The Story of My Life-Helen Keller-Summary-Chapter 15

 The Story of My Life-Helen Keller-Summary-Chapter 15

After the incident of “Frost King”, Helen Keller spent the summer and winter in Alabama with her family.

She was happy that the incident of “Frost King’” was forgotten.

After one year of the unfortunate incident, she began to write a sketch of her own life.

She was greatly careful about everything while writing. However, she was uncertain about what she was writing. The thought that what she wrote might not be her own often tormented her. She was afraid of even referring “Frost King”. At some other time, she would ask herself: “Suppose it should be found that this was the same one long ago!”

Such mischievous ideas prevented her from writing that day.  Although Miss Sullivan was there to help her in every way, yet that horrible experience troubled her.

Her teacher persuaded her to write carefully and determinedly (with strong decision). So, she began to write, though timidly (fearfully). He r teacher knew it well that she would get a grip on her faculties if she worked hard on writing. Now, she was able to develop a tendency to analyze the thoughts in her mind with deep understanding.

She was able to visualize the things with her inward eye of imagination. With the passage of time, she emerged from the shadow of the “Frost King”.

Then Helen Keller calls her trip to Washington, visits to Niagara and the World’s fair the chief events of the year 1893. During this period, her studies were constantly disturbed, and very often these were postponed.

She visited Niagara Fall in March 1893 and she says that it was difficult to describe her emotions when she stood very close to the fall. She felt the air vibrate (shake/tremble) and the earth tremble.

It was very strange for the people to believe that the author would be able to be impressed by the beauties and wonders of Niagara as she was unable to see the waves rolling up the beach or hear their roar…” But Helen knew that those things had deep impact on her mind and heart.

Miss Sullivan and Helen visited World’s Fair with Dr. Alexander Graham Bell during the summer of 1893. That was the time when her childish fancies became beautiful realities.

She made a trip around the world every day in her imagination. “She saw many wonders…marvels of inventions, treasures of industry and skills and all the activities of human life actually passed under her finger tips.”

Midway Plaisance seemed like the “Arabian Nights” to her. It was full of so much novelty and interest. Here she could find the India of her books in the curious bazaars with its Shiva and elephant gods. There was the land of Pyramids in a model CairoKIE-ro with mosques and its long processions of camels. At a distance, there were lagoons (a stretch of salt water separated from the sea by a low sandbank or coral reef) of Venice, city of cairo where they sailed every evening when the city and the fountains were illuminated. She also went on board a Viking ship which was at a short distance.

There was a model of the Santa Maria (Columbus’s ship) at a little distance from the ship. The captain showed her Columbus’s cabin and the desk on which an hour- glass.

Helen was allowed by Mr. Higginbotham, President of the World’s Fair to touch the objects exhibited (shown/displayed) there. She felt the glories of the fair with her fingers. It seemed to her like a tangible (real/physical) kaleidoscope. Everything fascinated (charmed/attracted) her, especially the French bronze as they were life-like.

She learned a lot about the process of mining diamonds in the exhibition at the Cape of Good Hope (Southernmost point of the African Continent). She also touched the machinery while it was working. Thus she got the idea as to how the stones were weighed, cut and polished.

Dr. Bell accompanied them everywhere and he described the objects of great important to the author in his most delightful manner. She examined the telephones,……….(antophone), phonographs and other inventions in the electrical building. They also visited the anthropological department. She was much interested in the ancient implements made of stone.

She could also understand that the implements made of stone were bound to last long, while the memorials of the kings and sages (saints) would crumble (ruin & fall down) in dust.

Thus from the relics (ruins/ residue), she learnt a lot about the progress of man than she had heard or read. All those things added a great many new terms to her vocabulary. All those experiences at the fair made her take a long jump from the little child’s interest in fairytales and toys to the appreciation of the real and the earnest in the workday world.

Q1 “And even now I sometimes feel the same uneasiness and disquietude.” What is the line referring to? Now she was meticulously careful about everything that she wrote. Explain.

Ans. Heller Keller started writing about her life experiences after she had written “The Frost King.” Unfortunately, the subject matter she used in it proved to be the same as it was in somebody else’s work. That gave her a rude shock and shame from the guilt of plagiary ("stealing and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions"). It disturbed her mind sometimes. Her teacher Miss Sullivan advised her to write without fear, but she was constantly tormented by her fears and doubts. The sentence ‘I am not sure it is mine.” kept haunting her mind and it would not leave her at all. She was often filled with guilt of knowing that she had unknowingly copied that material in the “Frost King”. In that difficult hour, Miss Sullivan consoled and helped restore her lost confidence and faith in herself. Miss Sullivan told her to write for the Youth’s Companion, a brief account of her life.

After that, she wrote timidly, fearfully but determinedly and she had the support of her teacher.

Q2. Helen was very much impressed by the wonders and beauties of Niagara. People around feel strange about the writer. Why so?

Ans. Helen visited Niagara in March 1893 and she was extremely impressed by the wonders and beauties of the place. She stood very close to the fall and felt the air vibrate (to move to and fro) and the earth tremble there. The people around her were taken aback (very much surprised) as to how the girl, who e=was unable to hear and see could enjoy the beauties of the sight and sounds created by the falling waters there. Some of them even asked her, “What does the beauty or that music mean to you? You cannot see the waves rolling up the beach or hear their roar…”

Actually they did not know, to quote the famous lines of John Keats from his famous poem ‘Ode on Grecian Urn’ that “heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter…” If God denies us one thing, he is kind enough to compensate us with another. So was the case with Helen. She was endowed(to endow: ɪnˈdaʊ,ɛnˈdaʊ/ to provide with a quality, ability, or asset) with extra sense to feel and visualise things in her own way. That was why she could enjoy all the beauties of nature there.

Q3. How was a visit to Midway Plaisance like the “Arabian Nights’?

Ans. Arabian Nights is the collection of Persian, Indian and Arabian folktales. These are very interesting stories, especially for children. Helen’s visit to the Midway Plaisance was a memorable event for her. She went there with her teacher Miss Sullivan and Dr. Alexander Graham Bell. Mr. Higginbotham was very kind and allowed her to touch every object displayed in the exhibition. The Midway Plaisance was full of novelty and wonders. She could feel as if she were in Indian bazaar with Shivas and elephant gods and several other places of the world. There was a model of Cairo city with camels and mosques, procession of camels, lagoons of Venice. She also went on board a Viking ship. She also examined the model of Santa Maria, Columbus’s ship and the captain showed her Columbus’s cabin and the desk with hourglass on it. She also came to know about the process of diamonds. She touched the machinery while it was working. She also =examined the telephones, auto phones and phonographs and several other inventions. The relics of ancient Mexico also attracted her. All these things added to her experience and new terms to her vocabulary.