How Helen Keller Conquered Silence: A Tale of Triumph

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”

At the age of 7, Helen was described by her parents to be a monster. She threw tantrums and had reckless behavior making everyone’s life difficult. But with proper guidance and training, in just one year this little monster turned into a sweet soul. This untapped the level of genius and determination in her due to which she beat all odds and achieved tremendous success.

Born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama Helen was the older of the two daughters of Arthur Keller and Catherine Keller. Helen was a quick learner, speaking her first words at 6 months and taking her first steps on her first birthday. However, in 1882 at the age of 19 months, she became severely ill because of which Helen was robbed of a hearing and sight. Suddenly her bright and happy world turned dark and silent. Both mother and daughter had no idea how to communicate with each other so they developed some signs for words with which they could communicate. Helen was an active child; she wanted to participate in everything that everyone else was doing but had no idea how to go about it. The inability to make people understand led to a feeling of frustration which led to outbursts of temper. She became very jealous after the birth of a younger sister.

Meanwhile, her father learned of a doctor in Baltimore, Maryland, named Dr. Julian Chisholm who helped restore sight to blind people. The family took the trip only to find out that medically nothing was possible. Now he referred Helen to a man who specialized in helping deaf children communicate. His name was Alexander Graham Bell. The family went to Washington to meet him. Helen was very comfortable with Bell, he advised them to write to Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston requesting a personal tutor. Helen was referred to Anne Sullivan who became her lifelong teacher and mentor.

Anne was strict in her demeanor. She was an absolute no-nonsense lady and her training in dealing with such children helped her. Helen would throw severe tantrums when she felt frustrated and was not able to express herself. Anne understood that the family was enabling her behavior due to their ignorance. So, she first decided to distance Helen from her parents. They shifted to a small cottage nearby. Slowly and patiently she calmed Helen down. Now her next big challenge was communication.

Anne started spelling out words on Helen’s palm. Soon Helen knew the spelling of a dozen words but had no idea of what they were. One day while playing in the garden Anne put Helen’s hand under water and then wrote water on her hand. Helen was taken aback. Suddenly everything was crystal clear to her and then there was no looking back. The more she was able to grasp and understand, the calmer she felt. Her hunger and desire to understand and be understood were falling into place. Helen was now able to learn at an amazing speed. A year later Anne brought Keller to the Perkins school in Boston where she learnt to read Braille and write with a specially made typewriter. In just a few months she was reading books in Braille. By the time she was 9, Helen was reading the works of great poets like Shelly and Longfellow She had a near-genius level learning ability. At 14, she went to New York for 2 years where she improved her speaking ability.

In 1892, Helen faced the toughest challenge of her life. She wrote a story inspired by one that she had heard from Sullivan. She gifted it to the director of the Perkins Institute.  He wanted to get it published in the newsletter of the institute. But the publisher objected to it as it was the exact copy of a previous story already published even before the birth of Helen. There were many similarities in both the stories. Helen was accused of plagiarism and was taken to court. But she was declared to be innocent. This incident had a lasting impact on her. From there she decided to write original pieces and only take inspiration from others.

In 1893, Helen learned about Greek and Roman history. She also learned French grammar and Latin. Next year she learned German and absolutely loved it. In 1896, October Helen decided to go to Harvard. She was admitted to Cambridge. When she enrolled there, teachers had no idea how to teach deaf and blind kids. Anne helped Helen. It was a very tough task, it required a lot of hard work and energy from both Anne and Helen, but they both took it as a challenge and came out with flying colors. Helen’s younger sister also joined her in school and this made Helen very happy.

The college later declared that Anne would not be allowed to sit in the exams with Helen. Helen’s mother withdrew both her daughters from the school and hired a private tutor. In 1899, Helen attended the final exam and passed. She was later admitted to Harvard and completed her graduation with flying colors.

After graduating, Helen found herself in demand for speaking engagements where people flocked to hear her amazing story. Helen devoted herself to helping blind people. She wrote extensively on this and worked for a uniform system of braille. She supported the suffrage movement and embraced socialism.

She founded the American Civil Liberty Union. After Anne died in 1936, she continued her international engagement with the help of other aides. During World War 2, she visited military hospitals to support thousands of servicemen who were blinded or deafened in combat. In 1964, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She died of a heart attack at the age of 87 in June 1968 at her home in Connecticut.

Her life story was featured in the 1990 film Deliverance. A second film on her life won the Academy Award in 1955 – The Miracle Worker which centered around Anne Sullivan. It won the 1960 Pulitzer Prize as a play and was made into a movie 2 years later. It’s amazing to learn how can someone who can’t see or hear conceptualize. Most of us think in images and words, but have we ever wondered how a deaf and blind person thinks? Feelings? Moods? Vibrations? It’s just mind-blowing. Helen had heart and determination beyond belief. Her story is well known yet re-educating oneself about her travails and her astounding accomplishments still inspires. It is a great motivation when we start to feel unmotivated and stressed.

–Nidhi Raj is an independent writing professional, storyteller, and mother with a keen interest in women’s issues and International Relations.