The life of Helen Keller
A term paper submitted to the faculty
School of Deaf Student Education and Applied Studies of
De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde
In partial fulfillment for the course
COSKI-E
Submitted by:
Reymond A. Ilagan
E3A/ BAPDST-Multimedia Arts
Submitted to:
Miss. Clarice Bondoc
February 8, 2006
Table of Content
Introduction
I. Helen Keller’s background………………………………………………. 1
II. The life of Helen…………………………………………………………. 1
A. Helen falls ill…………………………………………………………. 1
B. Anne Sullivan………………………………………………………… 1
C. Helen meets Anne……………………………………………………. 2
D. Helen enters Radcliffe College……………………………………….. 3
E. The Miracle Worker………………………………………………….. 3
III. Implication to the Reader………………………………………………… 3
IV. Summary…………………………………………………………………. 3
V. Bibliography……………………………………………………..……3 - 5
VI. Appendix…………………………………………………………………. 6
Introduction
Helen Keller
During her life, Helen Keller was one of the world’s great heroes. It is therefore not surprising that Helen Keller today remains a woman whose astounding personality and accomplishments attract widespread admiration and awe.
A passionate and determined advocate for other people with disabilities, Helen Keller began to work with the
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) in 1924. The Helen Keller Archives at AFB’s national headquarters in New York City contain a wealth of photographs, papers, artifacts, and books from her library. A rich and representative sampling of Helen Keller’s materials can be found in the collection searchable on this web site.
The
Helen Keller Photograph Collection captures images from almost every aspect of Miss Keller’s life. The photographs that appear on the site are selected representations from the full collection.
The Helen Keller Papers, which constitute the majority of the archival material left by Miss Keller, are varied and fascinating in their scope and content. The collection contains an array of items, including draft copies of Miss Keller’s most famous published and unpublished
writings, formal and informal correspondence, and manuscripts of the many plays and films about Miss Keller’s life. The Helen Keller Papers are organized according to subject areas that are listed on the site. The Helen Keller
Artifacts and Memorabilia Collection contains, for the most part, gifts Miss Keller received during her extensive world travels, as well as her many awards and diplomas. Selected images of these artifacts and memorabilia appear on this site as well.
The Helen Keller Archival Collection web pages have been made possible through the generous support of The New York Times Company Foundation.
I. Helen Keller’s Background
Helen Adams Keller was born on 27 June 1880 in Tuscumbia, a small rural town in Northwest Alabama, USA. The daughter of Captain Arthur Henley Keller and Kate Adams Keller she was born with full sight and hearing.
Kate Keller was a tall, statuesque blond with blue eyes. The house they lived in was a simple, white, clapboard house built in 1820 by Helen’s grandparents. Helen’s mother, as well as working on the plantation, would save money by making her own butter, lard, bacon and ham.
II. The life of Helen
A. Helen falls ill
Helen’s life was to change dramatically. In February 1882, when Helen was nineteen months old, she fell ill. The doctors of the time called it “brain fever”, whilst modern day doctors think it may have been scarlet fever or meningitis.
Whatever the illness, Helen was, for many days, expected to die. When, eventually, the fever subsided, Helen’s family rejoiced believing their daughter to be well again.
The following few years proved very hard for Helen and her family. Helen became a very difficult child, smashing dishes and lamps and terrorising the whole household with her screaming and temper tantrums. By the time Helen was six her family had become desperate. Looking after Helen was proving too much for them. This expert was Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, Bell was now concentrating on what he considered his true vocation, the teaching of deaf children.
Michael Anagnos considered Helen’s case and immediately recommended a former pupil of the institution, that woman was Anne Sullivan.
B. Anne Sullivan
Anne Sullivan had lost the majority of her sight at the age of five. Anne’s brother died in the poorhouse. One summer during her time at the institute, Anne had two operations on her eyes, which led to her regaining enough sight to be able to read normal print for short periods of time.
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Anne graduated from Perkins in 1886 and began to search for work. Finding work was terribly difficult for Anne, due to her poor eyesight, and when she received the offer from Michael Anagnos to work as the teacher of Helen Keller, a deaf-blind mute, although she had no experience in this area, she accepted willingly.
C. Helen meets Anne
On 3 March 1887 Anne arrived at the house in Tuscumbia and for the first time met Helen Keller. Anne immediately started teaching Helen to finger spell. Spelling out the word “Doll” to signify a present she had brought with her for Helen. The next word she taught Helen was “Cake”. Although Helen could repeat these finger movements she could not quite understand what they meant. And while Anne was struggling trying to help her understand, she was also struggling to try and control Helen’s continuing bad behaviour.
Anne and Helen moved into a small cottage on the land of the main house to try and get Helen to improve her behaviour. Of particular concern were Helen’s table manners. Anne’s attempts to improve Helen’s table manners and make her brush her own hair and button her shoes led to more and more temper tantrums. Anne punished these tantrums by refusing to “talk” with Helen by spelling words on her hands.
