By Neeti

Sachdeva Maam

Helen Keller

Helen Keller became both blind and deaf after suffering a nearly fatal
illness at 19 months of age. Seemingly sentenced to a life of isolation,
Helen made a dramatic breakthrough at the age of six, when she
learned to communicate with the help of her teacher, Annie Sullivan.
Unlike many disabled people of her era, Helen refused to live in
seclusion; instead, she achieved fame as a writer, humanitarian, and
social activist. Helen Keller was the first deaf-blind individual to earn a
college degree.
Helen Keller was born June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama to Captain
Arthur Keller and Kate Adams Keller. Captain Keller was a cotton farmer
and newspaper editor of a weekly local newspaper, the North
Alabamian. and had served in the Confederate Army during the Civil
War. Kate Keller was twenty years his junior.
Helen was a healthy child until she became seriously ill at 19 months.
Stricken with an illness that her doctor called "brain fever," Helen was
not expected to survive. After several days, the crisis was over, to the
great relief of the Kellers. However, they soon learned that Helen had
not emerged from the illness unscathed -- she was blind and deaf.
(Historians believe that Helen had contracted either scarlet fever or
meningitis.) Within a few days after the fever broke, Keller's mother
noticed that her daughter didn't show any reaction when the dinner
bell was rung, or when a hand was waved in front of her face. Keller
had lost both her sight and hearing.
As Keller grew into childhood, she developed a limited method of
communication with her companion, Martha Washington, the young
daughter of the family cook. The two had created a type of sign
language, and by the time Keller was 7, they had invented more than
60 signs to communicate with each otherBut Keller had become very
wild and unruly during this time. Although Helen learned basic household tasks
and could communicate some of her desires through a series of signs, she did not learn
language the way other children do. She would kick and scream when angry,
and giggle uncontrollably when happy. She tormented Martha and
inflicted raging tantrums on her parents

Frustrated by her inability to express herself, Helen Keller frequently

threw tantrums, which often included breaking dishes and even
slapping and biting family members. When Helen, at six years old,
tipped over the cradle holding her baby sister, Mildred, Helen's parents
knew something had to be done. Well-meaning friends and relatives
suggestedhttp://happyschoolnewdelhi.weeb
that she be institutionalized, but Helen's mother resisted
that idea.
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Soon after the incident with the cradle, Kate Keller came across a book
written several years earlier by Charles Dickens about the education
of Laura Bridgman. Laura was a deaf-blind girl who had been taught to
communicate by the director of the Perkins Institute for the Blind in
Boston. For the first time, the Kellers felt hopeful that Helen could be
helped as well.
In 1886, the Kellers made a trip to Baltimore to visit an eye doctor; that
trip would bring them one step closer to getting help for Helen.
Helen Keller Meets Alexander Graham Bell
During their visit with the eye doctor, the Kellers received the same
verdict they had heard many times before. Nothing could be done to
restore Helen's eyesight. The doctor advised the Kellers that Helen
might in some way benefit from a visit to Alexander in Washington,
D.C. Known as the inventor of the telephone, Bell -- whose mother and
wife were deaf -- had devoted himself to improving life for the deaf and
had invented several assistive devices for them. He was working with
deaf children at the time.. Bell met with Keller and her parents, and
suggested that they travel to the Perkins Institute for the Blind in
Boston, Massachusetts. There, the family met with the school's
director, Michael Anaganos.
Alexander Graham Bell and Helen Keller got along very well and would
later develop a lifelong friendship. Bell suggested that the Kellers write
to the director of the Perkins Institute for the Blind -- where Laura
Bridgman (now an adult) still resided. After several months, the Kellers
finally heard back. The director, Michael Anaganos had found a teacher
for Helen; her name was Annie Sullivan.
Annie Sullivan Arrives
Helen Keller's new teacher had also lived through difficult times. Born
in Massachusetts in 1866 to Irish immigrant parents, Annie Sullivan

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had lost her mother to tuberculosis when she was eight. Unable to care
for his children, her father sent Annie and her younger brother, Jimmie,
to live in the poorhouse in 1876. They shared quarters with criminals
and the mentally ill.
Young Jimmie died of tuberculosis only three months after their arrival,
leaving Annie grief-stricken. Adding to her misery, Annie was gradually
losing her vision to trachoma, an eye disease. Although not completely
blind, Annie had very poor vision and would be plagued with eye
problems for the rest of her life.
When she was 14, Annie begged visiting officials to send her to school.
She was lucky, for they agreed to take her out of the poorhouse and
send her to the Perkins Institute. Annie had a lot of catching up to do.
She learned to read and write, then later learned Braille and the
manual alphabet (a system of hand signs used by the deaf).
After graduating first in her class, Annie was given the job that would
determine the course of her life -- teacher to Helen Keller. Without any
formal training to teach a deaf-blind child, 20-year-old Annie Sullivan
arrived at the Keller home on March 3, 1887. It was a day that Helen
Keller later referred to as "my soul's birthday." At this point Kellers
tone changes from desperation to wonder. Keller describes herself
before her education as a ship without a compass or a sounding-line,
and [with] no way of knowing how near the harbor was. Although
Sullivan could not restore Kellers sight and sound, she gave Keller the
means to understand and the light of love.
A Battle of Wills
Teacher and pupil were both very strong-willed and frequently clashed.
One of the first of these battles revolved around Helen's behavior at
the dinner table, where she roamed freely and grabbed food from the
plates of others. Dismissing the family from the room, Annie locked
herself in with Helen. Hours of struggle ensued, during which Annie
insisted Helen eat with a spoon and sit in her chair.
She began by teaching Helen finger spelling, starting with the word
"doll," to help Keller understand the gift of a doll she had brought

