Book Review: The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
A review of Helen Keller's memoir 'The Story of My Life.'
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| The Story of My Life By Helen Keller. |
- Book Title: The Story of My Life By Helen Keller (Special Edition) - With Her Letters (1887-1901) And Supplementary Account of her Education, Including Passages from the Reports and Letters of her Teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, By John Albert Macy
- Author: Helen Keller
- Language: English
- Genre(s): Non-fiction, Memoir, Autobiography
- Original Year of Release: 1903
- Format that I read the book in: E-book
- Publisher: Project Gutenberg
- Book length: N/A
SUMMARY
An American classic rediscovered by each generation, The Story of My Life is Helen Keller’s account of her triumph over deafness and blindness. Popularized by the stage play and movie The Miracle Worker, Keller’s story has become a symbol of hope for people all over the world.
This book–published when Keller was only twenty-two–portrays the wild child who is locked in the dark and silent prison of her own body. With an extraordinary immediacy, Keller reveals her frustrations and rage, and takes the reader on the unforgettable journey of her education and breakthroughs into the world of communication. From the moment Keller recognizes the word “water” when her teacher finger-spells the letters, we share her triumph as “that living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!” An unparalleled chronicle of courage, The Story of My Life remains startlingly fresh and vital more than a century after its first publication, a timeless testament to an indomitable will.
Quote(s) I loved:
"But during the first nineteen months of my life I had caught glimpses of broad, green fields, a luminous sky, trees and flowers which the darkness that followed could not wholly blot out. If we have once seen, 'the day is ours, and what the day has shown.'"
- Helen Keller, Part I, Chapter I.
"There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his."
- Helen Keller, Part I, Chapter I.
"Nature wages open war against her children, and under softest touch hides treacherous claws."
- Helen Keller, Part I, Chapter V.
"Any teacher can take a child to the classroom, but not every teacher can make him learn."
- Helen Keller, Part I, Chapter VII.
"In a word, literature is my utopia. Here I am not disfranchised. No barrier of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourse of my book-friends."
- Helen Keller, Part I, Chapter XXI.
"Helen sees more with her fingers than we do with our eyes."
- Miss Sullivan, Part II, Introduction.
"I explained to her that the soul, too, is invisible, or in other words, that it is without apparent form. 'But if I write what my soul thinks,' she said, 'then it will be visible, and the words will be its body."
- Miss Sullivan, Part III, Chapter III.
REVIEW
My take on the book:
Honestly, I feel that such a book as this should be above all criticism. The story of Helen Keller's life is so inspiring and motivating that I simply cannot judge it on the parameters that I normally use to critique fiction books.
Helen Keller needs no introduction, but for the uninitiated readers, here it goes - Helen was an American woman who became blind and deaf at the tender age of nineteen months after having suffered from a deadly disease. She was the first ever blind person to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree. This memoir chronicles her early life as a specially-abled girl, her unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and her passion for education despite all her struggles.
This book is a special edition that has been divided into three sections - Section One is the memoir itself, Section Two comprises all letter-writing correspondence of Helen with friends and family, and Section Three gives additional information about Helen's writing style, method of education, important events of her life, as also letters by her teacher that indicate Helen's progress in learning.
In the autobiography section, Helen initially talks about her family history, her home in Tuscumbia in northern Alabama, and her kin. She explains how she used sign language to communicate with others after she lost her sight and hearing, and how when unable to express herself she would have fits of anger and frustration. Her life transformed for the better only after the arrival of her teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, into it.
Miss Sullivan's love and patience subdued the hostile child that Helen was, and made her grow fond of learning new words. The methods that the teacher used were impressive - she would take Helen outdoors to explore the nature and would spell out into her hand the name of anything that would catch the young girl's fancy, thereby making learning an enjoyable experience for her.
The key takeaway from this memoir is Helen's persistence in the face of all odds. Her desire to educate herself was so strong that she never gave up on her dreams. Her indomitable spirit ensured that she overcame the worst of her difficulties - she even learnt how to speak. And for this, she also gives due credit to Miss Sullivan, who always stood by her like a rock in every step of the way. Truly, Helen's life wouldn't have been the same had it not been for her teacher.
Helen's love for reading, writing, travel, outdoor sports, and her affection for friends and family - are other highlights of the book. She was one voracious reader! So much so that she has dedicated an entire chapter to her 'book-friends.'
Helen's letters which she wrote during a span of several years - starting from when she was 7 till her adulthood - have been included in the second section. Some of them bored me a little with their monotony, but that doesn't mean they were insignificant. In fact, Helen's letters help us notice how her writing skills evolved over the years - her quick transition from a young child unable to construct even grammatically correct sentences to a rather fine writer.
Miss Sullivan's letters from the third section of the book were quite interesting as they illustrated the offbeat techniques that she employed to teach Helen. I loved reading those. The third section also sheds some light on Helen's personality, education, speech, and literary style.
Miss Sullivan's letters from the third section of the book were quite interesting as they illustrated the offbeat techniques that she employed to teach Helen. I loved reading those. The third section also sheds some light on Helen's personality, education, speech, and literary style.
Helen's writing is surprisingly vivid for a person who can neither see nor hear. Her descriptions of nature are sublime, and as her teacher said, Helen observed a lot more with her fingers than what normal people saw with eyes. Her optimistic attitude towards life in spite of her own hurdles and benevolence towards other differently-abled children are endearing.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It doesn't read like non-fiction at all. I would highly recommend it to everybody because Helen Keller's story is hugely inspirational. We need to read more positive and motivational stories like this.
Will I read it again?
Yes I will, especially when I need some kind of motivation.
Reasons to read this book:
1. Inspirational and motivational story.
2. Impressive writing.
3. Supplementary information about the author.
Reasons to not read this book:
None that I can put a finger on, except that maybe some of Helen's letters (from the second section) were a bit monotonous.
Final Verdict: ✪✪✪✪.5 / 5
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