Category: Helen Keller

At sea, in a dense fog” was how Helen described her life in her autobiography, The Story of My Life. Helen Adams Keller (1880 – 1968) was a well renowned American author, lecturer, and a political activist. She was born in Tscumbia, Alabama, which is now a museum that hosts an annual “Helen Keller Day” to honor her birthday. Helen was an outspoken person, and she was a strong advocate for causes that she firmly believed in, such as women’s suffrage, socialism, and labor rights. Helen was born as a healthy child, but after a year and a half of her birth, she fell ill with an unknown disease that left her both blind and deaf. Her inability to communicate with others caused her to slowly become wild and unruly as she grew into childhood. Regardless of her disabilities, Helen grew into one of the 20th century’s leading humanitarians and co-founder of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). Helen had a difficult childhood because of her disabilities, but turned it around. She met characters that changed her life, excelled in her education in spite of her disability, and had an accomplished career and a political print, which makes her life an immensely inspiring and motivating story.

Meeting her teacher, Anne Sullivan, was a turning point in Helen Keller’s life. Anne arrived at the Kellers’ in 1887, she was 14 years older than Helen, and she had also experienced vision problems, but underwent many operations that partially restored her sight. Anne believed that the only way to reach Helen was by teaching her obedience and love. She asked Helen’s parents’ for permission, and within a week of her arrival, she moved with her into a near by cottage, so that Helen would only focus on her education. Anne started with teaching Helen by manually signing the words into the palm of her hand, and to create the link, she usually made her feel out the objects. For example, to teach Helen the word water, Anne took her out to the water pump, let her feel the gushing cool substance, and she spelled W-A-T-E-R onto her hand. Following that breakthrough, Helen started touching objects, and demanding their letters with an open hand. Anne was not only Helen’s teacher, but she also continued to be her companion in her educational journey and life, until she passed away in 1936.

Helen did not halt her educational journey with what she received from Anne, and she pursued formal education. During 1888, she enrolled in the Perkins Institute for the Blind, and six years later she moved to New York with Anne to attend the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf. In 1900, Helen was granted admittance to Radcliffe College of Harvard University, and she graduated at the age of 24 as the first blind-deaf person to acquire a Bachelor of Arts degree. Furthermore, to enhance her communication abilities, Helen learned to speak and gave a number of speeches about phases of her life, and she also learned to hear people by touch-reading their lips with her hands, and became an expert at reading signs and using braille. Her education equipped her with the necessary knowledge to start her writing and political careers.

Helen started her writing career, even before she graduated from Radcliffe College, by publishing two books, “The story of my life” in 1902 and “Optimism” in 1903. Her autobiography was translated into 50 languages. She wrote a total of 12 books, and her archives contain over 475 speeches and essays with subjects such as blindness prevention, atomic energy, and faith. To prepare her manuscripts, Helen used a braille typewriter and later copied them on a regular one. In addition to being a world known author and lecturer, she was recognized as supporter for people with disabilities and other causes. In 1915, she founded the HKI Organization (Helen Keller International), with the assistance of George A. Kessler, which was mainly for researching vision, nutrition, and health. In many of her speeches she called for women’s right to vote in public elections, supported birth control, and was against violence and wars. Also in 1920, she assisted in founding the American Civil Liberties Union, a non-profit organization that “defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country”. She was truly a selfless woman, who cared about every aspect of life.

All in all, Helen Keller was and still is an inspiration for people, and she spread hope and motivation with her life journey and story. Even though she had a difficult upbringing, and not one but two disabilities, she was still able to achieve a lot more than most people do. She had many accomplishments that included her pursuit for quality education, a prominent writing career, and her participation in political efforts and causes. Helen was proof to one of her own sayings, when she said “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us”. She never missed her opportunities at a better life, and so should we.

Biographical paragraph describing the author.

Helen Keller was an American educator, a leader, and a political radar. She was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. When she was 19 months old due to an episode of illness, she lost her eyesight and hearing. Just as she turned six, her parents hired a tutor, Anne Sullivan who guided her and taught her that every object has names and trained her to use her fingers to spell them. And once she recognized the components of language, in due course she learned to communicate from out of sign language to understanding letters, to studying and writing in Braille. With Sullivan’s assistance, Helen Keller sought a formal education at the Horace Mann School for Deaf in Boston. Then in 1904, she became the first deaf and blind to receive a degree in Bachelor of Arts. Keller was an advocate for the poor, the people with disabilities and the rights of women. She also published several books throughout her lifetime and many articles that confronted people to view the disabled in a new light. She was a founder of the American Civil Liberties Union and also worked with many organizations for the deaf and blind. She received many awards for her work including an honorary Doctoral Degree from Harvard and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Johnson. Besides her contribution to the handicapped, she also believed in social justice supporting the social change and thus became a significant part of social revolutions during the first world war.

Historical context of the document

The political system was rapidly changing with the growing economic power in the United States. The revolving capitalist society had concerning social problems. The companies and factories focused on keeping the cost down and gaining high profits by keeping the wages low with long hours. The majority of these low wage workers were immigrants who dominated unskilled labor. Even young children were laborers in mines and factories for wages. The workers were not getting rights and protection. While on the other hand, there was an ongoing world war and the US involvement in the war was neutral. The government was preparing for the possible attempts on invasion and was trying to persuade the workers into the war. But, Helen Keller was against this war preparedness and the economic system. She was responding to the possible break out of the war in America and how the government was trying to involve these workers for their own purpose. Keller mentioned that the reasons for the war are to protect its investments in foreign provinces and for its own benefits rather than fending its people. She was encouraging the workers not to join the army and produce bombs and weapons as it would destroy the peace and promote the riot. She appealed people to strike against war, the war preparedness, the manufacturing corporations which would only bring the destruction in the country ripping it apart without achieving anything.

“You do not need to make a great noise about it. With the silence and dignity of creators you can end wars and the system of selfishness and exploitation that causes wars”.

This quote has its importance because it addresses the fact that the workers were exploited with unfair pay, long working hours and an unsecured future. And it also mentions that despite fighting for rights through violence, people should fight with serenity against the war. The quote carries its importance to me as it speaks the truth about the selfishness of the capitalist industry making profits by dominating and manipulating the workers. Moreover, I do agree that wars and violence can be avoided by taking the actions in silence and this quotation also implies what the author is trying to express to the audience.

“This terrible sacrifice would be comprehensible if the things you die for and call country fed, clothed, housed and warmed you, educated and cherished your children”.

Through this quotation, Helen Keller depicts that involving the workers who were not paid fairly and were deprived of their rights, in the war for the sake of benefitting the capitalism and protecting the foreign investments is obscure. But here the workers are the ones risking their lives and dying for the country’s honor; the same country which coerced them of their own rights and liberty. However, it would be understandable if they were properly fed with their future secured and reliable. This quote stands out to me as it is obvious that when you provide something for the people then you can expect something in return but the quotation expresses the subtle truth about how insensible the government is and to what extent it can go to compel those workers who were never recognized and applauded for their arduous work.

“Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction. Be heroes in an army of construction’.

This quote is significant and powerful as it illustrates the main notion of anti-war. It expresses how the people supported the war efforts; the war which is only bringing death and suffering to the country. So, the author’s guide to starting a revolution without the violence and destructive war is to be arrogant and dumb. It shows me that the quote carries the influencing message to all the workers being obedient and joining the war preparedness to hold back and not be a part of the destruction. I feel that this would be the most prominent action for standing against the war.

