The Story of My Life by Helen Keller Chapter 7 Summary

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller Chapter 7 Summary, Notes and Question and Answers

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

Introduction of Chapter 7- the Story of My Life by Helen Keller

Miss. Sullivan gave Helen cardboard slips on which words were printed in raised letters. These words were then arranged on a frame to form short sentences. Miss. Sullivan illustrated whatever she taught with a beautiful story or poem. She taught her History, Geography and about the pre-historic era, the sea and its creatures, the growth process of plants and tadpoles and many more. She made raised maps in clay so that Helen could feel mountain ridges, valleys and rivers. Helen never liked Mathematics. But her love for Biology equated that Geography. She !timed to nature and its processes to understand lessons that applied to human life as well- the order and beauty of a plant growing from an insignificant bud. Miss. Sullivan’s genius, quick sympathy and loving acts made Helen’s education very beautiful, interesting and thrilling. For Helen, her teacher was everything.

Conclusion/ Chapter in short/ Analysis of Chapter 7/Understanding the Theme of Chapter 7

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

Short Summary of Chapter-7 The Story of My Life by Helen Keller in Simple Words-

In this chapter, Helen describes how she learnt to read with the help of real objects through play. Miss Sullivan proved to him an exceptionally gifted teacher, holding most classes out of doors and making use of games to teach her. For Helen, learning was more like play than work. Helen enjoyed learning about the things around her and spent several happy hours in the orchard. Miss Sullivan used all her ingenuity and resourcefulness to teach her during their walks to Keller’s Landing, making geography lessons come alive through three-dimensional models which she made on the river bed. She made use of stories and poems to teach Helen. Helen learnt science through fossils, the lily plant and tadpoles. Helen also talks of her difficulties in learning arithmetic. Different aspects of nature became a part of Helen’s learning. Education thus became Helen’s one of most precious memories. Miss Sullivan became an inseparable part of Helen’s life.

Extra Important Questions and Answers of Chapter 7

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 on them. 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?
Answe:
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, maths 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.

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller Chapter 6 Summary

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller Chapter 6 Summary, Notes and Question and Answers

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

Introduction of Chapter 6- the Story of My Life by Helen Keller

Helen’s store of vocabulary increased every day. She yearned to have more information on the same subject. Her teacher tried to make her understand what love was. Her first conscious perception of an abstract idea was staggered when her teacher asked her to ‘THINK’ in order to arrange beads in a symmetrical pattern. Finally with the help of the sun, cloud and brief showers. her teacher made her understand that love cannot be touched, but one can feel the sweetness that it pours into everything.

Conclusion/ Chapter in short/ Analysis of Chapter 6/Understanding the Theme of Chapter 6

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

Short Summary of Chapter-6 The Story of My Life by Helen Keller in Simple Words-

Helen describes her joy at expanding her vocabulary in this chapter. She learnt to name abstract feelings like love. Miss Sullivan explained things to her with great patience, connecting feelings like love to aspects in nature. Helen understood that abstract ideas could also be named. The chapter also tells us about Miss Sullivan’s determination to find a way of conversing with Helen and helping her to enter into a dialogue with those around her. She spelt out sentences into Helen’s hand instead of speaking them. It took several years for Miss Sullivan to teach her this but she persevered, determined to supply the stimulus that Helen lacked. This reveals the infinite patience and wisdom of the teacher.

Extra Important Questions and Answers of Chapter 6  

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 to string 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 spelt 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, that 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 a 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 by Helen Keller Chapter 5 Summary

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller Chapter 5 Summary, Notes and Question and Answers

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

Introduction of Chapter 5- the Story of My Life by Helen Keller

As Helen continued with the exploration of the world with her hands, she became more confident. Miss. Sullivan was always with her and she helped her discover the beauty of every object of nature and every part of the human body. She made her student realise not only the benevolence but also the ferocity of nature. Once on a  warm and humid day, when Helen sat waiting for Miss. Sullivan, who had gone to fetch the lunch basket, on the branch of a tree, the wind blew very hard, lashing against the branches. The frightened Helen clung to the branch with all her might, until her teacher came and helped her down. She is terribly shaken by the event. Her fears lessened as the days passed by, until one beautiful spring day she climbs a gentle mimosa tree seats herself on its branch. Helen had learnt a new lesson-that Nature “wages open war against her children and under softest touch hides treacherous claws.”

Conclusion/ Chapter in short/ Analysis of Chapter 5/Understanding the Theme of Chapter 5

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

Short Summary of Chapter-5 The Story of My Life by Helen Keller in Simple Words-

This chapter Continues with the description of Miss Sullivan’s effect on Helen. She helped Helen become aware of the world around her. Miss Sullivan helped her connect with nature and develop a strong bond with it by taking her out to the fields and the river banks. Miss Sullivan slowly taught her to find beauty in every little thing in nature. Helen also learnt about the darker aspects of nature, when she was caught in a fierce storm while sitting on the branches of a tree. Miss Sullivan had gone to the house to fetch lunch for them and Helen was left alone. When she was caught in a storm and about to fall from the tree, her teacher came to her rescue. This incident shook her up and it took a long time for her to overcome her fear of climbing trees. But nature again lured her and she managed to climb back onto a tree following the odour of a flower.