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along. Other words would follow. At first, Keller was curious, then
defiant, refusing to cooperate with Sullivan's instruction. When Keller
did cooperate, Sullivan could tell that she wasn't making the
connection between the objects and the letters spelled out in her hand.
Sullivan kept working at it, forcing Helen to go through the routine.
She didn't understand why her teacher would make her touch an
object and make shapes with her hands.
In order to distance Helen from her parents (who gave in to her every
demand), Annie proposed that she and Helen move out of the house
temporarily. They spent about two weeks in the "annex," a small house
on the Keller property. Annie knew that if she could teach Helen selfcontrol, Helen would be more receptive to learning.
Helen fought Annie on every front, from getting dressed and eating to
going to bed at night. Eventually, Helen resigned herself to the
situation, becoming calmer and more cooperative. Now the teaching
could begin. Annie constantly spelled words into Helen's hand, using
the manual alphabet to name the items she handed to Helen. Helen
seemed intrigued, but did not yet realize that what they were doing
was more than a game.
Helen Keller's Breakthrough
On the morning of April 5, 1887, Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller were
outside at the water pump, filling a mug with water. Annie pumped the
water over Helen's hand while repeatedly spelling w-a-t-e-r into her
hand. Helen suddenly dropped the mug. As Annie later described it, "a
new light came into her face." Keller understood and repeated the
word in Sullivan's hand. She then pounded the ground, demanding to
know its "letter name." Sullivan followed her, spelling out the word into
her hand. Keller moved to other objects with Sullivan in tow. By
nightfall, she had learned 30 words.
All the way back to the house, Helen touched objects and Annie spelled
their names into her hand. Before the day was over, Helen had learned
30 new words. It was just the beginning of a very long process, but a
door had been opened for Helen.

Annie also taught her to how to write and how to read Braille. By the
end of that summer, Helen had learned more than 600 words.
Fame for Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan
Annie Sullivan sent regular reports on Helen Keller's progress to the
director of the Perkins Institute. He released Helen's story to the press,
making Helen and Annie famous overnight. The public was captivated
by Helen's accomplishments, although some newspapers greatly
exaggerated her capabilities, claiming that she played piano and could
distinguish colors by touch.
Helen was frequently
photographed for the newspapers. Annie made
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certain that the photographs were
always taken of Helen's right profile
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because her left eye protruded and was obviously blind, whereas Helen
appeared almost normal on the right side.
On a visit to the Perkins Institute in 1888, Helen met other blind
children for the first time. She returned to Perkins the following year
and stayed for several months of study. Keller declares, It delighted
me inexpressibly to find that they knew the manual alphabet. What joy
to talk with other children in my own language! Until then I had been
like a foreigner speaking through an interpreter. This was Anne
Sullivans old school, and a world-famous institution for the education
of blind children. Anne went through school with her, interpreting and
transcribing books into Braille for her.
In 1890, Keller began speech classes at the Horace
Mann School for the Deaf in Boston.
One of her earliest pieces of writing, at age 11, was The Frost
King (1891). There were allegations that this story had
been plagiarized from The Frost Fairies by Margaret Canby. The two
stories were so much alike in thought and language that it was evident
Miss Canby's story had been read to her. An investigation into the
matter revealed that Keller may have remembered Canby's story read
to her but forgot about
it, while the memory remained in her subconscious. Mr. Anagnos, who
loved her tenderly, thought that he had been deceived. She was
brought before a court of investigation that composed of the teachers
and officers of the Institution. Then she was questioned and crossquestioned
CHARACTERS

