Helen Keller

Helen Keller

A newborn baby girl, blithe and giggly, slowly began to get thrown into a world where darkness and sound did not exist. As time ticked on, the light and sound began to recede from her grasp, and when it all vanished- hope remained. This restricted blind and deaf girl formed to be a powerful woman and a symbol for the disabled. She is known as Helen Keller. When she began to get an education she incessantly challenged her disabilities as a child, and her opportunity to receive an education improved her life: "Her determination to possess as much knowledge as possible took her to Radcliffe College, from which she graduated, cum laude, in 1904" ("Helen Keller" Contemporary Heroes and Heroines). Keller would not have begun her education if it was not for her teacher Ms. Sullivan: "Tempering firmness with love, she spent hours each day teaching Helen the manual alphabet. it took a great deal of time and perseverance." ("Helen Keller" Contemporary Heroes and Heroines). Eventually she applied all her skills to improve the lives of the disabled: "An author, lecturer and social activist Helen Keller promoted social reforms to improve the education and treatment of handicapped individuals" ("Helen Keller" Contemporary Heroes and Heroines). Helen Keller- a hero without the super powers and tacky costume like Wonder Woman, but a hero that portrayed the power of determination and generosity; she improved her life and others on the way. 

Helen Keller graduating from Radcliffe College

Keller's momentous determination brought her to success with her education and exposure of the disabled. At the time of discovering new methods of learning, Keller states the obvious: "There were barriers still, it is true, but barriers that could in time be swept away" (Keller). Aware of her limitations, she still strived to overcome these "barriers" with confidence. Instead of playing all day, as a child would do, Keller invested her time to learn to read, write and speak. Of course as Keller advanced each level of learning, time used increased. Keller did not fuss. In this paraphrase Keller states "...could in time be swept away" this reveals her attitude about being deaf and blind. Keller's attitude overlooked impediments forced on her. Ignoring this fact proves she believed nothing can hamper a human being from pursuing what they want. With all of her skills established, Keller applied them to effectively expose the disabled: "She exerted her considerable influence over public institutions and powerful people.she acted as a catalyst for the organization of commissions for the blind" (Williams). Without a doubt, the process of contacting "powerful people" is a hassle. Despite the fact of the intricate process, Keller still "exerted" her ideas to them thus revealing her determination to spread her beliefs and help the disabled. A catalyst means any agent that causes change; Keller and a catalyst want change in a substance. Being compared to a catalyst gives the sense that she tenaciously worked to cause change in the way handicapped individuals were treated. She didn't stop at nothing, and kept moving forward to cause this "chemical reaction" of people believing that this problem is huge. With nothing but determination Helen Keller went above and beyond expectations; she received an education and brought benefits to the disabled, tackling all the difficulties and limitations set on her.

A Portrait of Helen Keller

At this time, Keller was well-known and famous, but her generosity pushed her to care more for the disabled thus resulting with gifting them with much prosperity and a sprightly, improved life. As a young woman, she set out on a mission to raise awareness for the disabled: "With insight, energy, and deep devotion to humanity, she lectured throughout the world, worked to forward her ideas in Congress, and wrote thousands of letters asking for contributions for finance efforts to improve the welfare of the blind" ("Keller, Helen"). Of course she got what was expected: "The work that she did earned her numerous humanitarian awards and citations" (Williams). Devotion means a profound dedication-her dedication lead her to wanting support.  Having this devotion shows how she would do anything to gain that support; she knows the result of support like knowing that if you push a domino in a line of dominoes the rest will fall down with it. Also, devotion gives the sense of passion or love for something. Keller devoted her life to the disabled because she has a passion to give and improve their lives. Throughout her mission of attaining support, she completely ignored the awards that were to come because of her generosity.  Keller did benefit from her fame because she took advantage of the world's attention to appoint them to the lack of benefits of the disabled. All in all her dedication gained her support, and the supporters contributed; she used these contributions thus marking the streak of giving and giving mentally and physically: "She taught the blind to be courageous and to make their lives rich, productive, and beautiful for others and for themselves" ("Keller, Helen"). "...state commissions for the blind were created, rehabilitation centers were built, and education was made accessible to those with vision loss" ("Helen Keller" Helen Keller Biography and Chronology).

Helen Keller receiving an Oscar Award

Because of Keller's confident advent on her restricted life and generous heart, she changed the lives of countless disabled people and average, normal people's expectations of what can be achieved through her powerful words. Keller becoming deaf and blind automatically built a wall around her, but she took a great deal of time to break down this wall with the strength of determination. Keller didn't allow her limitations to get the best of her; she worked to overcome it by getting an education. Although she faced frustration and stubbornness she pushed onward straying away from negativity to use her education to apply it to help the disabled. Her traits brought her to achieve her goals. Because she is a person with restrictions, she knows the difficulties that handicapped individuals face every day: the constant darkness or the silence, being unable to see the colors gleaming off a flower or being unable to hear the sound of a summer's breeze. Restricted from the joyful, little things in life is a pain, it is true, but Keller utilized her generosity to give these people a closer chance of experiencing life. In our lifetime, society looks down on those who don't have the money or the perfect life, but Helen Keller affirms them wrong. Any human being can pursue and conquer their goal whether they are blind, deaf, poor, uneducated, infamous or jobless. People should look past these limitations, and look deeper and discover the true person hidden behind that wall of restrictions and possibly even help the person overcome it. Her power of believing in anyone is what makes Helen Keller a hero, a Wonder Woman.

"Helen Keller." Contemporary Heroes and Heroines. Vol. 1. Gale, 1990. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 20 Mar. 2012.

"Helen Keller." Helen Keller Biography and Chronology. American Foundation for the Blind.Web. 24 Mar. 2012.

Keller, Helen. The Story of My Life. New York: Bantam Dell, 1990. Print.

Williams, Donna Glee, and Williams Donna Glee. "Helen Keller." Great Lives From History: The Twentieth Century (2008): 1. Biography Reference Center. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.