The importance for today’s world

I feel that this document is relevant to some extent to today’s world as even today many American workers are working long hours with less pay. The vast numbers of low wage workers are immigrants who are not credited for their hard work and aided with any means but they still contribute towards strengthening the American economic power. The fact that Americans are working in a low paying job but aren’t earning enough to attain stable financial foundations. Despite the work effort these workers put, there’s still a biased treatment towards them. The unfair pay and hours and on top of that serving the high-interest rates for the government have left them tuckered out with so little money and yet they are not even recognized for their efforts. For instance, we can see how the ongoing crisis due to the Covid19 pandemic has impacted the general population in America. But the majority of the people working are the same immigrants, farmers, and all other low wage workers while every American is quarantined at home. This reflects how significant are these low paid workers in the economic growth of the country and how is it still pertinent in today’s society.

For Helen Keller, born on June 27th, 1880, the world she could recall was always dark and silent. At only 19 months old Helen Keller was rendered blind and deaf by an unknown illness, and spent her early years as a frustrated, lost, and temper-prone child. At age six, Helen’s parents in desperation, hired Anne Sullivan as a teacher for Helen. Anne Sullivan began teaching her pupil by signing word after word into Helen’s hand. After several months, the idea that words are connected to real-world objects finally clicked into Helen’s head. This happened specifically when Sullivan was refilling a jug of water at the family water pump. Keller later wrote in her autobiography, “As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. … That living word 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 soon enough, barriers crumbled as Anne Sullivan devoted all her time to her eager pupil.

With her teacher Anne Sullivan and friend Polly Thomson by her side, Helen Keller accomplished more in her exceptional life than many non-handicapped people could even dream of. Her indomitable spirit, love of life and her fellow human has inspired millions over the last century, as she proved to the world that the barriers facing handicapped people can be broken with time and effort. Keller was a life-long learner, prolific writer and world-wide lecturer. She eliminated obstacles through education and enabled real change in many humanitarian and political problems of the time, the impacts of which are still felt today. But most importantly, Keller was an advocate for humanity, specifically the handicapped, and represented the underrepresented when no one else did.

With Anne Sullivan’s constant guidance, Helen learned to read Braille, write, use a typewriter, and she became fluent in five languages. Keller learned to “hear” by feeling vibrations and feeling the lips for the shape of the sounds. At age 24, Helen graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College (the women’s counterpart of the men-only Harvard college) with a bachelor’s degree. She was the first deafblind person to graduate from college, blazing the first of many trails for others to follow. Over 100 years later in 2013, Haben Girma became at age 23 the first deaf-blind person to graduate from Harvard Law School. She said; video; “Many people reduce the story of Helen Keller to one thing, a woman who succeeded despite her disabilities. Disability never holds anyone back. Disability is never the barrier. The barrier is society and expectations.” Last year Girma published an op-ed in the Washington Post imploring the Texas Board of Education not to remove the measly 40 minutes required to teach 3rd graders about Helen Keller. Girma, who has been deaf-blind from birth, said that her own experience learning about Keller in second grade helped to influence her eventual career choice as a Harvard Law School graduate and disability rights attorney. (The Texas Board later reinstated Keller in the curriculum.)

It was primarily through the medium of the typewritten word that Helen communicated with Americans and ultimately with millions across the globe. From an early age, she championed the rights of the “underdog” and used her skills as a writer to speak out, with the help of her teacher and many important political figures. (In her lifetime, she had met all twelve presidents since Grover Cleveland and also formed meaningful friendships with other influential people such as mentors Mark Twain and Alexander Graham Bell.) She penned over 12 books and 475 essays and speeches on countless humanitarian and political topics, continually cracking the impediments of prejudice against the disabled. One of Keller’s early causes was preventable infant blindness which called for utilizing silver nitrate eyedrops in newborns’ eyes. By publishing articles in the Ladies’ Home Journal, Keller reached 1.6 million women, creating positive barriers to infant blindness by spreading the word and ultimately helping the treatment gain acceptance in the medical field. Although the application solution has evolved with the advancement of the science, this treatment still continues today.

Helen joined the American Foundation for the Blind in 1924 and worked for the organization for over 40 years. Over fifty years later, Keller is still lauded as its most famous ambassador. Today the AFB is a national nonprofit, working to expand the horizons for 25 million Americans living with vision loss. Helen Keller International, co-founded by Keller in 1915, began as blind relief efforts for European soldiers. Today it is an international nonprofit organization active in 22 countries, giving 85 cents of every dollar it receives towards preventing blindness and reducing malnutrition. Both organizations gave Keller opportunities to advocate for the rights and needs of people around the globe, which she took full advantage of. Because of her worldwide efforts, schools for the disabled were built, and deaf and blind people were treated fairer due to knowledge about their lives and struggles becoming more public. Visiting over 39 countries, she personified everything a deaf-blind individual could attain and brought encouragement to millions of people. Her tireless efforts dismantled countless constraints facing the disabled by educating leaders and the general public as to the needs and abilities of the handicapped population.

While Keller is well-known for her disabilities and work on behalf of the blind, what is less known is her commitment to pacifism, equality, women’s rights and suffrage, and labor and workers’ rights. As a pacifist, she protested U.S. involvement in World War I, exemplified by her “Strike Against War” speech in 1916. Quote: ‘I cannot but say a word and look my disapproval when I hear that my country is spending millions for war and war engines—more, I have heard, than twice as much as the entire public school system costs the nation.’ She was a tireless advocate for women’s suffrage, and she helped found the American Civil Liberties Union in 1920. Although she often faced criticism because of her controversial political standpoints, she continued to support what she believed in; Helen Keller was a woman who thought for herself. She became a member of the Socialist Party in 1909 and by 1912, she had become a national voice for socialism and the working class in America.

Keller visited many factories and industrial areas and was appalled at the horrible working conditions. She concluded that the main causes of disability in the U.S. were workplace accidents and sicknesses from owners placing profits above worker safety. In her writings, Keller indicated commercialism and capitalism for such incidents. Her 1911 speech “Social Causes of Blindness” endeavored to bring public awareness to the needless cruelty of preventable workplace injuries. However, one of her greatest contributions to the socialist movement was her 1913 “Out of the Dark: Essays, Letters, and Addresses on Physical and Social Vision”, which contains her most political writings. By bringing social awareness on a national level to these humanitarian causes, Helen Keller was able to address the barriers of ignorance and sow the seeds of change. Four years before her death, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded Keller the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civil honor for peacetime service.

In 1960, Keller suffered a stroke and retired to her home in Westport, Connecticut. There she resided peacefully until her death on June 1, 1968, a few weeks short of her 88th birthday. Her ashes were placed next to her beloved teacher Anne Sullivan Macy in St. Joseph’s Chapel of Washington Cathedral.

Helen Keller, a blind visionary, truly showed us that no matter who you are, if you work hard and defy expectations, you will achieve great things. She impacted society immeasurably during her lifetime, and still has a huge significance today, inspiring millions to continue to chip away at the walls of prejudice and unequal treatment of the disabled. According to Girma, video “Disability is not something that people need to overcome. The barriers that exist are created by society. And it’s up to every single one of us to work together to remove those barriers.” Keller lived her life in the public eye as a server of mankind and a champion of the oppressed, unapologetically fighting for what she believed in — unheard of for a woman and especially a disabled person in the 19th century. When Helen Keller tore down barriers that handicapped humanity, she caused a waterfall of positive change in the world that is still flowing today.