1. Helen Keller
Helen Keller (18801968) was born with sight and hearing, but after
she suffered a serious illness in 1882, she became deaf and blind. Her
parents, desperate to help her, brought Helen to Alexander Graham
Bell. Bell realized that Helen could learn, and he told her parents to
contact Mr. Anagnos,
director of the Perkins Institution for the Blind. Anagnos sent Annie
Sullivan, a former student, to teach Helen at her home in Alabama.
Annie Sullivan taught Helen manual sign language andthat words
represent objects. Helen learned how to read Braille and to speak. She
eventually graduated from Radcliffe College. Despite being blind and
deaf it was clear that Helen had a remarkable gift for communication.
She learned to read and write Braille, and to read lips by feeling the
shapes and vibrations formed by peoples mouths as they speak.
Accompanied by Annie Sullivan, Helen became a world traveler and an
advocate for the blind and deaf; she lectured to raise money for social
causes and published books. Helen met every U.S. president from
Grover Cleveland to John Kennedy.In 1964, after her retirement from
public life, Helen received the prestigious Presidential Medal of
Freedom.
2. Annie Sullivan Macy
Annie Sullivan Macy (18661936) became Helen Kellers teacher in
1887. She stayed with her student for the rest of her life. When Annie
was almost ten years old, she was sent to live in a poorhouse, in
Massachusetts. A childhood infection harmed her eyesight, so in
1880she entered Perkins Institution for the Blind. After several
operations, her eyesight improved, but remained weak. She learned
the manual alphabet to communicate with a deaf and blind girl at the
school named Laura Bridgman. Later, Helen Kellers mother read about
Bridgmans success at learning and contacted the school to acquire a
teacher for Helen. Annie, then went to Helens home in Alabama. For
the next thirteen years, she taught Helen and helped her prepare for
college. In 1900, she accompanied Helen to Radcliffe College, where
she met John Macy. Annie and John married in 1905. In 1924, Annie and
Helen began working for the American Foundation
for the Blind, traveling throughout the world to lecture and raise funds.
3. Mr. Anagnos
Mr. Anagnos was the director of the Perkins Institution. He sent Anne
Sullivan to the Kellers home. He and Keller became friends, and he
had her sit on his knee when

visited the Institution. When Keller wrote The Frost King, she sent it
to him for his birthday, but because Mr. Anagnos came to believe that
she intentionally plagiarized it, the friendship was forever ruined.
4. Dr. Alexander Graham Bell
Dr. Alexander Graham Bell first met Keller when she was six years
old and her parents brought her to him for advice on how to teach
her. Dr. Bell remained a friend to Keller and Anne Sullivan and
accompanied them on a trip to the Worlds Fair. As a child, Keller
sensed Bells tender disposition, as she notes in chapter three,
Child as I was, I at once felt the tenderness and sympathy which
endeared Dr. Bell to so many hearts, as his wonderful achievements
enlist their admiration. The Story of My Life is dedicated to him.
5. Sarah fullerhttp://happyschoolnewdelhi.weeb

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She was born in Weston, Massachusetts and became principal at the

newly formed Boston School for Deaf-Mutes. The school staff were
trained in the skill of teaching deaf children how to speak byAlexander
Graham Bell. In 1890, Miss Fuller applied the methods she learned and
developed from Bell in giving the first speech lessons to Helen Keller.
The children were taught to speak by touching their teacher's cheek
and feeling vocal vibrations.
Extra Notes
HER FIRST EXPERIENCE AT SEA
There is no sense of fear and Helen makes for the water without
hesitation. The experience, which fills her with " an exquisite, quivering
joy" is short-lived and she slips and goes under, momentarily terrified
because "the good, firm earth" that Helen has a grasp on is gone and
she feels helpless in the "all-enveloping" environment.
Fortunately, Helen is pushed back to land and rescued by Ann Sullivan.
Her terror does not last long and she recovers from her ordeal
and loves being by the sea, hearing and feeling the dash and roar of
the rushing sea!"

Helen catches a horseshoe crab and takes it home. She is disappointed

when it escapes but does realize that it has probably - and hopefully returned to the sea.
The most surprising thing about Helen Keller's autobiography is how
literate she is. The most enjoyable aspect of The Story of My Life is her
passion for books. She discusses her favorite classics which she read in
English, Greek, Latin, French and German.
Another noteworthy aspect of The Story of My Life is that if you ever
feel sorry for yourself for what you don't have or what you are currently
struggling with, your deficiencies and struggles may suddenly seem
minor in comparison to Helen's.
Imp.Questions:

Q: How does Helen account for her plagiarism?

Ans: In 1892, when she was twelve years old, Helen Keller was accused of
plagiarism. The http://happyschoolnewdelhi.weeb
work in question was a story titled The Frost King, considerable
portions of which, it turns out, were copied
from a story by nineteenth-century
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author Margaret T. Canby titled The Frost Fairies.
The charge and following enquiry of Keller by her teachers,
along with the realization that she had, in fact, unintentionally
plagiarized a
story by another writer, shook Keller. She avoided ever writing
fiction
again and, if we can believe her assertions of innocence, turned
to autobiography
partly as a way to prove to herself as well as to others her own
authorship.
(plagiarize: a piece of writing or other work reflecting unlawful use or imitation)

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