Helen Keller Biography
Welcome to the Helen Keller biography. Helen Keller is one of the most famous disabled people in the United States of America who was both blind and deaf. In spite of all her deteriorations, she got to be a symbol of strength and perseverance in the face of adversity; the strength of the spirit. Helen Keller’s life and her story touched millions of people and helped to create the opportunities for improvements in the education of the disabled people. She was a militant fighter for social reforms such as; women’s right to vote, rights of the working class and for world peace.
Helen Keller was
born in 1880 and at the age of 19 months, she fell sick and was left blind and
deaf. Helen Keller was a deaf and dumb girl who was able to speak, write and
even speak in public with the help of her teacher Anne Sullivan. Thus, it can
be stated that Helen Keller was rather active for anyone, especially for a
person who was deprived of the possibility to communicate with others in such a
manner.
Helen Keller women's rights struggles made her a world-renowned activist, traveling across the world and collaborating with such organizations as the American Foundation for the Blind. Helen Keller’s story is one of triumph in the face of adversity and proves that no amount of adversity can stop a person with ambition and the right support.
Early Life and Education of Helen Keller
Helen Keller was
born on 27 the of June in the year 1880 in Tuscumbia, which is in the state of
Alabama in United States of America. She was a healthy child until the time she
fell ill, which could have been scarlet fever or meningitis, which rendered her
blind and deaf before she was two years old. This change was very shocking to
young Helen Keller as well as her family. The lack of vision and hearing-impaired
Helen Keller’s ability to speak hence resulting in frustration and loneliness
during her childhood.
Helen Keller’s
parents never gave up for her even though she was a disabled child and thus
they continued searching for an assistant for her. For these reasons, in 1887
they hired a teacher, Anne Sullivan, who was herself visually impaired. Anne
Sullivan was a teacher who helped Helen Keller to learn sign language and the
manual alphabet so that she could be able to communicate. This was a
significant and crucial point in the life of Helen Keller since it made her
have hope for learning and being able to interact with her environment.
After the miraculous
happenings, Helen Keller’s education proceeded and she was able to learn how to
read, write and even speak. She also went to several schools for the blind and
the deaf and then to Radcliffe College, where she became the first blind-deaf
person to graduate with a B.A. Helen Keller’s education is the best example of
her hard work and the constant support of Anne Sullivan.
Rise to Fame of Helen Keller
Helen Keller’s
success story was the main reason as to why she became famous. It was the way
she was able to express herself and her achievements in school despite of her
disabilities that enthralled the public. By the age of eleven, the information
about Helen Keller was brought to the public domain through magazine articles
and books which included the autobiography of Helen Keller known as The Story
of My Life which became a bestseller.
Helen Keller’s
popularity increased as she became a speaker and a writer. She even toured
around the country speaking to people on disability issues and the need for the
disabled people to be granted their rights. The world was inspired by the fact
that Helen Keller was able to overcome her disability and become a successful
person and as a result she was perceived as a symbol of hope for people with
disabilities.
Her association with
Anne Sullivan, who is famously associated as the ‘Miracle Worker’ also became a
subject of interest for the public. This is what Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan
proved with their hard work and determination, and the effective use of teaching
techniques. Such a success of Helen Keller was not only about her success story
but also about changing the perception of the society about disabled people’s
capabilities.
Achievements of Helen Keller in Advocacy and Education
Among all the
accomplishments that Helen Keller made, the most important one can be
considered the fight for the rights of disabled individuals. She also took up
for advocacy for the American Foundation for the Blind, advocating for equal
education, employment and social services for the blind or the visually
impaired. Helen Keller’s work made many changes for the better to people with
disabilities, she also worked on changing the policies.
Helen Keller, as a
social activist, was also a good writer and she wrote 12 books and many
articles in her lifetime. She wrote on various aspects of life including
personal life and political and social life. Helen Keller’s autobiography
titled The Story of My Life is one of her most popular books to this date and
gives the reader a close look at her life and achievements.
However, besides her
activism for the disabled people, Helen Keller had many other concerns. She
backed women’s right to vote, labor movement, and pacifism and often advocated
on social justice causes. The accomplishments of Helen Keller in terms of advocacy
as well as education were a clear indication of her desire for the improvement
of the society and the plight of the disabled.
Challenges of Helen Keller
Helen Keller was a
woman who has been through a lot of struggles in her life, beginning with the
losing her ability to both see and hear at a very young age. This double
disability rendered young Helen Keller almost useless in terms of expressing
herself to the outside world and this resulted in much frustration and
behavioral problems. Since she was a deaf and dumb person, Helen Keller did not
have any ability to see or hear and hence her knowledge of the world was
restricted.
Despite being able
to communicate after the intervention of Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller had to
face skepticism from people who did not believe that a person with disabilities
as hers could learn. Helen Keller was always on the process of proving herself in
a society that did not expect much from a disabled person. On a number of
occasions, the public’s interest in her story was coupled with skepticism about
her performances.