A dream. Something all of us have experienced in our lives. Something we have all taken time out of our day to imagine some source of happiness we wish to see projected in our lives and into our world. Dreams are known to represent desires, thoughts, wish fulfillment, and motivations and bring repressed wishes and deepest desires to the surface of thought. Author Helen Keller once said ‘“the most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but no vision”. Being able to see clearly but not having the ability to dream a way forward to enhance your life or the life of others is what Helen Keller was talking about with this quote. As humans we have the capacity to transform lives, being an essential part for dreaming.

Black Civil Rights activist and American minister, Doctor Martin Luther King Jr once had an infamous and moving dream of his own. A dream so powerful and enlightening that it still is seared into the minds of millions for what has almost been 50 years since first said. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” He preached these wise words to a crowd of 250,000 people in Washington D.C, influencing and becoming the central idea to the civil right movement of the 1960s. It is sad to think that although this dream of Martin Luther King displayed an absence of the typical themes such as fantasy and imagination that most dreams contain, it can relate to a dream by lacking the sense of reality. I say this as no matter the support and power behind the equality and civil right movement, we will forever live in a society run by a system that is racist and opposed to any change of this manner. Despite this obstacle, we must stay true to this vision and continue with the small steps we are able to make. From Doctor King’s speech, the new law of the ‘Civil Rights Act of 1964’ was secured and passed through government putting a supposed end to discrimination and segregation.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but the content of their character.” A deep and meaningful quote similar to something Coach Yoast said in the 2001 Walt Disney film ‘Remember the Titans’. Being set in the 1970s, ‘Remember the Titans’ showed the fresh movement of the integration in society and the strides made towards equality. To me this quote and racism in general means so much more than just judging someone on whether they are black or white, surfacing my personal opinion that any race can be racist. It is much deeper than only saying black people are threats, and white people are privileged. You just have to look at other recent issues over the last few years to see the many other stereotypes produced by society; Arabs are terrorists, Hispanics are illegal immigrants, Asians have coronavirus: to see the mistreatment and racial slurs that can be encountered by each race.

“I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice”. A key line that couldn’t depict our current situation in the world any better. Usually a line like this would fly over my head without a second thought, but since the murder of the innocent George Floyd at the hands of police brutality in the very state of Mississippi, myself, alongside many others all over the world have had the moment to open our eyes and reflect on such an important issue. Being a white individual, I was honestly unaware and very much horrified that racism and prejudice to this extent still existed within our society, not only to the African American community, but to our very own Indigenous Australians. The racism directed towards our Australian Indigenous community has caused many years of intergenerational trauma that has evolved into generations of mistrust with our police authorities, something we owe to improve for the First People of Australian land.

In conclusion, as a white privileged Australian, living a comfortable life without struggle and real adversity, I may never know the true racial hardships of others. Therefore, it is important that I can empathise and dream for a better world, where people like Martin Luther King, George Floyd and the many Indigenous Australians have a real chance for an equal life. Where acceptance of all people is based on the soul of the man rather than the colour of our skin. Our humanity allows us to dream. “I dream today” for true equality for all mankind, where humans acknowledge the true deeds and actions for all as lasting legacies, rather than racial injustice.

A child’s first words are a life-defining milestone that parents dote upon, but it’s unheard of for children to remember that transformative moment the way their parents do, or as Helen Keller describes it in her essay. She remembers that suddenly learning one word, “w-a-t-e-r”, showed her that language exists. That moment is when Helen began to appreciate the essential role of language in her internal and external communication: she started to learn to describe and appreciate her experiences. Many children have difficulties developing their language abilities and some are slow to learn the nuances of communicating their thoughts, or to recognize how language shows the feelings of others. Consider my brother for example.

My youngest brother is on the autism spectrum: one of the characteristics of autism is difficulty communicating. Severe autism can make it almost impossible to develop any language skills or to relate thoughts and ideas. My brother was different than the rest of us as a baby. He never made direct eye contact; there are pictures where all you see are the whites of his eyes. He was very quiet, and his reactions were delayed. The rest of us would run through the house yelling and playing, and he would react 30 seconds after we left the room. He was mostly quiet, not talking and not showing any signs of being involved in what was happening around him.

I think my younger brother was in a similar situation to what Helen Keller describes. He did not have a language when he was young: it took a longer time for him than for the rest of us to develop language skills. Without language skills, people can only experience their surroundings as Helen Keller describes in paragraph 2, “I guessed vaguely from my mother’s signs…” and “I did not know what the future held…” My brother engaged with us but he didn’t have an internal dialog that he could use to express ideas. In fact, as Helen describes it, she had no ideas until she had a language.

Helen was isolated due to being deaf and blind, and my brother was isolated due to autism. My brother was unable to communicate with others and like Helen, he acted out in irrational ways. As my brother got older, he was still non-verbal, but we were able to use cues and pictures to show him what was or would be happening. My brother could point to objects to get what he wanted, whereas Helen could not point to objects nor shake her head to indicate ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

Helen wrote that on their second day together, the teacher taught her how to sign “d-o-l-l” and, “When I finally succeeded in making the letters correctly, I was flushed with childish pleasure and pride”. This was much faster than my brother was able to talk. It took a couple of years working with a speech therapist 3 times a week, a special therapy playgroup 2 days a week, and then a special preschool 5 days a week, before he started to talk.

I could really relate to Helen’s excitement when she was at the well house and finally understood what language was: “a thrill of returning thought, and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me”. My family acted the same way when my brother started to make sounds and we could have conversations with him, although we were still reading his non-verbal skills to keep up the conversation. With constant repetition, both Helen Keller and my brother were able to overcome great obstacles and acquire literacy skills.

Helen Keller and my brother are similar in their life-long struggle to learn to communicate and the isolation each encountered. Both have had difficulties making connections with ‘normal’ people in part because, normal people find it difficult to put themselves in an autistic or blind and deaf person’s shoes and see the world from their perspective.

There are a couple of issues that my family has encountered with my brother that I assume Helen had too. My brother does not use language to make social connections but as a tool to get information. ? In addition to having trouble understanding the thoughts and feelings of others, my brother is not very good at recognizing social cues. This is sometimes a problem as most people take it for granted when they are able to communicate in conversations.

Abstract

Keller’s The Story of My Life (1903) is a literary reading filled with abundant examples of struggle and perseverance which is worthy to be viewed as a lesson to promote Self- Efficacy. People’s strong sense of self-efficacy is very beneficial in facing challenges even in the most difficult situation in every endeavor of life. This article aims to elaborate the events in The Story of My Life which describe the significant sources of Keller’s self-efficacy. The data were taken from Keller’s narration focusing on her thought, wishes, emotional feeling, and daily struggle which exhibit how Keller’s attempt to face every obstacle in her endeavor as a blind and deaf person. The data were analyzed from the perspective of the psychoanalysis of literature with regards to Bandura’s four major concepts of Self Efficacy sources; mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasion, and affective state. The result reveals that Keller’s self- Efficacy contribute significantly to her success.

Keywords: Psychoanalysis of Literature, Self-Efficacy, Self-Efficacy Sources

1. Introduction

Human’s civilization is now in the era of Disruption 4.0. In this fourth industrial era all information and knowledge are easily accessed. However, the explosion of information and technology, and the demand for technical skill creates huge burden of work in workplace; huge pressure of academic achievement at school can lead to stressful life, depression, and the worst case in suicidal act. Rapid cycle of disruption requires continuous personal and social renewal. For an individual to cope with the rapid change, one should have strong sense of self- efficacy which is fundamental to shape the future. People’s strong sense of self-efficacy is very beneficial in facing challenges even in the most difficult situation in every endeavor of life. According to Bandura, self-efficacy refers to beliefs in one’s capability to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments (1997:3). Furthermore, Bandura stated that people’s beliefs in their efficacy influence the course of action people choose to pursue, how much effort they put forth in given endeavors, how long they will persevere in the face of obstacles and failures, their resilience to adversity, whether their thought patterns are self –hindering or self-aiding, how much stress and depression they experience in coping with environmental demands, and the level of accomplishments they realize (1997:3).