Extra Important Questions and Answers of Chapter 5

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 surrounding, Helen became happier and more confident as an 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 of how plants grow. She wanted her to learn about the interdependence of 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 onto the tree, 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 by Helen Keller Chapter 4 Summary

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller Chapter 4 Summary, Notes and Question and Answers

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

Introduction of Chapter 4- the Story of My Life by Helen Keller 
Miss. Sullivan arrived on March 3, 1887, when Helen was six years and nine months old. Miss. Sullivan gave Helen a doll sent by the blind children. When she was playing with it, Miss. Sullivan spelt ‘do-1-1’ into Helen’s hand. Helen was quick to imitate it. She felt extremely happy and proud to have spelt the letters correctly. Slowly she was able to spell many words and understood that everything had a special and unique name. At times she was confused and once when she could not get the explanation for ‘mug’ and ‘water’ as different words, she showed her anger on her doll by dashing it on the floor, which made it break into fragments. Her teacher picked up the fragments and took Helen outside. She cleared her confusion by making her feel the flow of liquid on her hands. This made her realise that each word gave birth to a new thought. She felt repentant of what she had done and tried to put the fragments of the doll together.

Conclusion/ Chapter in short/ Analysis of Chapter 4/Understanding the Theme of Chapter 4
Helen describes the coming of Miss Sullivan and how she taught her to speak with the help of fingers and her sense of wonderment at learning names of things. She began to look forward to a new day for the first time in her life.

Short Summary of Chapter-4 The Story of My Life by Helen Keller in Simple Words

 This chapter describes the arrival of Miss Sullivan, the teacher, and how Helen learnt to speak through her fingers. Helen Keller describes the day she met her teacher as the most important day in her life. On that day, Helen and Anne Sullivan begin a long, difficult journey. Together, they achieve what many believed to be impossible. Helen understood when her teacher spelt out the word ‘doll’ on her hands with her fingers. This feat gave her immense pleasure and pride. She writes about her wonder at being able to name things around her and also mentions the dawning of a new perception. For the first time, Helen experienced the feeling of repentance and sorrow, and she felt happy and looked forward to a new day. Helen recounts her experience of learning to spell the word ‘water’ which she had taken a long time to learn. She describes the first day when Miss Sullivan came, as an eventful day where she learnt many new words which would ultimately make the world blossom for her.

Extra Important Questions and Answers of Chapter 4

Question.1
Why does Helen say that the 3 March 1887 was an important day for her?

Answer:
Helen calls 3 March 1887 important 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 learnt 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 by Helen Keller Chapter 3 Summary

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller Chapter 3 Summary, Notes and Question and Answers

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

Introduction of Chapter 3- the Story of My Life by Helen Keller

As she grew older, the yearning to express herself grew in Helen. The language of signs was not of much help. It was decided to take Helen to Dr Chisholm, a famous oculist in Baltimore. On her way to the oculist, that she managed to communicate to her aunt to sew two beads that she had pulled out from her aunt’s cape in the place of her doll’s eyes. Her Aunt understood and sewed them in the right place. This made her really excited. She kept herself busy. making friends on the bus and playing with toys. Though Dr Chisholm could do nothing for Helen, he suggested Dr Alexander Graham Bell’s name. On his advice, consultations were made with Mr Anagnos, Director of the Perkin’s Institute in Boston, who helped her in finding a teacher who could educate Helen. Helen’s joy knew no bounds.

Conclusion/ Chapter in short/ Analysis of Chapter 3/Understanding the Theme of Chapter 3

Helen talks about her struggles to express herself which often led to frustration and emotional breakdown. She also reveals her parent’s struggle to find a suitable tutor. She describes a journey by train to an oculist in Baltimore and how a friendship developed with the conductor. She had a good time on the train where she met Dr Alexander Graham Bell. She also met with Mr Anagnos of Perkins Institution, who helped the family by sending Miss Sullivan, a competent teacher, to them.