Helen had until now not yet fully understood the meaning of words. As Anne pumped the water over Helen’s hand , Anne spelled out the word water in the girl’s free hand. Helen later recounted the incident:
Helen immediately asked Anne for the name of the pump to be spelt on her hand and then the name of the trellis. All the way back to the house Helen learned the name of everything she touched and also asked for Anne’s name. Anne spelled the name “Teacher” on Helen’s hand. Within the next few hours Helen learnt the spelling of thirty new words.
Helen’s progress from then on was astonishing. It wasn’t long before Anne was teaching Helen to read, firstly with raised letters and later with braille, and to write with both ordinary and braille typewriters.
Helen had become famous, and as well as again visiting Alexander Graham Bell, she visited President Cleveland at the White House. In March of that year Helen met Mary Swift Lamson who over the coming year was to try and teach Helen to speak.
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D. Helen enters Radcliffe College
Life at Radcliffe was very difficult for Helen and Anne, and the huge amount of work involved led to deterioration in Anne’s eyesight. During their time at the College Helen began to write about her life. On 28 June 1904 Helen graduated from Radcliffe College, becoming the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
John Macy became good friends with Helen and Anne, and in May 1905 John and Anne were married. Anne’s name now changed to Anne Sullivan Macy. The three lived together in Wrentham, Massachusetts, and during this time Helen wrote “The World I Live In”, revealing for the first time her thoughts on her world. Everyone now knew Helen’s political views.
E. The Miracle Worker
A drama portraying Anne Sullivan’s first success in communicating with Helen as a child, it first appeared as a live television play in the United States. In 1959 it was re-written as a Broadway play and opened to rave reviews.
III. Implication to the Reader
To able and satisfy to read each benefit in all the book. It helps you to guide to be success. And reader make you inspire this is beautiful of the story. How you can do to apply like that you want success. Reader learned in each vocabulary and a new word. .Reader able to change as a challenge in their read, not any problems to be avoid. There were good opportunities and a lot of benefit in everything.
IV. Summary
About the life of Helen Keller, the deafblind woman who became a role model for millions of people.
V. Bibliography
Helen Keller: Bibliography
Selected References from the M.C. Migel Memorial Library:
This bibliography contains books from the American Foundation for the Blind M.C. Migel Memorial Library. The M.C. Migel Memorial Library is a non-circulating reference collection, and its materials are not available for loan. Feel free to contact the Information Center to make an appointment to use them on-site. The Interlibrary Loan Department of your local library may also be able to help you identify potential lenders of these materials.
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Benjamin, Anne. (c1992). Young Helen Keller.
Mahwah, N.J.: Troll Associates.
Dash, Joan. (2001). The world at her fingertips.
New York: Scholastic Press.
Einhorn, Lois J., 1952. (c1998). Helen Keller, public speaker.
Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.
Gibson, William. (1957). The miracle worker: a play for television.
New York: Alfred A Knopf.
Gins, Madeline. (c1994). Helen Keller or Arakawa.
Santa Fe, N.M.: New York: Burning Books; with East-West Cultural Studies; distributor D.A.P.
Graff, Stewart. (1991). Helen Keller.
New York: Dell.
Hartig, Rachel M. (1997). Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Trajectory of Two Teachers and Their Students.
Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University.
Herrmann, Dorothy. (1998). Helen Keller.
New York: A. Knopf.
Hurwitz, Johanna. (c1997). Helen Keller.
New York: Random House.
Klages, Mary Krag. (1989). "More wonderful than any fiction"
Kudlinski, Kathleen V. (1991). Helen Keller: a light for the blind.
New York: Puffin Books.
Lash, Joseph P. (1981). Helen and teacher.
New York: Delta/Seymour Lawrence.
Lundell, Margo. (c1995). A girl named Helen Keller.
New York: Scholastic.
Markham, Lois. (1993). Helen Keller.
New York: Franklin Watts.
Mulholland, Mary Ellen. (1986). Helen Keller: Worker for the Blind.
New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
Nicholson, Lois, 1949. (1996). Helen Keller.
New York: Chelsea House Publishers.
Otsu, Eiichiro. (1964). Helen Keller: the story of my life.
Tokyo: Tsurumi Shoten.
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Priestnal, Clayton. (1980). The Country of My Heart.
Pennsylvania: The Helen Keller Centenary.
Sabin, Francene. (c1998). The courage of Helen Keller.
Mahwah, NJ: Troll.
St. George, Judith. (1993). Dear Dr. Bell--your friend, Helen Keller.
New York: Beech Tree Books.
Tames, Richard. (1989). Helen Keller.
New York: Franklin Watts.
Wepman, Dennis. (c1987). Helen Keller.
New York: Chelsea House.
Wilkie, Katharine Elliott, 1904. (1986). Helen Keller.
New York: Aladdin Books.
Reference:
http://www.afb.org/section.asp?SectionID=1&DocumentID=1663http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_keller.hcsp5
VI. Appendix
Dear
Helen Keller,