Literature is the reflection of various experiences, ideas, passions of human beings in their daily life that express on several forms and styles of literary works. Since literature directly derives from human life, it can increase our knowledge and experiences about human problems included values, morals, cultures, and human interests. The work of Helen Keller, The Story of My Life, is one of the examples of literary work which describes a human endeavor in life.

The Story of My Life is an autobiography based on the true story of Helen Keller’s Life. In her work, Helen Keller, as a human being, shows the greatest struggle and perseverance to face every obstacle in the most inconvenient situation. Born as a normal child, and then lost her eyesight and hearing at very young age resulting her being blind, deaf and mute, yet she struggled and eventually able to speak and become successful in life. Instead of being desperate, she showed the spirit of determination and took control of her own destiny. Her achievements have inspired people with and without disabilities, leading them to believe they can accomplish more than they ever thought possible.

2. Theoretical Framework

The significance of this literary research has been to apply the theory of self-efficacy to analyze Keller’s narration in her autobiography from the perspective of psychoanalytic concepts. Self-efficacy theory is a part of social cognitive theory proposed by Albert Bandura. Social cognitive theory emphasizes the prominent role of self-regulatory processes in psychological functioning. People with a strong sense of self – efficacy view challenging problems as tasks to be mastered. Develop deeper interest in the activities in which they participate. Form a stronger sense of commitment to their interests and activities. Recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments.

Modern psychology has had an immense effect on both literature and literary criticism. It is not difficult to see why psychoanalytic theory has been widely used in the study of literature. These two branches of social science studying human behavior are interrelated and mutually beneficial. And the fact that literature is the portrayal of human beings and their relationships is fascinating because psychoanalysis deals with human beings in conflict with themselves and each other. As stated by Pombo, 2005 (cited by Santos et al, 2018), by understanding interdisciplinarity as the proximity established by fields of knowledge with one another in order to exceed the discursive principles of one field in the intersection with the theoretical perspectives and functioning modes of the other, it can be seen that interdisciplinarity is opportune for the break of the specialized character of the disciplines, a break that can be varied on different levels and in different degrees.

Psychoanalytic literary criticism is a literary theory which, in method, concept, or form, is influenced by the tradition of psychoanalysis initiated by Sigmund Freud. However, there are many theories of psychology other than Freud’s that can be used to analyze literary text. The object of psychoanalytic literary criticism can be the psychoanalysis of the author or of a particularly interesting character in a given work. Wellek and Waren (1949:75) stated that psychology of literature is the psychological study of the writer, as type and as individual, or the study of the creative process, or the study of the psychological types and laws present within works of literature, or, finally, the effects of literature upon its readers (audience psychology).

Leite,2003 (cited by Santos et al, 2018) stated that, in the creation of a work of art, the author goes beyond the superficial and apparent aspects of everyday life reached from a historical and sociological perspective in the search of what, by being expressed about the human psychological condition, will continue to be valid in highly diverse situations. From this point it can be seen the significant resources in the attempt to explain the creation and permanence of a literary work are the contributions of contemporary psychology such as the description of the behavior and inner experience of an individual as a spontaneous activity, the continuity between the different degrees of problem-solving and of the creative capacity and the attempt to interpret the unconscious life through dynamic forces.

3. Discussion and Analysis

Sources of Helen Keller Self Efficacy as Portrayed in The Story of My Life.

It may sound impossible for a deaf and blind person to write a book that become the object of this research. However, the fact that her book was published and become her legacy until present day is a valid prove that she had conquered her fear and self-doubt. Therefore, this research was carried out based on the hypothesis that self-efficacy belief plays an important role in Keller’s life journey. Self-efficacy is the belief we have in our abilities and competencies. Bandura (1997) recognized four major sources of self-efficacy and emphasized that it is by the reciprocity of these factors that people grow significant belief or disbelief in themselves.

The theory exhibits the idea that the perception of self–efficacy is influenced by four factors: mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, affective and psychological state (Bandura,1994). Below is the explanation of the data findings based on four major sources of self-efficacy belief according to Bandura’s theory:

Perhaps we never realize the fact that every human being has mastery experiences. All of these experiences occur when an individual attempt to do something and is successful; that is, this person has mastered something. Bandura (1994) stated that mastery experiences are the most effective way to boost self-efficacy because people are more likely to believe they can do something new if it is similar to something they have already done well.

In The Story of My life, Keller’s narrated how she had to struggle to master simple communication skill in order to communicate with the people around her. The following lines has displayed that Keller’s initial mastery of using crude sign lead to a repetition of similar actions which she believed could help her to make the peole around her understand what she intented to say..

“My hands felt every object and observed every motion, and in this way I learned to know many things. Soon I felt the need of some communication with others and began to make crude signs. A shake of the head meant ‘No’ and a nod, ‘Yes,’ a pull meant ‘Come’ and a push, ‘Go.’ Was it bread that I wanted? Then I would imitate the acts of cutting the slices and buttering them. If I wanted my mother to make ice cream for dinner I made the sign for working the freezer and shivered, indicating cold ( Keller, 2010:5).

Once she realized that the sign she made can be understood by the people around her, she already had mastery experience. Then, she continued to make another sign in hope that other people will understand the meaning of the sign she made.

INTRODUCTION

About the Author

Helen Adams Keller was born on 27th June, 1880 in Tuscumbia, a small rural town in Northwest Alabama, USA. [footnoteRef:1] She was the Daughter of Captain Arthur Henley Keller and Kate Adams Keller.[footnoteRef:2] She was born as a normal child with complete sight and hearing ability. She was an admirant of nature, In Simple words, she was as fit as fiddle. Her Mother was tall, statuesque blonde with blue eyes. Her Father was loyal southerner who had proudly served in the confederate Army during the American civil war.[footnoteRef:3] [1: Hellen Keller, The story of my life] [2: ibid] [3: Supra Note 1]

Hellen got his name after deep considerations by her father and mother. Both were suggesting different names according to their respective reasons. His father wanted to name her after an ancestor whom he respected very much on the other hand her mother wanted to name her after her former mother Helen Everett.

Her life took serious turn when she was around nine months and suffered from bad headache and high fever for many days. Eventually it came into light that she has lost her hearing and seeing ability. This led to frustration in her life. It becomes really difficult for her to communicate and make other understand what she wanted. She sometimes just hit others in anger and frustration. ` Soon everybody felt that she needs someone and they contacted a helper named Anne Sullivan who became her helper and companion for the next 50 years.

