Helen KellerHelen Keller led a remarkable life, due to an illness, she had been cut-off from the world, becoming both blind and deaf. However, through her perseverance she overcame her physical limitations and challenges to become a world-renowned author and lecturer, and an educator of the blind. Today, she is considered one of the most remarkable women in history, because her struggle to overcome this isolation has inspired millions of people. Her life story in and of itself is fascinating and important. However, one can argue, or assert the thesis that she was more than that. For one, she was a crusader for improving the rights and treatment of the disabled. And further, because of this commitment, and the obstacles she overcame, she was in fact, an inspiration to all people, even those who were not handicapped. An exploration of her life and her work supports this thesis over and over again.
English: Helen Keller. Français : Helen Keller.
Photograph of Helen Keller at age 8 with her tutor...
Helen Keller with Anne SullivanHelen Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama and was the daughter of wealthy parents (Arthur Keller, who had been a Confederate officer, and Kate Adams, who was related to Robert E. Lee). Helen was stricken with an illness that at the time was described as "congestion of the brain and stomach,"� when she was about 19 months old. Today, it is believed that she probably had sufferered from a bout with Scarlet Fever. This illness is what left her blind and deaf.
Shortly thereafter, she forgot the few words that she had learned and became completely mute. To get what she wanted she used signs of her own design. However, when her parents or the servants did not understand her, she became extremely frustrated and seemd to find an outlet only through screaming and tantrums. Imagine having a keen sense of intelligence and...