in spite of these setbacks, her love for Geography and languages gave her fond memories of her time in New York. So far as the city is concerned, the only thing she liked was Central Park. She loved being engrossed in nature and her daily walks in Central Park were the closest she  Scold get to her former life in the country.

Conclusion/ Chapter in short/ Analysis of Chapter 1/Understanding the Theme of Chapter 1

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

Short Summary of Chapter-1 The Story of My Life by Helen Keller in Simple Words-

Helen recounts the time spent at the Wright Humason School for the deaf, in New York City, in 1894. She learnt the vocal culture, lip reading, arithmetic, physical geography, French and German. She found French more difficult than German because her German teacher could use the manual alphabet whereas her French teacher could not use it manually. She could not learn to speak as quickly as she wanted to and hence was disappointed. She also found arithmetic difficult. Although these disappointments caused her great depression, she pursued other studies with interest, especially physical geography. But for these drawbacks, she found the teachers at the school very dedicated and looked back at the two years spent there with fondness. She remembers her walks to Central Park and how she loved to have it described to her each time she went there. The chapter ends with Helen’s encounter with yet another death, that of her friend, Mr John Spaulding. His passing away left an irreplaceable void in her life.

Extra Important Questions and Answers  

Question.1- Why was Helen sent to the Wright-Humason School in New York City?

Answer-Helen was sent to Wright-Humason School to be trained in vocal culture and lip reading. Along with that, she studied subjects like arithmetic, physical geography, French and German.

Question.2-Why did Helen find it easier to learn German?

Answer-The German teacher was able to use the manual alphabet and since Helen had already acquired some proficiency in it, they were able to talk in German easily. Soon, she was able to read the book Wilhelm Tell.

Question.3- What were the disappointments that Helen had to face at the Institute?

Answer-Helen’s skill in lip-reading and speech did not improve as quickly as everyone had expected. Hence there was a sense of disappointment for Helen.

Question.4-Which subject proved the most difficult for Helen? How did she deal with it?

Answer-Helen found it very difficult to do arithmetic. She tried to deal with it by guessing the answers or jumping at conclusions, but it only aggravated her difficulties.

Question.5-What did Helen remember of the teachers at Wright-Humason School?

Answer-Helen remembered her teachers at the School as very dedicated; they tried their best to give their students whatever advantage possible to lead them out of the confined lives they led.

Question.6-What does Helen mean by saying, ‘Before I left New York these bright days were darkened by the greatest sorrow?

Answer-Helen, here, refers to the death of Mr John P Spaulding of Boston, who had been a great friend of Helen and Miss Sullivan.

 

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