Firstly, Anne taught her how to recognize words. Soon, she began to expertise in doing this and a new world of hope opened up for her. This experience was the happiest one for her. Secondly, the next level to which Anne rise her up to was reading i.e. how to read Now she was able to read a whole book using Braille (a special reading system for deaf and dumb persons). It is truly amazing that how she overcome her sufferings. As she was getting excited to learn more and her confidence was growing level by level. She wanted to talk and learned talking from Sarah Fuller a teacher for deaf people. At 16 years old, she attended Radcliff College for Women in Massachusetts. [footnoteRef:4] She graduated from that college in 1904 with honors.[footnoteRef:5] [4: Hellen Keller, The story of my life] [5: ibid]

During college she began to write articles in which she shares her experience as being blind and deaf. Her articles began to publish in a magazine called Ladies’ Home Journal and later, published together in a book called “The Story of my Life”.[footnoteRef:6] [6: ibid]

After so much achievement in her life Hellen decided to help other people same as her. She even visited with wounded army solider in World War II to encourage them for not giving up. She spent much of her life raising money and awareness for person with disabilities.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Story of My Life may be a heart cacophonic story of the challenges Helen Adams Keller and her teacher Sullivan face to speak with one another till Sullivan tries the strategy of finger-spelling the words on Keller’s hand. With this methodology, Helen Adams Keller gets a breakthrough into the globe of communication. For the primary time, Helen Adams Keller recognize the word ‘Water’ through this methodology, and as she goes on to explain it in her book, “that living word, woke up my soul, gave it light-weight, hope, joy, set it free.” With the assistance of her teacher, Helen Adams Keller learns to browse and write and speak innumerous languages, additionally and effectively learning with the braille system.

Keller wrote this book as a student at the age of twenty-two. The book is within the style of letters compiled from her infancy to adulthood years, that she wrote to her family and friends, informing them regarding her struggles to coach herself moreover as different events happening in her college and faculty. She engages the reader along with her thoughts, emotions and opinions. Her determination, diligence and strength ar displayed through her writing.

An enriching book which supplies the reader a fair deeper insight into the globe of the blind and deaf individuals. a requirement browses for everybody, across all ages.

Helen doesn’t need her readers to assume, however, that books square measure her solely amusement. She takes nice pleasure in physical activity and also the wildlife, and enjoys sailing, rowing, and canoeing. the maximum amount as she has return to like faculty, she treasures her escapes to the rural area in Wrentham, wherever she will be able to escape from the dirt, grime, and speed of the town and realize peace in beloved nature. Helen conjointly enjoys taking in art and museums, attending the arena, and seeing the planet through the eyes of others.

Helen provides due to her several friends; UN agency have enriched her life on the far side live. She is grateful for her friends each renowned and obscure, still as those friends whom she has ne’er met however with whom she has corresponded. others have created her life what it’s, and have turned her limitations into stunning privileges.

Helen Keller pushed the us government for additional help to the blind. In 1935, President Roosevelt signed the social insurance Act, that offered state insurance, retirement funds, and help for kids to the disabled. because of Helen Keller’s labor, blind folks were enclosed within the class of ‘disabled,’ that meant they may apply for money facilitate. As author traveled the globe, she modified the lives of several folks with visual impairments. She brought them spirit and hope. because of her visits, several real enhancements became accessible like higher job coaching, additional braille books, books on tape, and higher academic opportunities. Today, many folks WHO are blind or visually impaired look to author as their model.

As associate degree adult, Helen Adams Keller furthered Sullivan’s Progressive ideals and distanced herself from what several northern girls at the time saw because the slowness of Southern womanhood. She came go in favor of workers’ rights, enfranchisement and racial equality. “Keller,” writes Nielsen, “had become a displaced American.”

Despite her growing estrangement each along with her family and her Southern identity, writes Nielsen, Helen Adams Keller was usually thought-about clearly Southern by observers within the North. She capitalized on it perception to lift awareness of civil rights and therefore the challenges of disabled African-Americans, solid ties with the NAACP, and used her ill fame to lift awareness of social policy in African country, altghough she ne’er in public criticized the system.

“While claiming her Southern ties lovingly,” Nielsen notes, “Keller cared-for do thus solely by linking them with related statements of shame and disclaimer.” Helen Adams Keller might have spent abundant of her life making an attempt to disconnect herself from her Southern heritage, however the terribly combination of her position and her personal experiences as a disabled person whose physical limitations restricted her freedoms allowed her to spot even a lot of keenly with African-Americans living below the South’s discriminatory racial code. joined of her day’s most known Southerners, she was unambiguously poised to purpose out—and challenge—that troubled racial heritage.

Today, However, Keller is embraced as a national icon representing the triumphs of the disabled. Her image is now divorced from her southern identity. She is viewed as an American, devoid of regional affiliations or associations.[footnoteRef:7] [7: The Sothern ties of Hellen Keller, Kim.E Niielsen, Vol.73, No. 4 , Nov 2007]

After lecturer had created the choice to commit herself to socialism, she quickly became a number one figure within the movement. In fact, several recognized her mutually of the foremost dedicated and effective propagandists of the socialist cause. She wrote regular columns within the party press; she went on nonstop lecture tours across the country; she supported and popularized all the main strikes and industrial battles of the day. Later, once she grew more and more hopeless of what she deemed to be the Socialist Party’s conservative, electoral-based ism, she became a steadfast person of the efforts of the economic employees of the globe (IWW), that advocated for the organization of AN expressly revolutionary trade union movement.

One newspaper in Albany predicted in 1912, “Helen Keller promises to become one of the greatest of Socialist lecturers within the next few months. Miss Keller expects to become the most influential Socialist lecturer among the women of the US, at the same time speaking in the interests of deaf, dumb, and blind children.”[footnoteRef:8] [8: Joseph P. Lash, Helen and Teacher: The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy (New York: Delacorte Press, 1980)]

Helen Keller’s most militant and outspoken amount was from 1910 through the mid-1920s. This was a time within which the aborning socialist cause had enjoyed its greatest ascendance, touch a crescendo with the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

Like uncounted USA radicals, Keller’s radicalization brought her initial into the political party, then into the commercial employees of the planet (IWW), and at last into the camp of Bolshevism. “The commencement toward social regeneration,” she wrote in 1918, “has been taken in Russia. The not possible is going on. The Russian individuals have taken possession of Russia! At a time once all nations area unit torn by competition and fierce rivalries, the Russian individuals with boldness proclaim the identity of human beings.”

Despite her retirement from public life, writer wasn’t forgotten. In 1964 she received the antecedently mentioned Presidential honor of Freedom. In 1965, she was one among twenty electives to the Women’s Hall of Fame at the big apple World’s honest. Miss Helen Adams Keller and diplomat received the foremost votes among the a hundred nominees. writer is currently honored within the Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the sightlessness Field. Helen Keller died on June one, 1968, at Arcan Ridge, many weeks wanting her 88th birthday. Her ashes were placed next to her beloved companions, pedagogue Macy and Polly Thomson, in the St. Joseph’s Chapel of Washington Cathedral. on it occasion a public memorial service was command within the Cathedral. it had been attended by her family and friends, organization, outstanding persons from all walks of life, and delegations from most of the organizations for the blind and deaf.

Keller worked for many causes during her life. She was an outspoken change in herself, a ardent advocate of rights of worker and an strictly oppose child labour in any form, but she is very well known for her commitment to improving the quality of life for people who are blind and deafblind. As a student at Perkins, she initiated and ran fundraising campaigns to establish a Perkins kindergarten for the blind and to pay for the education of Tommy Stringer, a poor boy with deaf blindness whom she met.

As a grown woman, she lobbied for programs for the prevention of problems related to eyes, laws for the education, protection and awareness of the blind and deafblind, as well as programs by the state to help people with full awareness and to deal with persons with disabilities with job training and placement.

In a nutshell, we cannot define her achievements and struggles any more than that after all she was the one who has experience all that. But we can say that her story is not an ordinary one and everybody should think thousand times before giving up anything they have taken up to achieve or to succeed. Hellen Keller’s life inspires the whole world to perform remarkably in every field and not to leave anything which they have determined to do. They should do it by listening to their conscious after all these struggles forces us to do move forward in life. They are the reason behind our success.