Short Summary of Chapter-3 The Story of My Life by Helen Keller in Simple Words-

This chapter discusses the challenges faced by Helen’s parents before the arrival of Miss Sullivan. They found it difficult to accept Helen’s frustration and emotional breakdowns in her attempts to express herself. Since the school for the blind was far from where they lived and that nobody would come to a place like Tuscumbia to teach a deaf and blind child, the people around her expressed doubts whether she could be taught. It was when Helen was six years old that her father heard of a renowned oculist in Baltimore. Her parents decided to take her to Baltimore to consult the oculist to see whether anything could be done to relieve her of her blindness. However, the oculist could not help them. Helen enjoyed the journey, making friends with the conductor, who taught her how to punch holes in a piece of cardboard and a lady who gave her a box of shells. There is also a description of a doll gifted to Helen by her aunt. Helen was distressed by the doll, as it had no eyes. She did not rest until a pair of beads was fixed on it instead. The chapter then describes a meeting with Dr Alexander Graham Bell whom she loved at once taking to the tenderness and sympathy with which he held her, and later a meeting with Mr Anagnos of Perkins Institution, Boston, who helped the family by sending Miss Sullivan to them.

Extra Important Questions and Answers of Chapter 3  

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 was found.

Question.5
Why did Mr Anangos prove to be a 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 led to finding 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 by Helen Keller Chapter 2 Summary

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller Chapter 2 Summary, Notes and Question and Answers

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

Introduction of Chapter 2- the Story of My Life by Helen Keller

Helen’s hands compensated for the loss of her sense of hearing and sight. She developed a language of signs of her own with the help of her mother. She learnt to distinguish things by touch and she could fold and put away clean clothes. Her constant companions were Martha Washington, the child of their cook and an old dog, Belle.  Both Martha and Helen loved to do mischief, and they went about indulging in all kinds of pranks, though Helen tried to boss over Martha and had the final say in their friendship. She goes on to recount some of the childish pranks that she indulged in. The timely intervention of Katy prevented Martha from cutting Helen’s hair. Helen was saved from burning herself while drying her apron, by her nurse, Viny. When she learnt to use the key, Helen locked her mother in the pantry for three hours and later locked her teacher, Miss. Sullivan, in her room, hiding the key under the wardrobe. Thus the time to channelize Helen’s energy and enthusiasm had come. The family moved to a larger house and her father helped her to acquire language by spelling words into her hands and making her repeat them. Helen felt jealous of the attention given by her mother to her sister. She even went to the extent of overturning the cradle, when the little baby was sleeping in it. She goes on to speak of her close and touching relationship with each of her parents, whose support and love helped her become strong and confident.

Conclusion/ Chapter in short/ Analysis of Chapter 2/Understanding the Theme of Chapter 2

Helen talks about the days after the illness when she was coping with darkness and silence. She began to use sign language to communicate with people around her. She developed a strong bond with her mother. Frustration often led to bouts of aggression. Helen describes the Christmas celebrations at home and reveals anecdotes of time spent with Martha Washington and her dog Belle. She talks about the accident with fire and how she had locked her mother in the pantry by mistake. She describes the arrival of Miss Sullivan and how she too was locked up by Helen in her room and was subsequently rescued by Helen’s father. She also talks about how she coped with her father’s death. She talks about her attitude towards her sister.

Short Summary of Chapter-2 The Story of My Life by Helen Keller in Simple Words-

This chapter describes how Helen coped with the darkness that she had to face after her illness. She had to use sign language to communicate with the people around her. Her frustration at not being able to communicate with those around her led to bouts of aggression. The only person who could reach out to her was her mother, which led to the strengthening of the bond between them. Helen also recollects the happy times she spent in the kitchen and playing in and around the house with Martha Washington, the daughter of their cook, and Belle, her dog_. Both Martha and Helen were always up to some mischief or the other and one day they almost cut off each other’s hair before they were stopped by Helen’s mother. The chapter also describes how Helen learnt to survive and communicate with the people around her in spite of her blindness and deafness. An incident is related where Helen learnt to use a lock and locked her mother in the pantry by mistake. This incident caused her mother to decide to find a teacher for her, to help control Helen’s growing indiscipline.  Soon after, Miss Sullivan was engaged as Helen’s teacher but was locked into her room by Helen on the very first day. In the chapter, Helen describes her father as being loving and indulgent who loved his family, especially Helen. She remembers his caressing touch and his eager delight in doing whatever pleased her. But her first personal experience with death came when she heard the news about her father’s death due to some illness. Helen also acknowledges her jealousy towards her little sister who seemed to take up all the care and time of their mother. The chapter also mentions how Helen almost killed her infant sister by overturning the cradle.

Extra Important Questions and Answers  of Chapter 2

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 crude 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 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 and by moving her hands. 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 naughty? How did this make her feel?

Answer:
Helen did realise when she had been 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 dominating by nature. She would force Martha to do what she pleased. She tried to do the same with the dog without success.

Question.7
Why did Martha allow Helen to dominate over 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 odours of Christmas cooking and helped in the grinding of the spices, 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 the 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 d try, she went closer to 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 of 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 her cradle?

Answer:
Helen found her sister sleeping in a cradle, she usually put her doll Nancy to sleep there. 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 ‘two-fold’ because she could not hear. She was also lonely, unaware of feelings of care and sensitivity towards others. She was, thus, overcome by a loneliness of the soul.