Helen Adam Keller was a well-known author, political activist and speaker, she was also known as a reader who suffered from physical disabilities at a very young age. The illness described by doctors as “an acute congestion of the stomach and the brain”(Keller 23), caused her deaf and blind when she was 19 months old. Helen Keller spent her childhood in darkness and frustration, however, Keller did not give up on her life because of the unfortunate circumstances, her extraordinary ambition and determination she has helped her accomplish college education and incredible literate achievement. “I will not just live my life. I will not just spend my life. I will invest my life” (Keller 119), the quote shows she determined not to be defeated by destiny.

     “Helen Keller couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, at first, she couldn’t speak. Helen Keller does not have the ability to communicate with the majority of people at the beginning, but she becomes a symbol of the indomitable human spirit, and she remains a legendary figure in the reading history” (Herrmann 3). A lot of people wonder where she gets the inspiration and courage to fulfill her accomplishment. In Keller’s biography The Story of My Life, she stated “she believed that her success was due to the constant support of and undying encouragement from her teacher, Anne Sullivan, who persevered in showing her temperamental and uncooperative student how to establish some sort of communication and contact with a world that Helen could not see, hear, nor understand”(Keller 87). Because Anne Sullivan suffered from her own sight impaired as well, so she could understand the obstacles that Keller was coming across in education. Sullivan has been an instructor and lifelong friend of Keller for 49 years; she made a lot of personal sacrifices to support and nurture Keller, which made Keller deeply appreciated how Anne Sullivan had changed her life, “As I recall how Teacher gave her sight in unnumbered ways to benefit me, I think of her eyes as ‘dainty Ariels,’ spirits too delicate to act out her exacting, incessant commands, and often tormented through no fault of her own” (Keller 58).

      With the inspiration and aid from tutor Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller lit up her passion for reading. Keller practiced her reading and communicated with people using sign language, and was “an influential proponent for the United States teachers adopting Braille as a writing system”(Davidson 76). Braille is a system that forms letters and words on the paper with raised dots, and it was designed for people who cannot read or hear but to understand what was written by touching the dots. Keller wrote: “Braille has been a most precious aid to me in many ways. It made my going to college possible – it was the only method by which I could take notes of lectures. All my examination papers were copied for me in this system. I use Braille as a spider uses its web–to catch thoughts that flit across my mind for speeches, messages and manuscripts”(Keller 52).

     In Keller’s life, she published works including an autobiography about her struggle of disabilities, religious beliefs, politics, war, and women’s suffrage. Keller established herself as an advocate for people with disabilities and an individual who has a different vision on social problems; therefore she devoted her life to the service of humanity. Helen Keller was also an active speaker who gave inspiring lectures on how to overcome disabilities and challenge one’s possibilities on the pursuit of knowledge, at the same time, she pointed out the roots of discrimination that existed in society toward disabled people and women, “I was appointed on a commission to investigate the conditions of the blind. For the first time I, who had thought blindness a misfortune beyond human control, found that too much of it was traceable to wrong industrial conditions, often caused by the selfishness and greed of employers. And the social evil contributed its share. I found that poverty drove women to a life of shame that ended in blindness”(Keller, 1918). In Keller’s lifelong struggle with disabilities and pursuit of literacy, she raised the awareness for helping disabled readers get more chances of better education and the courage to live their lives.

Annotated Bibliography:

1.   Herrmann, Dorothy. Helen Keller: A Life. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998. Print.

2.   Helen Keller, and Anne Sullivan. The story of my life. New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1905.

3.   Davidson, Margret. Helen Keller. New York: Scholastic Publication, 1969. Print.

4.    Keller, Helen, Light in my darkness (My Religion). New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1927. Print.

5.    Keller, Helen. The world I live in. New York, Century Co., 1908

1.  Keller, Helen. Helen Keller: Her socialist years. New York: International Publishers, 1967.
2. Keller, Helen. “Helen Keller: Why I became an IWW.” New York: International Publishers, 1967

1. The Miracle Worker, Dir. Penn, Arthur, Author. Gibson, William. Playfilm Productions.  1962
2. Keller, Helen. “Helen Keller Pays Tribute to Braille,” New York: New York Times, 1952
3.  Keller, Helen. The Open Door. Boston: John’s Hopkins University, 1953.