Before her education and her developed conscious she was not at all aware about the racial discrimination present but after gaining knowledge about the same she was distanced from the southern identity and made her own distinct thoughts and ideas. She became considerate and finally able to make a difference. In this assessment, I am assessing the cultural and racial things which were prevailing at that time. The greatest reason behind her education was her willingness and her eagerness to learn something in life. A new world of excitement and adventure opened up before her eyes. She made her own new educated world full of opportunities and possibilities. She had distanced herself from all those hypocritic practices happening all around. She is a live example that everything can be achieved and nothing is impossible because impossible itself says I’m possible. Earlier, she imagined her life a total hell with no purpose but later rays of hope filled her life with brightness. In any way, it cannot be denied that she went through a lot of difficulties.

Shas wrote a lot of books including for her teacher. The movie “The Miracle Worker” truly depicts her struggles, achievements and the golden period or the life changing experience she went through. She gained fame back in her time as she inspired a lot of people with the same disability who had never ever think recovery from their state. The whole world, even today has proud of what Hellen Keller has done and she will be remembered for ages to come. According to my personal experience, the autobiography of Hellen Keller is full of inspiration derived from her struggles, which played the role of a push to force someone to go further. What I have derived from this piece of work is that life for people with these disabilities is not as easy as it is for us. They have somewhere down the lane disturbed peace of mind. Despite these conditions, such a brave behaviour which was shown by her is very much inspiring and undeniable.

CONCLUSION

The Story of My Life shows, Helen Keller’s life is neither a miracle nor a joke. it’s an incredible accomplishment. it’s destined to be jailed darkly and isolation for the remainder of her life, Helen Keller engineered upon the sensible work of her teacher, educator, to become Associate in Nursing inter-nationally recognized and revered figure. In 1908 Helen Keller printed “The World I Live In”, Associate in Nursing account of however she skilled the globe through bit, style and scent. In magazine articles she advocated for enhanced opportunities for the blind and for up strategies of reducing childhood vision defect. In 1909, Helen Keller joined the Socialist Party of Massachusetts and supported several progressive era causes, as well as contraception, labor unions and therefore the right of girls to vote. In 1924, her quality somewhat recovered, Helen Keller began operating as an educator fund-raiser for the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB).

Helen was desolate once her companion educator died in 1936. once the Second war she toured quite thirty countries, continued her support for the blind. In 1955, she printed the chronicle of educator “Teacher”, and in 1957 “The Open door”, a group of essays. In 1964 she was awarded the Presidential palm of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by President On 1st June, 1968, she died at her zero in esoteric Ridge, Connecticut.

In the second a part of the book, we are able to scan the letters written by Helen Keller to her beloved ones throughout 1887-1901. It absolutely was quite fascinating and informative with surprise and curiosity. Through these letters, she opened her mind, saw, felt and touched the worlds of wonders. they’re exercises that have trained her to put in writing. The book “Story of My Life” may be a story of spirit and determination and a piece of sacred literature.

Helen concludes her novel, ‘The Story of My Life’ by thanking people who helped, inspired, motivated, and touched her heart to carry on her fight against her disabilities. “She specially thanked Bishop Brooks, who revealed to her the wonderful mysteries of spiritual world of God; she learnt from him the fatherhood of God and immense faith in His fatherly love for all humankind.”[footnoteRef:9] [9: https://brainly.in/]

She in her books offers long and long description in order that it’s straightforward for the folks to know. within the conclusion of her story of My Life tells that form of those that have everything in their life however they do not appreciate it. within the last chapter she thanks her friends and to all or any those that have brought amendment or created any form of totally different in her life. As she aforementioned her friends created the story of my life. Even the Helen Keller was awake to the things that her life may be utterly totally different however it influences principally positive those that enclosed her.

The ending lines of her novel beautifully express her thankfulness and appreciation of all the people and friends that encouraged and supported her. She writes: ‘Thus it is that my friends have made the story of my life. In a thousand ways they have turned my limitations into beautiful privileges, and enabled me to walk serene and happy in the shadow cast by my deprivation.’[footnoteRef:10] [10: Hellen Keller, The story of my life]

The National Family Association for Deaf-Blind (NFADB) works with families UN agency have a honey UN agency is deaf and blind. They try to make sure these people have constant opportunities as everybody else. they’re large proponents of education, support and connecting families to others like them supported their desires and interests. They conjointly advise professionals and supply coaching for people who can work with deaf-blind people.

The Hellen Keller Services (HKS), which has the author National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths & Adults (HKNC) and also the author Services for the Blind (HKSB), strives to alter deaf-blind, blind and people UN agency could have combined hearing and vision loss to “live, work and thrive within the communities of their selection.”

Everyone was full of admiration for someone that has done something nice to the world. They don’t have to donate more than $10 billion to charity in four years, as Bill Gates and Melinda Gates did during 2000-2004. They don’t have to be famous or important. Someone that you admire from your heart could be the one who gave you your birth, or someone who taught you in your life. There are always some nameless people in the world to quietly pay, thereby gaining our admiration. Like a firefighter or policemen, they fight against the death, they help save lives. Even those sanitation workers who help us to keep our environment clean. They work earlier than any of us in the winter, just to preserve the city’s environment. Helen Keller was a famous American writer. She lost her sight and hearing when she was about one year old. It could say that her success was due to her teacher Anne Sullivan, a woman who spent all her time nurturing Helen Keller.

As people know, Anne Sullivan infected with trachoma, an eye disease when she was five years old. She lost all her abilities in reading and writing. From an early age, her temper was becoming unbearable because of her eye problem, which caused her and her sibling to be sent into an almshouse after her parents left them. Soon after, people in the almshouse inspired her, her desire for learning was aroused after that. She finally made it to Perkins School and study. During her studies, she made progress in learning. She finally graduated from school at age 20. It was the summer after Anne graduated, a letter from the principal of Anne’s school changed Anne’s fate, as well as of Helen Keller.

Anne opened the knot of Helen’s heart with love and patience, arousing Helen’s longing for learning. Helen’s desire for learning gradually increased and Anne did all she Everyone was full of admiration for someone that has done something nice to the world. They don’t have to donate more than $10 billion to charity in four years, as Bill Gates and Melinda Gates did during 2000-2004. They don’t have to be famous or important. Someone that you admire from your heart could be the one who gave you your birth, or someone who taught you in your life. There are always some nameless people in the world to quietly pay, thereby gaining our admiration. Like a firefighter or policemen, they fight against the death, they help save lives. Even those sanitation workers who help us to keep our environment clean. They work earlier than any of us in the winter, just to preserve the city’s environment.

What is admirable is that during these 50 years, Anne proved her love to Helen, she could give up anytime, but Anne didn’t give up. It can be said that Anne has regarded Helen as her own child, and she has been helping Helen achieve success in different fields in the past 50 years with her care and love. Her patience and perseverance for Helen were unimaginable, and only a few people in the world could do it. It can be said that Helen’s later success is inseparable from Anne, and she is closely related. It was Anne who awakened Helen’s soul. All that Anne had done to Helen was beyond her duty as a teacher. Anne gave up her marriage because of Helen, she put Helen beyond everything in her life. Helen was the proudest accomplishment of her life. If Helen is a literary marvel, Anne is the one who created her.

