The Story of My Life · Chapter
XIX explained
Helen Keller recounts her second year at the Gilman School, facing significant obstacles due to a lack of embossed books and specialized apparatus.
What happens
Helen Keller recounts her second year at the Gilman School, facing significant obstacles due to a lack of embossed books and specialized apparatus. She struggles with mathematics, particularly algebra and geometry, and a disagreement between Mr. Gilman and Miss Sullivan over her workload leads to her withdrawal from the school. She then studies under a private tutor, Mr. Merton S. Keith, in Wrentham and Boston, finding the individualized instruction far more effective. The chapter culminates in her taking the final examinations for Radcliffe College in June 1899, where she overcomes additional difficulties with braille notation and the examination format.
Themes in this chapter
Overcoming Adversity
Helen persistently surmounts obstacles such as lack of embossed books, mathematical difficulties, and examination challenges, ultimately passing her Radcliffe entrance exams.
Education and Knowledge
The chapter details Helen's academic journey, including her studies in algebra, geometry, Greek, and Latin, and her preparation for college.
Language and Communication
Helen relies on braille, typewriters, and Miss Sullivan's interpretation to access and produce academic work, highlighting the role of adapted communication methods.
Characters to notice
- Helen Keller
Narrates her struggles and determination during her second year at Gilman School and subsequent preparation for Radcliffe College.
- Anne Sullivan
Reads books aloud, interprets for instructors, and supports Helen through academic challenges and the conflict with Mr. Gilman.
- Arthur Gilman
Principal of the Cambridge school who reduces Helen's recitations and insists she stay three more years, leading to her withdrawal.
- Merton S. Keith
Private tutor who teaches Helen algebra, geometry, Greek, and Latin, making mathematics interesting and preparing her for college.
- Eugene C. Vining
Instructor at Perkins Institution who copies examination papers into braille and explains American notation for Helen's exams.
- Kate Adams Keller
Helen's mother, who withdraws Helen and Mildred from the Cambridge school after the disagreement with Mr. Gilman.
- Mildred Keller
Helen's sister, who is also withdrawn from the Cambridge school by their mother.
Key passages
“Sometimes I lost all courage and betrayed my feelings in a way I am ashamed to remember, especially as the signs of my trouble were afterward used against Miss Sullivan, the only person of all the kind friends I had there, who could make the crooked straight and the rough places smooth.”
Helen admits to moments of despair that she regrets, as her struggles were later used to criticize Miss Sullivan, the one person who truly helped her navigate difficulties.
Reflects Helen's guilt and gratitude toward Anne Sullivan amid the conflict with Mr. Gilman.
“I wish algebra and geometry had been half as easy as the languages and literature. But even mathematics Mr. Keith made interesting; he succeeded in whittling problems small enough to get through my brain.”
Helen found math much harder than languages, but Mr. Keith's teaching broke down problems into manageable parts, making them engaging.
Highlights Helen's aptitude for language versus mathematics and the effectiveness of Mr. Keith's tutoring.
“But if they unintentionally placed obstacles in my way, I have the consolation of knowing that I overcame them all.”
Though the Radcliffe board created unintended difficulties, Helen takes comfort in having successfully overcome every challenge.
Conveys Helen's resilience and triumph over systemic barriers during her college entrance exams.
