There is a summary of Helen Keller's The Story of My Life.
Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, a small town in Northern Alabama.One of Helen's ancestors was the first teacher of deafness in Switzerland.Helen lived with her parents in a small house on a large estate at the beginning of her life.She was nearly two years old when she was struck with a sickness that her parents and her doctor feared would kill her.The illness left Helen blind, dumb, and deafness.
Helen and her mother developed a few crude signs that she could communicate her wants and needs after her illness.Helen was able to complete small tasks, play games with her dog and the daughter of the family cook, and even get into danger once she nearly knocked her baby sister from the crib.
Helen wanted to express herself as she grew.Without any language at all, Helen often succumbed to fits of frustration and rage, and her parents, who were far from any school for the blind or deafness, were afraid that their daughter would never be educated.Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, was referred to the Kellers by an oculist.The Kellers wrote to Mr. Anagnos after Dr. Bell told them to.Helen's teacher arrived the following March after they received a letter back telling them that a teacher had been found.
Helen had a new chapter in her life after Miss Anne Sullivan arrived.Helen and Miss Sullivan had an instant connection, and Helen began to understand and acquire language through finger-spelling the alphabet.Helen was excited for the first time in her life after her world was changed.Helen's love of plants, trees, flowers, and animals was deep and abiding, even though she realized that nature is as dangerous as it is beautiful.
Helen learned how to read in braille after acquiring language and tools of communication.Helen conducted her sign language and reading lessons outdoors.Helen credits Miss Sullivan's "loving touch" with awakening her to the pleasures and comforts of learning, nature, self-expression, and kindness.
Helen began her education in Boston in May of 1888.She was happy to be around other children and classmates who were like her.During her summer vacation, Helen discovered her love for the water.In the fall, Helen and Miss Sullivan returned to Alabama for a stay at the Kellers' country home, Fern Quarry, where they shared exciting and perilous adventures with Helen's little sister.
Helen heard a story about a Norwegian girl who had been taught to speak out loud.Helen decided to learn how to speak with Miss Sarah in order to have a more articulate way of expressing herself.As Helen progressed in her speech lessons, she felt her soul come awake in a new way, and was delighted to return home to Alabama and share her new gift with her family.
Helen had a hard time in the winter of 1892.She was inspired by Miss Sullivan's descriptions of the changing fall foliage at Fern Quarry.Mr. Anagnos was so impressed with the story that he published it in a newsletter.A well-known children's story called "The Frost Fairies" was published years before Helen was even born.Helen realized that her plagiarism was accidental.She must have had the story read to her by Miss Sullivan at a young age, and had its details stamped on the surface of her memory, as when she was still learning language.Helen was forced to appear before a court of teachers and administrators because Mr. Anagnos believed she had willfully plagiarized the story.Helen had to second-guess herself in all of her compositions for a long time because her relationship to the written word was changed by the case.Helen concluded that the incident taught her to think deeply about the problems and methods of composition, and the ways in which young writers must wade through the temptations of copying others' words and ideas in order to find their own true voices.
Helen accompanied Dr. Alexander Graham Bell to the World's Fair and attended the inauguration of President Cleveland in 1893.Helen began more regular lessons in the histories of Greece and Rome as she was excited and awakened by the year.In the summer of 1894, Helen began her studies at the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York City, where she fell in love with German literature and enjoyed two years in the city.Helen lost her father at the end of her time in New York.
Helen was a student at the Cambridge School for Young Ladies when she applied for admission to Harvard University.Helen knew there would be challenges and obstacles, but she wanted to be admitted to Radcliffe with her peers.Helen relied on Miss Sullivan to help her understand what her teachers were saying in class.Helen had a heavy course load and had to do a lot of extra work, like copying her lessons into braille and ordering specially-embossed braille textbooks from London and Philadelphia.Helen progressed well in school despite the challenges she faced.Helen enjoyed many happy months studying, working, and playing with her beloved sister after she joined the school.As she headed into her second year of school, Helen was determined to continue her success after completing her preliminary exams and passing with flying colors.Helen has a weakness in school since she began lessons with Miss Sullivan.The principal of the school believed that Helen was falling behind and refused to let her take her final exams with the rest of her class.Helen split her time between Boston and Massachusetts after her mother withdrew her from the school.Helen was going to take her final exams in June of 1899.Miss Sullivan was barred from sitting with Helen with her exams and interpreting for her at the college, but she was admitted to the school despite the difficulties of the mathematics exam.
After one more year of preparation with a private tutor, Helen began school at Radcliffe, excited to finally fulfill her lifelong dream of attending college.Helen thought that college would be a utopia.It was difficult for Helen to keep up.By her third year of college, Helen has learned that the way she was educated in the earlier part of her life was very different from what she is learning now.
Helen devotes an entire chapter to expressing her love of books and the stories which have brought her joy, comfort, and companionship throughout her life.She writes that literature is her utopia, and that she does not feel disabled or barred from the human experience in any way, because she has learned love and charity from books.