A region’s citizens are important to how they will progress with their future. Although war helps to create jobs, it also carries drawbacks to helping the society progress as a whole. Having higher officials declaring war causes a disadvantage to having constant improvement because of many casualties and all the expenses that go into it. With war being more hurtful than an advantage, countries should focus more on improving their society, which will lead to individuals having better lives and possibly a better future for that country.

In past centuries, when war was on the top of the list for officials in a country, it neglected everything else that had to do with that country. One of them being their society’s health. The society is an important aspect of one’s country because it is their own people, yet when war takes over, the priority of protecting their society is forgotten. Although war is being funded, there are many people in society who do not believe that funding wars is the right thing to do since they understand that it is more important to help build their society. In order to recognize this, individuals, such as Emma Goldman, Helen Keller, and Bob Dylan, use their voices to take a stand of having more attention be brought to the United States rather than being in war. Being anti-war and speaking out for it causes there to be more attention towards this situation and helps to educate others that war is not very beneficial in the long run because of how society is not flourishing yet.

In the United States, the number of low class families greatly exceeded the amount of upper class families in the 20th century. Because of this, many families struggled to find a stable living lifestyle even though there were efforts to try to help better society. Unfortunately, the government officials cared more for promoting those who risked their lives for their country; these officials preferred making people of the war happy rather than making their society happy. Due to this, more money is spent on those who help in the war, specifically those who fight in the war. This can be seen in Emma Goldman’s primary source, “Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty.” In her primary source, Goldman (1908, 271) states, “Yes, two hundred and sixty thousand dollars were spent on fireworks, theater parties, and revelries at a time when men, women, and children through the breadth and length of the country were starving in the streets; when thousands of unemployed were ready to sell their labor at any price.” San Francisco was able to gather up this much money and all of it only went towards those to entertain a fleet. She mentions this detail because she is trying to emphasize how if government officials had enough money to bring entertainment to the navy, then they should also have enough money to spend on those who are struggling. Putting entertainment next to a struggling society and having to decide where 260,000 dollars goes shows where America’s government officials’ mindset was; they care more about pleasing those who will bring benefits from the war rather than helping their own society. A struggling society is not enough for government officials to realize that there needs to be some type of action to try and help.

Since the United States does not put their focus on the society in any type of way, they out it on something else: war. War is important to the government because it brings in money, something that highly interests them. The United States believes that the result of participating in war will be more satisfying than helping their own society because of how they will gain more resources, such as money or even land. For example, Helen Keller mentions one of Congress’ desires with war in her primary source, “Strike Against War.” The belief is that “Congress is not preparing to defend the people of the United States. It is planning to protect the capital of American speculators and investors” (Keller, 1916, 285). With Keller’s stance of being anti-war, she believes that the reason for wanting war is not a good enough reason. She believes that the United States is participating in war because they see it as a way to get money by either funding something or potentially becoming allies with a country in order to have capital from them in the future. Helen stresses this idea in her point of view because of how it shows where the United States rather put their effort in; they do not seem to want to help the society. Similar to what Goldman mentions in her primary source, the United States will fund anything and anyone that has to do with the war because they want money back. The United States cares more about generating revenue than caring for their society because of how money is a top priority of theirs to acquire.

With war money being more important to the United States’ government rather than their own people, there is a struggle for trust within many individuals. Like Goldman and Keller, singers like Bob Dylan did not support the war because of the wrong mindset of the government. Dylan believes that injustice at home is more important than putting efforts into the war due to it creating no positive outcomes in the long run. In Dylan’s song, “Masters of War,” the singer personifies war as something that caused nothing but horror and destruction. For example, Dylan (1963, 430) sings, “Let me ask you one question / Is your money that good / Will it buy you forgiveness / Do you think that it could / I think you will find / When your death takes its toll / All the money you made / Will never buy back your soul.” The singer questions war because of how he knows that even though the government decided to go through with war, there will be many regrets because money cannot buy the people back. There will never be enough money that will pay to have society be better; regardless, the money would go back to funding anything related to war. No matter how much money is generated from war, most people are still anti-war because of how many hardships it creates.

From analyzing these three primary source, it teaches how many people had a negative connotation towards war. Many people in society that focus on their lives rather than fighting in a war that only leads to death and debt; they do not think that fighting in a war is worth risking the lives of the society. Goldman, Keller, and Dylan are important to recognize because of how no matter what year they published their viewpoint, they all had the same reaction to war. This implies that being anti-war is a more socially accepted stance and should be taken more seriously by government officials. Having government officials care more about war causes people like these three speakers to keep putting themselves out there, risking their lives, because they want what is better for their country.

Primary sources gives a first person insight of what life used to be at a certain time in history. With these three sources, a reader would be able to see how individuals felt about a certain topic, in this case the relationship between war and society. Many of the people did not see any purpose for war and therefore opposed it; they believed that caring for their society should be much more prioritized. Unfortunately, government officials, specifically within the United States, decided to pick war rather than its people.

References

1. Dylan, Bob. 1961. “Masters of War.” Voices of A People’s History of the United States, 429-4230.
2. Goldman, Emma. 1908. “Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty.” Voices of A People’s History of the United States, 270-272.
3. Keller, Helen. 1916. “Strike Against War.” Voices of A People’s History of the United States, 284-288.

For my case study project I choose the story of Helen Keller. Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in a small town called Tuscumbia, Alabama. The happy days of Helen’s life did not last long– when Helen was struck by ‘acute congestion of the stomach and brain.’ The doctor attending thought she would not live. But one morning, her fever broke. Her family was greatly relieved but unaware that their daughter would never see or hear again. She was stricken so young she does not remember the world before it went dark. Helen Keller turned out to be a bright and influential person that used her hardships and disability to inspire people. She was an educator along with an advocate for the deaf and blind.

Helen’s case is so significant for study because of what she overcame. She was not only left blind after her sudden illness but also deaf. She never let her weaknesses be stronger than her strengths. Over the process of hardwork and patience she learned to write, read, talk and do mathematics. No one thought it was even possible for her to be taught. How could a blind and deaf person learned? Throughout her book “The Story of My Life” you can see the transformation in her writing and speaking skills. Along with the people who helped her throughout her childhood. This case shows that the right teachers and the way you’re taught is very important. Helen received intervention at a very young age which helped. This early intervention was very important so that she didn’t fall too far behind nor lose her capability of being taught. This case is important because it shows the development of language and grammar in someone that is disabliled. That even if the development in slow the end result will be the same.

