Character sketch of all the characters of story of my life by helen keller sa2 class 10
Answers
Character Sketch of Helen Keller
Helen Keller was born on 27th June 1880 in Tuscumbia in Alabama. Her father, Arthur H. Keller, was a descendent of Caspar Keller who was a native of Switzerland. He was a captain in the confederate army. Helen’s mother was Kate Adams who was Arthur’s second wife and was many years younger. At the age of nineteen months, Helen became very ill with brain fever. When the fever subsided, Helen was left blind and deaf forever. Helen was quite eager to learn. Despite her handicap she had learnt some crude signs of communication and also how to fold the clothes etc. later, she showed exceptional capabilities for learning and very soon could learn to read, write or even speak. She had voracious passion for learning, knowledge and exploration.
Like Wordsworth, she learnt to find solace in nature and its peaceful serenity. Before Miss Sullivan's arrival, this garden was the place where Helen went to find comfort and hide her hot face in the cool leaves and grass. Helen felt extremely happy in that garden of flowers, wandering happily from spot to spot. She could recognize each vine and plant by touching them.
Helen was a prodigy child since her early childhood! However, the challenges she faced were quite arduous. After being rendered blind and disabled in hearing and speaking, Helen's frustration to learn more and more about life mounted very high. Her hearing disability combined with visual disability made the teaching and learning more challenging. Helen was a very industrious girl; she always did her best to learn. She had such a natural, innate passion for learning which always motivated her. Manual alphabet, reading, arithmetic, etc., all were formidable challenges for her initially, but Helen overcame them. The most arduous of all of them was learning to speak. Learning to speak is almost an impossible task for those who have hearing disability. So Helen had to work very hard. She had to repeat each word and sentence many times for the right tone and pronunciation. She practiced untiringly. At times she became discouraged and weary too, but she never gave up. She faced all the difficulties courageously. Her courage and perseverance are source of inspiration for all mankind!
Miss Sullivan
Miss Sullivan inspired Helen through the qualities of her
love, care, and deep knowledge. She was herself the victim of visual
disability. She had overcome it with sheer practice. She was perfect in
teaching children suffering from visual and hearing disabilities. She knew the
manual alphabet and other teaching techniques. She won Helen's confidence
convincingly.
Miss Sullivan was an extraordinary teacher. The world is full of ordinary teachers who just teach shallowly. Miss Sullivan touched the depths of Helen's soul and brought light to her darkened world.
The day she arrived at Helen's house, Helen called that day the most important day of her life. Helen compared the arrival of her teacher to the shining of 'light of love' in her darkened life.
Miss Sullivan took unprecedented pains to teach Helen manual alphabet. Since Helen was suffering from hearing as well as visual disabilities, Miss Sullivan really had to work very hard to teach Helen the alphabet.
In the 7 chapter, Helen praises Miss Sullivan in the following words: "Thus I learned from life itself. At the beginning I was only a mass of possibilities. It was my teacher who unfolded and developed them. When she came, everything about me breathed of love and joy and was full of meaning." It was Miss Sullivan's genius, her sympathy, her loving tact which made the first years of Helen's education so beautiful. Miss Sullivan made learning easy and fun-filled for Helen.
Mrs.Kate Adams Keller
Mrs. Kate Adams Keller was an extremely caring mother. Towards Helen, she was more caring and responsible. