5. About the author
Helen Adams Keller (June 27,1880 â 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 womenâs suffrage,
workersâ rights, and socialism, as well as many other progressive
causes. There was one great soul in Kellerâs life who was the
reason for all her achievements in life, Anne Sullivan, Helenâs
teacher.
8. ï¶Helen Keller
Helen Keller is the author of The Story of My Life.
The story is actually an autobiography of her
life.
9. ï¶Arthur H. Keller
Helenâs 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.
10. ï¶Kate Keller
Helenâs 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.
11. ï¶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 Helenâs life, Sullivan was dedicated
to supporting her efforts in education and in
social reform, which was uninterrupted even
after Sullivan married Helen Kellerâs editor,
John Albert Macy. Sullivan died in 1936.
12. ï¶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. âThe Story of My Life âis
dedicated to him.
13. ï¶Mr. Anagnos
The director of the Perkins Institution. He sent
Anne Sullivan to the Helen Kellersâ home. He
and Helen became friends.
15. ï¶Martha Washington: The child of the Kellersâ cook and
Helenâs childhood friend.
ï¶Mildred Keller: Helenâs sister.
ï¶Miss Sarah Fuller: The principal of the Horace Mann
School, where Helen learned to speak.
ï¶Dr. Chisholm: He was the oculist ( eye doctor) who
treated Helen and referred her to Dr. Alexander
Graham Bell
ï¶Mr. Arthur Gilman: Arthur Gilman was the principal at
Radcliffe College, where Helen attained her degree.
ï¶Mr. Keith: He was Helenâs mathematics instructor at the
Cambridge School for Young Ladies.
ï¶Mr. Irons: A Latin scholar and a family friend of Anne and
Helen.
ï¶John P. Spaulding: Spaulding was a dear friend to Helen
16. ï¶ Miss Reamy: Helen Kellerâs German teacher at the Wright-
Humason School for the Deaf.
ï¶ John Greenleaf Whittier: One of the âmany men of geniusâ
Keller met.
ï¶ Oliver Wendell Holmes: One of the âmany men of geniusâ
Keller knew.
ï¶ Charles Townsend Copeland: Copeland taught Helen English
composition class at Radcliffe College.
ï¶ Frau Grote: Grote was Helenâs German teacher at Radcliffe
College.
ï¶ Bishop Brooks: One of the âmany men of geniusâ Helen knew.
He spoke beautifully to her throughout her life on matters of
religion and spirituality.
ï¶ Margaret T. Canby: Canby was the author of âThe Frost
Fairiesâ, on which Helenâs âthe Frost Kingâ was inadvertently
based.
ï¶ Ella: Ella , Helenâs childhood nurse, was subject to her terrible
fits and spiteful acts.
18. 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 â 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 Kellerâs 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
âThe World I Live Inâ, 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.
19. 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 âTeacherâ, and in
1957 âThe Open doorâ, a collection of essays. In 1964 she was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nationâs 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 âStory of My Lifeâ is a story of courage and determination and a
work of inspirational literature.
20. 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.