Another problem that
Helen Keller faced was the financial troubles. Despite becoming a celebrity,
she had many issues with money in her life and only late in her career was
financially stable. Helen Keller earned her living as a lecturer and an
advocate but she had to depend on donations and sponsorships to go on with her
work. However, the spirit did not die in Helen Keller, she was still able to
overcome all these barriers and fight for change.
Criticism on Helen Keller
While most people
appreciated Helen Keller, she did receive some criticism during her lifetime.
Some of the criticism was based on her political stance which was deemed
rebellious by many people. Helen Keller was a socialist, and a militant for the
rights of the working people and workers’ unions in particular, which was quite
unorthodox for America in the early twentieth century.
Yet, even her
decision to become a pacifist during the World War I stirred controversy. She
was also openly against the war because she understood that it was for the sake
of profit and not for the sake of the people. Some of the things that she said
and the stand she took towards the war were considered as unpatriotic by many
people. Some of Helen Keller’s critics opined that her advocacy went beyond
people with disabilities and should have concentrated on that only.
Nonetheless, the
criticism did not change Helen Keller’s mind. She remained a voice of the poor
and a voice that would speak even when the society had turned against her or
when people had negative things to say about her or any issue, she held close
to her heart. Thus, Helen Keller’s ability to go against the grain of the
society was beneficial in making her a more realistic and well-rounded
character.
Personal Life of Helen Keller
Helen Keller’s
personal life was very much connected with Anne Sullivan, who was her teacher
and friend for almost five decades. It was beyond a teacher-student
relationship; the two were good friends who impacted each other’s lives
significantly. Anne Sullivan was Helen Keller’s teacher and companion; she died
in 1936.
Another companion
who helped Helen Keller was Polly Thompson who later on took the place of
Sullivan after the latter’s death. Helen Keller did not have any husband or
children; a large part of her life was therefore devoted to activism. She had
very good relations with her family and friends but her public live was more
dominating than her private life.
Helen Keller also
had a link with religion and faith as well. As a young woman Helen was a
Christian but she also had some curiosity about philosophical and religious
concepts. Many of her causes were based on the themes of the interconnectedness
of people and the value of empathy. Helen Keller’s personal life was not very
eventful but she was strong and had people who supported her.
Helen Keller Quotes
One of the most
famous quotes of Helen Keller is, “The only thing worse than being blind is
being able to see but have no vision.” This quote is a perfect example of how
Helen Keller was determined to live a life with vision and purpose even with
her disability. Such words of Helen Keller still motivate the people who want
to create a change in society.
The second quote by
Helen Keller that can be regarded as important is, “Though the world is full of
suffering, it is full also of the strength to struggle against it.” Helen
Keller felt the pain very close to her skin and yet she knew that there was
strength in human spirit and hope.
There are also some
quotes by other important people such as Helen Keller who said, “Alone we can
do so little; together we can do so much”. Helen Keller was a living example of
the fact that, it does not matter how much one is handicapped, as long as one
is willing to work, one can overcome all the barriers that life sets before him
or her, and the quotes of the lady are inspiring millions of people across the
globe.
Helen Keller Facts
Perhaps one of the
things that people do not know about Helen Keller is that she was among the
first members of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) when it was founded
in 1920. Helen Keller also concerned herself with civil rights issues and
supported the fight for free speech and equal rights for all people.
Helen Keller was
also an active traveler; she was fond of travelling all over the world. She was
a disabled woman who travelled to more than 35 countries in her lifetime and
had audiences with such personalities as Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi.
Helen Keller contributed to increasing the understanding of the requirements
and the rights of disabled people on an international level.
It is also important
to note that Helen Keller was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in
1964 a decoration awarded in the United States. This award was given in honor
of Helen Keller’s work throughout her life to enhance the quality of living of
disabled persons as well as the fight for justice.
Legacy of Helen Keller
Helen Keller’s life
is quite inspiring as she struggled for herself as well as the deaf and dumb
population. The fact that she had to fight against all the odds and face the
fact that she was both blind and deaf and come out on top makes her a heroine.
Helen Keller championed for disabled people’s right to education and her
efforts helped to alter the current perception. Many people remember her as the
woman who contributed to changing the society’s attitude to people with
disabilities by showing what they are capable of.
In fact, the story
of Helen Keller is still relevant up to this very time. Her life story has been
told in books, plays and movies; one of the most popular movies is ‘The Miracle
Worker’ showing her childhood and communication with Anne Sullivan. Helen Keller
is quite an example of the disabled person who still challenges generations of
people to do more.
The deaf and dumb
girl also worked with some organizations like the American Foundation for the
Blind and got engaged in other social justice activities which continued to be
felt for many years. Her achievements in the education, activism and human rights
demonstrate and show what one person is able to do despite all the obstacles.
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