Open Door -- Selected Short Stories by Helen Keller

Author: Helen Keller
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2002-12-01
Features: Helen Keller is a globally respected writer and educator. Despite fate taking away her sight and hearing, this woman grasped life's throat with diligence and indomitable spirit. Her name has become a symbol of perseverance, and her legendary life has become a tremendous spiritual force that inspires people to overcome misfortune. At the age of one year and seven months, a sudden high fever from scarlet fever left Helen blind and deaf, making her a disabled person with both visual and auditory impairments. Due to the lack of access to correct information for deaf-blind children, her window of the soul was locked, leading to a rebellious and volatile personality. At the age of seven, Anne Sullivan, her teacher, came into her life and stayed with her for the next half-century, guiding her out of endless darkness and loneliness with love and wisdom. The miracles Helen accomplished in her life are inseparable from this young, outstanding educator for the deaf and blind. In her famous work "Three Days to See," Helen deeply expressed her love for her teacher: "If I had three days of sight, the first thing I would want to see is my dear teacher." On the day Anne Sullivan began teaching at Helen's home, she gave her a toy doll and slowly and repeatedly spelled the word "d-o-l-l" (doll) with her fingers on Helen's small hand. Helen immediately developed a strong interest in this game. She mimicked her teacher's actions over and over again, from which she began to understand that everything in the world had its own name, and she learned that her name was "Helen Keller." After that, Helen learned and mastered French, German, Latin, and Greek. The ability of a deaf-blind person to master five languages was hailed as "the greatest achievement in the history of education." Helen's "deafness" was caused by the loss of hearing, not by damaged vocal cords. At the age of ten, Helen...