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  • Essay / Helen Keller and her autobiography “The Story of My Life”

    Table of ContentsIntroduction to the AuthorSummaryThemesConclusionIntroduction to the AuthorHelen Keller was a writer, educator, and activist for people with disabilities. She was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama on June 27, 1880. She was left blind and deaf at nineteen months old due to an illness now believed to be scarlet fever. Five years later, on the recommendation of Alexandra Graham Bell, her parents sought a teacher at the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, and Anne Mansfield Sullivan was hired there. The little child learned to understand and communicate with the world around her thanks to Sullivan's exceptional guidance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay Keller learned to read and write Braille from Sullivan, as well as to use deaf-mute gestures, which 'she could only understand by touch. Her later attempts to learn to speak were less successful, and she needed an interpreter to make herself understood during her public engagements. Nonetheless, she had an enormous influence as an educator, organizer, and fundraiser, and she was responsible for many advances in public services for people with disabilities. Keller studied at schools for the deaf in Boston and New York, with Sullivan repeating the lessons in her hand, and graduated from Radcliffe College with honors in 1904. Her remarkable achievements in overcoming her disabilities made her a celebrity early his younger age; she published an autobiographical essay in the Youth's Companion at the age of twelve, and during her first year at Radcliffe she published The Story of My Life, which is still in print in more than fifty languages. Keller also wrote four other novels about her life, as well as a book on religion, a book on contemporary social issues, and a biography of Anne Sullivan. She has also contributed to a number of national publications. Keller supported herself and Sullivan on the vaudeville stage for the next two years, in addition to her numerous appearances on the lecture circuit. Keller made a Hollywood film, Deliverance, in 1918, to dramatize the plight of the blind. She also championed women's rights and other liberal causes, and in 1940 she strongly supported U.S. participation in World War II. Keller became an advisor and fundraiser for the newly formed American Foundation for the Blind in 1924. Her international reputation and pleasant nature allowed her to enlist the help of a number of wealthy individuals, including Henry Ford, John D . Rockefeller and leaders of the film industry. Helen Keller International was the name given to the blind branch of the AFB in other countries. Keller and Sullivan were the themes of William Gibson's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama The Miracle Worker, which premiered in New York in 1959 and was adapted into a popular Hollywood film in 1962. Keller, who was widely honored around the world and was welcomed to the White House. by every U.S. president, from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson, has changed the world's view of the capabilities of people with disabilities. Her courage, knowledge, and determination combined to make her a symbol of the victory of the human spirit over adversity more than any other act of her long life.SummaryHelen Keller was born in the small town of Tuscumbia in Alabama on June 27, 1880. She was diagnosed with an illness that left her blind and deaf at the age of one. Even with his family, it was difficult for him to communicate in the first years after his death.disease ; she lived in total darkness, sometimes angry and disappointed that no one could understand her. Everything changed in March 1887, when Helen's teacher, Anne Sullivan, moved with the family to Alabama and completely transformed Helen's life. Miss Sullivan taught Helen how to name objects by handing them to her and having her spell the letters in their names. Helen learned to spell these phrases by imitating them without realizing what she was doing, but she gradually realized that everything had a name and that Miss Sullivan was teaching her how to spell them. Helen learned the language quickly after that; she particularly loved studying in nature, where she and her teacher would walk and she would ask questions about her surroundings. Helen learned to read soon after, thanks to Miss Sullivan, who taught her by giving her strips of cardboard with raised letters on them, then asked her to read them to her. Helen traveled to Boston with her mother and teacher in May 1888. She studied at the Perkins Institute for the Blind for a time and quickly became friends with other blind girls her age . Helen got her first glimpse of the ocean while they were vacationing in Brewster, Cape Cod. Afterwards, they spent almost every winter in the north. Helen was determined to learn to speak after learning to read. Her teacher and many others thought she would never be able to speak normally, but she was determined to do so. Helen began learning with Miss Sarah Fuller at the Horace Mann School in 1890, and she learned by feeling the position of Miss Fuller's lips and tongue as she spoke. His first words, "It's hot," were a powerful memory for her: she was delighted at the idea of ​​finally being able to communicate with her family and friends. Helen went through a difficult time throughout the winter of 1892. She created a story called "The Frost King", apparently inspired by the pretty fall foliage that surrounded her, and sent it as a gift to her high school teacher. the Perkins Institute. Helen's account was later revealed to be quite similar to that of a published book called "The Frost Fairies". Helen had learned the original story when she was young, and the lines had become so ingrained in her mind that she unknowingly plagiarized them when she wrote her own. For a long time, Helen's relationship with her Perkins Institute professor, Mr. Anagnos, was contaminated by this and she began to question her own thinking and the originality of her thoughts. Helen started studying formal courses like history, Latin, French, German. and arithmetic at the Wright-Humanson School for the Deaf in New York in 1894. She began her studies at the Cambridge School for Young Ladies in Massachusetts in 1896, with the goal of attending Radcliffe College, a women's college affiliated with Harvard University. . It was her first year at school and she was delighted to find herself among girls who could see and hear rather than among children who were deaf or blind. She persevered despite the difficulties; nevertheless, her mother eventually withdrew her from the Cambridge school so that she could continue her education at Radcliffe with a private tutor. Helen uses the final chapters of her memoir to talk about things close to her heart, like her love of literature, her favorite activities, and the friends who shaped her life. Helen's personal letters written during her childhood, along with other comments from her editor and a direct description from Helen's teacher, Anne Sullivan, are included in two additional sections of the autobiography. Themes The value of perseverance is highlighted in “The Story of My Life.” .' It also honors.