The Story of My Life: Chapter 19 Summary & Analysis

As she began her second year at the Cambridge school, Helen was determined to succeed—but during the first few weeks of school, as Helen’s course load tilted toward mathematics principally, Helen found herself struggling. Her math classes were very large, and she did not receive any special instruction from her teachers. Miss Sullivan was tasked with translating and interpreting for Helen, and for the first time in their entire relationship it seemed as if neither of them was up to the task.

Helen eventually acquired a braille writer, which allowed her to keep track of the steps in her work, but as she still could not see the figures being drawn on the blackboard, she needed to have Miss Sullivan make shapes for her on a cushion with straight and curved wires. This process was difficult, and Helen often lost her courage. Little by little, however, as the year went on, Helen’s struggles began to disappear. Her specially-embossed books arrived at last, and she threw herself into the work despite her insecurities in algebra and geometry.

The principal of the school believed that Helen was working too hard, and so reduced the number of her lessons despite her protests. Helen, realizing that this meant that she would need extra time to finish school and would not enter college with her class, was vexed and upset. One day, when Helen was feeling ill and did not attend classes, the principal came to believe that Helen was overworked, and refused to let her take her final examinations with her class. Helen’s mother withdrew both Helen and Mildred from the school.

Helen continued her studies with an independent tutor, and took many of her lessons in Wrentham, Massachusetts, at a family friend’s country home, from February to July. In October of 1898, Helen and Miss Sullivan returned to Boston and continued lessons with the private tutor, and Helen’s college preparation went on without any interruption. She enjoyed private lessons much more than she had enjoyed class time—there was no hurry or confusion, and Helen was able to go at her own pace. She finally began to enjoy mathematics with the help of her tutor. 

In June of 1899, Helen sat her final exams for entrance to Radcliffe over the course of two days. The college authorities barred Miss Sullivan from sitting with Helen during her exams and reading the papers to her, so one of the instructors from the Perkins Institution for the Blind copied all of Helen’s papers into braille. This worked for the languages, but was complicated in the geometry and algebra exams, and Helen felt discouraged. Helen’s work on the exams was “painfully slow,” but she does not blame the Radcliffe administrative board—they did not realize Helen’s particular needs, and despite the unintentional obstacles they placed in her way, she is to this day satisfied in the knowledge that she overcame them all.