The Story of my life; with her letters (1887-1901) and a supplementary account of her education, including passages from the reports and letters of her teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan

Posted on by Helen Keller John Albert Macy
The Story of my life with her letters and a supplementary account of her education including passages from the reports and letters of her teacher Anne Mansfield Sullivan None

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  • [PDF] Unlimited ☆ The Story of my life; with her letters (1887-1901) and a supplementary account of her education, including passages from the reports and letters of her teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan : by Helen Keller John Albert Macy
    494 Helen Keller John Albert Macy
The Story of my life; with her letters (1887-1901) and a supplementary account of her education, including passages from the reports and letters of her teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan

  1. Helen Keller would not be bound by conditions Rendered deaf and blind at 19 months by scarlet fever, she learned to read in several languages and even speak, eventually graduating with honors from Radcliffe College in 1904, where as a student she wrote The Story of My Life That she accomplished all of this in an age when few women attended college and the disabled were often relegated to the background, spoken of only in hushed tones, is remarkable But Keller s many other achievements are impressive by any standard she authored 13 books, wrote countless articles, and devoted her life to social reform An active and effective suffragist, pacifist, and socialist the latter association earned her an FBI file , she lectured on behalf of disabled people everywhere She also helped start several foundations that continue to improve the lives of the deaf and blind around the world As a young girl Keller was obstinate, prone to fits of violence, and seething with rage at her inability to express herself But at the age of 7 this wild child was transformed when, at the urging of Alexander Graham Bell, Anne Sullivan became her teacher, an event she declares the most important day I remember in all my life Sullivan herself had once been blind, but partially recovered her sight after a series of operations In a memorable passage, Keller writes of the day Teacher led her to a stream and repeatedly spelled out the letters w a t e r on one of her hands while pouring water over the other This method proved a revelation That living world awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free There were barriers still, it is true, but barriers that could in time be swept away And, indeed, most of them were In her lovingly crafted and deeply perceptive autobiography, Keller s joyous spirit is most vividly expressed in her connection to nature Indeed, everything that could hum, or buzz, or sing, or bloom, had a part in my education Few know what joy it is to feel the roses pressing softly into the hand, or the beautiful motion of the lilies as they sway in the morning breeze Sometimes I caught an insect in the flower I was plucking, and I felt the faint noise of a pair of wings rubbed together in a sudden terror The idea of feeling rather than hearing a sound, or of admiring a flower s motion rather than its color, evokes a strong visceral sensation in the reader, giving The Story of My Life a subtle power and beauty Keller s celebration of discovery becomes our own In the end, this blind and deaf woman succeeds in sharpening our eyes and ears to the beauty of the world Shawn Carkonen

184 Reply to “The Story of my life; with her letters (1887-1901) and a supplementary account of her education, including passages from the reports and letters of her teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan”

  1. Ms Keller s autobiography the first part of this book was wordy and sometimes tedious to read lists of her favorite literature, lists of people who have helped or influenced her However, her account of her childhood was interesting Most fascinating though were the letters written by her, as her skill with language developed, and written about her by Ms Sullivan Anne Sullivan was a teacher to be admired Her methods should be studied and considered by every person who finds themselves guiding youn [...]

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  2. I didn t get to finish all the extra material because someone had it on hold at the library, so I had to return it Isn t that weird Some of the reading was a little boring But overall I enjoyed hearing her triumph I especially enjoyed the entries by Anne Sullivan and seeing her love and dedication for Helen I can t even imagine all they accomplished I found this book inspiring working hard amidst suffering and overcoming obstacles through education and love A very interesting life

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  3. I m pretty sure this is the edition I read, although the binding is different.Though most people have read this book at some time in their lives, unless they get hold of an edition that explicitly explains why it was written, they won t probably realize that it was written to help finance her college education Properly, it ought to be bound with her other autobiographical works from later periods, to give a better feel for a long lived woman with a complex and often controversial her works were [...]

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  4. I m sure that everyone has heard the story of Helen Keller, but this is a truly fascinating view into her life, and I don t throw around the word fascinating lightly Helen herself gives a memoir of her life, including what she can remember from before her illness, and continuing up through her college and adult years There are then several pages of letters, which in my edition were plain text but I have looked up the images online to see her handwriting However, the best part of this book is let [...]

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  5. This book includes The Story of My Life, followed by a collection of letters written by Helen Keller, then a collection of reports and letters written by Helen s teacher, Anne Sullivan I found Anne s letters by far the most interesting part of the book The letters and autobiography written by Helen herself give interesting insights into her mind, and she has accomplished amazing things, but Anne is able to give insight into Helen s education and how she was able to accomplish amazing things.I r [...]

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  6. This book needs to be broken into 3 parts, the first being Helen Keller s account of her life up until college and her letters, the second being Anne Sullivan s letters regarding Helen s early education and the third being a rather lengthy editorial of an external view John Macy s of Helen and parts of her education, finally dwelling on a particular issue that occurred during her school years The Frost King , which gives nothing away, but should give enough detail to anyone who has read the stor [...]

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  7. Very interesting book Today we focus on Helen Keller s disabilities and ignore the person Contrary to popular conception she wasn t some sort of simpleton, but highly intelligent and opinionated She was well spoken yes she learned to speak , could write very well, and fluent in several languages We also overlook the contribution her teacher made to education and how devoted Miss Sullivan was to Helen Both were remarkable women.The book is in three parts Her autobiography, a collection of her let [...]

