Chapter 5 Summary

The rest of the summer, Helen built her vocabulary. The more it grew, the more she felt like part of the world. Most of her lessons that summer came from the nature. She had a child's natural fascination with the miracles all around her - how the rain and sun help plants grow, how animals get food. Helen also learned to fear the power of nature. One day that summer, she was in a tree, waiting for her teacher to return with lunch, when a storm suddenly arose. It was a long time before she climbed a tree again. When she did, it became one of her favorite pastimes.

Chapter 5 Analysis

Helen's telling of this story is another example of the theme of her mixed blessings. One can feel that Helen considered herself lucky, because she could take none of the miracles of...