English Holiday Assignment

Book Review

The Story of My Life

-Helen Keller

Helen

Adams Keller

About the author

Helen Adams Keller (June 27,1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political

activist and lecturer. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts

degree. The prolific author, Keller was well traveled and was outspoken in her opposition

to war. She campaigned for women’s suffrage, workers’ rights, and socialism, as

well as many other progressive causes. There was one great soul in Keller’s life who was the reason for all her achievements in life,

Anne Sullivan, Helen’s teacher.

Anne Mansfield Sullivan

Helen’s teacher“The Miracle Worker’’ in Helen’s life

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller is an interesting and important book as it

gives a first hand account of the experience of being deaf and blind in a

world which, especially in the period she was writing, had only minimal

accommodations in place. Its description of how Keller struggled to

learn how to understand and communicate with people is

fascinating, and its publication, and the continued advocacy of Keller

herself, contributed much to improve the lives of people with disabilities and increase sympathy and understanding

for them.

Despite the importance of the book, and the inherent interest of the narrative, I do not find the prose style particularly appealing, and do not generally enjoy autobiography as a genre. Thus while I enjoy what I learn from the book, and the sense of discovery of a world alien to my own experience, I do not find it pleasurable in the sense that I might enjoy Austen or Gibbon or Eco, or other writers whose prose style I enjoy.

Major Characters

Helen Keller

Helen Keller is the author of The Story

of My Life. The story is actually an autobiography of

her life.

Arthur H. Keller

Helen’s father, Arthur Keller had been a

captain in the Confederate army. He was a hospitable man who enjoyed bringing guests home to see

his garden.

Kate Keller Helen’s mother, Kate

Keller was an early source of comfort for the

troubled child. Kate learned the manual alphabet so that she could communicate effectively with her

daughter.

Anne Mansfield Sullivan

When Anne went to teach Helen Keller, she was only twenty years old and a

recent graduate of the Perkins Institution for the Blind. Throughout Helen’s life, Sullivan was dedicated

to supporting her efforts in education and in social reform, which was

uninterrupted even after Sullivan married Helen Keller’s editor, John Albert Macy. Sullivan died in 1936.

Dr. Alexander Graham Bell

Dr. Alexander Graham Bell first met Helen 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 Helen

Keller and Anne Sullivan. “The Story of My Life “is dedicated

to him.

Mr. Anagnos The director of the Perkins Institution.

He sent Anne Sullivan to the Helen Kellers’

home. He and Helen became friends.

Secondary Characters

Martha Washington: The child of the Kellers’ cook and Helen’s childhood friend.

Mildred Keller: Helen’s sister.Miss Sarah Fuller: The principal of the Horace Mann

School, where Helen learned to speak.Dr. Chisholm: He was the oculist ( eye doctor) who

treated Helen and referred her to Dr. Alexander Graham Bell

Mr. Arthur Gilman: Arthur Gilman was the principal at Radcliffe College, where Helen attained her degree.

Mr. Keith: He was Helen’s mathematics instructor at the Cambridge School for Young Ladies.

Mr. Irons: A Latin scholar and a family friend of Anne and Helen.

John P. Spaulding: Spaulding was a dear friend to Helen.

Miss Reamy: Helen Keller’s German teacher at the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf.

John Greenleaf Whittier: One of the “many men of genius” Keller met.

Oliver Wendell Holmes: One of the “many men of genius” Keller knew.

Charles Townsend Copeland: Copeland taught Helen English composition class at Radcliffe College.

Frau Grote: Grote was Helen’s German teacher at Radcliffe College.

Bishop Brooks: One of the “many men of genius” Helen knew. He spoke beautifully to her throughout her life on matters of religion and spirituality.

Margaret T. Canby: Canby was the author of “The Frost Fairies”, on which Helen’s “the Frost King” was inadvertently based.

Ella: Ella , Helen’s childhood nurse, was subject to her terrible fits and spiteful acts.

Summary

Helen Keller, the little deaf and blind girl was triumphed over adversity to become world famous. 

Helen was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, to Captain Arthur Henry Keller, a

confederate army veteran and a newspaper editor, and Kate Adams Keller.   By all accounts, she was a normal child.  But at 19 months, Helen suffered an

illness – scarlet fever or meningitis that left her deaf and blind.  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.  Indeed, her family wondered how a deaf and blind child

could be educated.  At the age of six, her mother managed to get a teacher, Anne Sullivan, to teach

Helen.  After studying at the Wright Humason School for the Deaf and the Cambridge School for

Young ladies, Helen entered Radcliff College in 1900 and finished her graduation in 1904.

The Story of My Life shows, Helen Keller’s life is neither a miracle nor a joke.  It is a tremendous achievement.  It is destined to be imprisoned in

darkness and isolation for the rest of her life, Helen built upon the brilliant work of her teacher, Anne

Sullivan, to become an inter-nationally recognized and respected figure.  In 1908 Helen published “The World I Live In”, an account of how she

experienced the world through touch, taste and scent.  In magazine articles she advocated for increased opportunities for the blind and for

improving methods of reducing childhood blindness.

In 1909, Helen joined the Socialist Party of Massachusetts and supported many progressive era causes, including birth

control, labour unions and the right of women to vote.  In 1924, her popularity somewhat recovered, Helen began

working as a lecturer fund-raiser for the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Helen was devastated when her companion Anne Sullivan died in 1936.  After the Second World War she toured more than thirty countries, continuing

her advocacy for the blind.  In 1955, she published the biography of Anne Sullivan “Teacher”, and in 1957 “The

Open door”, a collection of essays.  In 1964 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by President Lyndon Johnson.  On

1st June, 1968, she died at her home in Arcane Ridge, Connecticut.

In the second part of the book, we can read the letters written by Helen to her beloved ones during 1887-1901.  It

was quite interesting and informative with wonder and curiosity.  Through these letters, she opened her mind, saw, felt and touched the worlds of wonders.  They are exercises

which have trained her to write.  The book “Story of My Life” is a story of courage and determination and a work of

inspirational literature. 

My Opinion of the Novel

I found the book very interesting as it

narrates the life of Helen Keller and the obstacles she had to overcome in life as a deaf and blind person

and finally become what she wanted to achieve.

It is an inspirational book and I would

recommend this book.

Presented by:Srivastava

Digvijay RajX-F