The Story of My Life

  • Question 1
    CBSEENEN10000916

    Read the extract given below and answer briefly the questions that follow:
              It all started a month ago. Dad and I had spent the entire Saturday afternoon at the Computer Fair.
    (i) Who does 'I' in the extract refer to?
    (ii) What started a month ago?
    (iii) What does the speaker have a keen interest in?

    Solution

    (i) 'I' refers to Michael.
    (ii) The whole story of Michael meeting Sebastian started a month ago.
    (​iii) The speaker has a keen interest in computers and computer games. 

    Question 2
    CBSEENEN10000924

    What was the incident of the Frost King? How did it affect Helen?

    Solution

    Helen had written a little story called ‘The Frost King’, which she had sent to Mr. Anagnos of the Perkins Institution for the Blind. The latter was delighted with it and published the story in one of the institutional reports. However, it was discovered that a story similar to her ‘The Frost King’ called ‘The Frost Fairies’ by Miss. Margaret T.
    Canby had appeared before Helen was born, in a book called ‘Birdie and His Friends’. The two stories were so much alike in thought and language that it was evident Miss Canby’s story had been read to Helen and that her story was a case of plagiarism. A court of the investigation was constituted that consisted of eight people, four blind, four people with vision and votes were cast to arrive at a decision.
    Mr. Anagnos, who had supported Helen initially, changed tack and cast his vote against her. The incident scarred Helen in such a way that for a very long time, she could not produce any creative work. She became excessively scrupulous about everything she wrote and the thought that whatever she wrote was not her original work tormented her. Miss Sullivan had to console her and allay her fears in every possible way in order to restore the confidence that Helen had lost. Eventually, Helen resumed her writing, after being urged by her teacher.

    Question 3
    CBSEENEN10000926

    Write a character sketch of Bishop Brooks as he appears in Helen Keller's, ‘The Story of My Life’.

    Solution

    Bishop Brooks was in Helen's words, one among many of the 'men of genius' with whom she had had the pleasure of acquaintance. As a child, Helen used to love sitting on his knee and clasping the great hand in her own as Miss Sullivan spelled out his beautiful words about God and the spiritual world. She would listen with the wondrous delight of a child, her spirit could not reach up to his but he would give her a real sense of joy in life.
    Once, when she had been puzzled by the existence of so many religions in the world, Bishop Brooks had told her that there was one universal religion, the religion of love, the love owed to their Heavenly Father with whole heart and soul and to love every child of god, remembering that the possibilities of good were far greater than that of evil. Bishop Brooks' life was an illustration of his philosophy, love and the widest knowledge blended with faith in his noble soul giving him an insight into life. Bishop Brooks had not taught Helen any special creed or dogma. He had impressed upon her the two great ideas of the fatherhood of god and the brotherhood of man, which she came to believe as the overarching truths of her life. Bishop Brooks had taught her the creed of love.

    Question 4
    CBSEENEN10000929

    Describe the progress made by Helen Keller during the two years she spent at Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York city.

    Solution

    At the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York City, Helen's progress in lip-reading and speech were far below her own expectations and that of her teachers. Helen aimed to speak like other people and her teachers also believed that she could accomplish the task but she did not quite reach her goal. She worked hard with sincerity but Helen conjectured that she probably aimed too high and therefore, disappointment was inevitable. She still regarded arithmetic as a system of pitfalls and indulged in guesswork. When she was not guessing answers, she would jump to conclusions and this process aggravated her difficulties more than their fair share. Though these disappointments plagued her, she pursued her other studies with unflagging interest and began to enjoy studying physical geography. It brought her so much delight that it led her to consider those two years spent in New York to be one of genuine pleasures.

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