Helen’s case was extraordinary. Two very important senses were taken away from her at a very early age. She recalls her mother trying to soothe her tenderly; she remembers tossing and turning in agony, and a hot, dry, feeling behind her eyes. All of these memories, though, are fleeting, and she wonders often if they are unreal or constructed. After her illness, Helen grew used to the silence and darkness which enveloped her, and even forgot that things had been different. Despite the darkness in which Helen now found herself, she had caught glimpses of nature during her first nineteen months of life, and because she had seen fields, trees, and flowers even just briefly, she would not forget them. In the immediate aftermath of her illness, Helen communicated with signs and body language. Sometimes it made Helen angry that she could not understand anyone, and she had fits of temper. Her development through childhood was different from the normal. She never reached the milestone on time like language, reading, writing and just overall communication. She adapted to her surroundings and learned extremely fast and well. She had an awareness that other people were different from her, and did not use signs to communicate but rather talked with their mouths. When Helen achieved no results in verbal communication, she often became very angry, and would throw fits and tantrums. These tantrums showed the young age Helen was at. She was struggling not being able to communicate so she would resort to child like behaviors. As Helen grew older, her desire to express herself grew as well. The few signs she could make became inadequate, and as her despair grew, she became prone to more and more intense fits and tantrums. Helen was frustrated that she couldn’t communicate. So she resorted to throwing fits, which is the same as little kids do because they don’t have the vocabulary to communicate with their parents. Helen fell far behind in all development categories which concerned her parents. Her parents became “grieved and perplexed,” as they lived very far from any school for the blind or deaf, and did not think they’d be able to get a special tutor for Helen. Moreover, Helen’s parents wondered if she could even be taught. But a teacher, Miss Sullivan, had been found and she helped Helen become the person she was. As soon as Miss Sullivan arrived her lessons began along with her growth. The world of language was found when Miss Sullivan took her outside and let her feel water coming out of the spout, and then spelled w-a-t-e-r into her hand. This is when Helen first understood that the thing she was feeling was called ‘water.’ Helen began learning to spell words through imitation, though it awhile for her to understand that everything has a name, she picked it up quickly. Helen’s education was so successful because Miss Sullivan made an effort to speak to her as she would to any hearing child. She would spell full sentences into her hand, teaching her how language works together. It took her extremely long, longer than most children, due to the fact it takes a hearing person to acquire full conversational abilities. Miss Sullivan acknowledged the challenges Helen faced being both deaf and blind. Since when Helen took part in a conversation; she neither can distinguish the tones of voice that give significance to certain words, nor watch the facial expressions of the speaking person for clues. After Helen learned the names of things and how to spell words, her next task was learning how to read. Miss Sullivan taught her this by giving her slips of cardboard, on which were raised letters. She got used to attaching these words to their objects, and arranging them into sentences that she would act out with the objects themselves. This evolved into an ability to read full books. Helen’s education was all hands- on interaction through her senses like touch, taste, and scent. She learned very different from most children. Traditional children would be in a classroom memorizing and reciting facts. Helen’s next goal in her education was learning to speak. As a little kid she was fascinated by noise and speech, even though she couldn’t hear it. She would sit on her mother’s lap and touch her fingers to her face and feel the motions of her lips when she spoke. She would make sounds as a child, they were not words but it was something. She would laugh and cry normally, and to exercise her vocal cords she would make vocalizations. No one believed that speaking was even possibility for her. Language and speech come from mimicking and repetition. Miss Sarah Fuller at the Horace Mann School began to teach Helen to speak. Miss Fuller would let her feel the position of her own lips and tongue when she spoke, then Helen would try to imitate. ‘It is warm’ is the first sentence she spoke. She will never forget the first sentence she said, no one ever would. Helen lastly became a brilliant writer. Over an extended period of time Helen’s writing and grammar flourished. She started with strung together sentences that didn’t make sense with no punctuation, to using adjectives and using her words to create vivid pictures. Helen’s life took off after college. Helen loved to write and used her passion to communicate with Americans and ultimately with thousands across the globe. She always championed the rights of the underdog and used her skills as a writer to speak truth to power. A pacifist, she protested U.S. involvement in World War I. A committed socialist, she took up the cause of workers’ rights. She was also a tireless advocate for women’s suffrage and an early member of the American Civil Liberties Union. Helen used her new found voice to change the world. The story of Helen Keller is one to remember.

Three theories that Helen exhibited were the interactionist/social learning theory, Piaget’s stages of cognitive development and Piaget’s Adaptation. Vygotski’s theory of interactionist/social learning theory suggests that language is a biological process along with an environmental process. This theory says that language is an innate idea and you’re born with the ability to learn language but also constructed by your environment and the language you hear around you. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development consists of 4 stages: sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operation. The theory deals with the nature of knowledge itself and how humans gradually come to acquire, construct, and use it. The last theory is Piaget’s theory of adaptation. Adaptation involves the child’s changing to meet situational demands. Adaptation involves two sub‐processes: assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is the application of previous concepts to new concepts. Accommodation is the altering of previous concepts in the face of new information.

THEORIES

Vygotski’s theory of interactionist/social learning is children strongly desire to communicate with the adults around them and that desire motivates them to learn language. It argues that social interaction precedes development; consciousness and cognition are the end product of socialization and social behavior. Helen was taught to communicate but biologically she has a desire and knowledge to learn language. Miss Sullivan taught Helen the basics of language like what word describes the object but Helen was able to grasp the idea and turn it into a sentence and an idea. With Miss Sullivans help Helen would have never known language but without Helen biological intuition of language she would have never been able to be taught since she couldn’t hear nor see language. Language is in the sensitive period of development. This is a period of time when a child easily absorbs information in a specific way. The skill can still be learned after the period but less effectively. It was important for Helen to learn language right away since after a certain age it would become hard for her to learn.

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development is a model of how the mind processes new information encountered. Piaget believed that children take an active role in the learning process, acting much like little scientists as they perform experiments, make observations, and learn about the world. As kids interact with the world around them, they continually add new knowledge, build upon existing knowledge, and adapt previously held ideas to accommodate new information. Since Helen was delayed in her cognitive development it’s hard to place Helen in a certain stage at a time. Piaget’s theory suggests that the child moves through them in order but Helen didn’t follow this nor did she follow the age in which the theory shows up. For example, she shows some of the sensorimotor stage because she is touching and smelling the world. Since she can’t hear or see she doesn’t completely move out of this stage at the age of 2. Another stage is the formal operational stage. She is beginning to learn abstract ideas like the idea of love and the process of thinking, along with moral reasoning. She shows the concrete operational stage when she spontaneously classifies information/objects. Helen doesn’t follow this stages, instead has a little bit from all of them.

Piaget’s theory of adaptation is split into two subprocesses: assimilation, accommodation. Adaptation is the ability to adjust to new information and experiences. Learning is just adapting to your constantly changing environment. In assimilation, people take in information from the outside world and convert it to fit in with their existing ideas and concepts. In accommodation, people also accommodate new information by changing their mental representations to fit the new information. Through Helen’s life she always had to learn to adapt to her changing environment. She wasn;t born deaf and blind but she had to adapt. She had to adapt to a new way of learning, new teachers, new ideas and new lessons. Helen’s life changed everyday because she learned something new everyday. Helen always relied on her sense of touch to learn new things. She used Piaget’s theory of adaptation through assimilation and accommodation. Accommodation was used when she used her new knowledge that nature can be harsh and changed her overall thought of nature, ‘under softest touch hides treacherous claws.’ Assimilation was used when Helen learned the word water. She then realized that everything has a name and that words can be strung together.

CONCLUSION

The case of Helen Keller was very different from other cases such as Genie. Helen flourished in all intelligence capabilities. Nothing held Helen back and she was given every possible resource to succeed. It was mind blowing reading about her learning to read, write, speak and do math. Along with how she was taught to do each task. She was a brilliant person. It was also nice to see the support she had long the way. Miss Sullivan was just amazing and so perfect for teaching Helen. It was mostly intriguing to see the development of Helen’s writing abilities. You would never know a blind and deaf person wrote those letters in Part 2 of the book. It just showed me how brilliant and knowledgeable she was. Her English was perfect and her writing was of a high caliber. The transformation for the beginning letters were a 360. Through patience and determination from Helen and all her teachers she learned to successfully right and use proper grammar. Knowing that she used to not understand sentences or the meaning of words make her writing even more amazing. She is an inspiration to all, to never give up. I learned from this case that nothing is impossible and if you have the determination to succeed, you will.

REFERENCES

1. Lally, M., & Valentine-French, S. (2017). Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective. Retrieved from https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/540.
2. Keller, H. (1996). The Story of my life. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.