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  8. I finished this book awhile ago when I was playing Annie Sullivan in THE MIRACLE WORKER It was a lovely read I think that we so often get Helen Keller s perspective, but there were some amazing letters that Anne Sullivan sent to her benefactress in Cape Cod that gave a very different perspective on Helen and how she worked with her I openly laughed several times in the recounting of Helen s discoveries One in particular still stands out, I ll paraphraseHelen was reading some Grimm s Fairy Tales [...]

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  9. A remarkable true story Helen Keller s writing has a very poetic and introspective quality to it I really enjoyed hearing her voice This story puts flesh and blood to a hero of almost mythical proportions Her determination in the face of physical opposition was amazing and her humbleness in admitting trials and the occasional defeat honest She has no sense of entitlement only gratitude, which is truly incredible to see Reading this book puts into sharp relief what Miss Sullivan must have given u [...]

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  10. Incredible This is one of my favorite reads It is an enjoyable read, but it also gives me so much food for thought I had to rethink all my previous assumptions about the human mind and what is innate what is learned It seriously challenged a lot of arguments psychologists make for nature vs nurture, and whether or not humans are born w certain natural instincts and behaviors.I would have to agree that Anne Sullivan s letters are one of the best parts of this book Although Helen s writing is incr [...]

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  11. The letters from Anne Sullivan were the most interesting part That said, it s pretty amazing that Helen was able to accomplish all that she was while living deaf and blind It s a good book to read if you want to understand that in general children are naughty because they are frustrated with their inability to communicate and or not understanding choices and accountability Without basic freedom that comes from that knowledge, one can feel insecure Helen s behavior did a 180 once she was made fre [...]

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  12. This book was very interesting, especially at the beginning Near the end, she started talking about the people in her life, and I found that less interesting than what it s like to neither see nor hear and how she makes up for that Plus, with the letters at the end and discussion of them, I felt like she was a specimen rather than a person She seems to have had many interesting and varied experiences, leading me to believe that her family was rich, even though she never said so.

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  13. Ms Keller led an impressive life despite her disabilities While I take issue with her remembrance of her earliest years simply because I don t know many people who have vivid memories of 18 mos of age , it was refreshing to read her account of her life This is quite different than what I was taught in grade school.She became an accomplished woman, attending college and learning multiple languages Quite inspiring

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  14. Ok, so the book was written in the early 1900 s It was a bit slow to get through I was facinated with Helen Keller s life, I never knew how much she accomplished Quite amazing, she actually went to college, and became a national speaker even though I m wondering how well she could actually verbally speak

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  15. The life of Helen Keller was amazing The things that she was able to accomplish in her life was phenomenal despite all the obstacles she faced The reason I lowered the star score was because it repeated the same instance multiple times Granted they were from different view points, but it still drug the storyline out.

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  16. By far the best section was the part when Annie Sullivan described her methods, which were brilliant, and sadly remained under used today All children should be educated by her precepts, and our level of literacy and creativity would be much improved.

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  17. Such a great book Really made me think about how I would process the world if the only input I had was touch, smell, and the written word or what was told to me by others And the utter frustration of not being able to communicate at all She led such an incredible life.

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  19. No doubt that Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan where amazing women this book was not Too flowery IMHO to be real.

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  20. A rare story of frustration and final victory May I never have to overcome so much I m glad that I finally got around to reading it You should read it too.

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  21. Interesting to learn about her life and how she was able to get past the result of a childhood illness and live life to it s fullest.

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  22. This book shares what an extraordinary individual Hellen Keller was, and her life s story needs to be told She accomplished much than many of us with full abilities could even dream of There are so many lessons to be learned from her persistence, determination, and the training she received I was amazed to learn that Hellen Keller grew up to be such an accomplished writer and avid reader Here is one quote, out of one of her letters, that touched me so and caught me by surprise I have thus far s [...]

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  23. This is a book which defies all stereotypes against all odds I can t yet believe that a person so deprived of necessary senses can acquire so much in their lifetime That proves again where there is a will, there is a way Hellen Keller is an extraordinary woman with exceptional intelligence I wonder would she be a genius had she had her eyes and hearing intact But we may never know Sometimes adversities bring out the best in a person which in prosperity they never care to look for Her teacher is [...]

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  24. I thought I knew the story of Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan Helen Keller was blind and deaf and her family could not control her unruliness so they sent for a teacher, Anne Sullivan, to help discipline Helen by teaching her how to communicate Anne s techniques worked and Helen was able to contribute to society Sound familiar After reading this book, I found out that I REALLY DIDN T KNOW Helen Keller and all her amazing achievements I learned how brilliant she was and what a dynamic [...]

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  25. I have never really been able to comprehend how Helen Keller, blind and deaf, was able to learn and become so articulate she could write books I decided to read about her life and I am still amazed at what she was able to accomplish Along with English she also learned French, German, Greek and Latin She writes beautifully and uses very colorful descriptions and then you realize she is still in a dark, silent world Her story is so inspiring and uplifting though like all of us she had moments of d [...]

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  26. This book was amazing Helen Keller must have been incredibly smart to learn like she did Her tenacity in overcoming her limitations was impressive She s truly an inspiration I d put this on a list of books you HAVE to read The lessons we could all learn from her are so valuable.

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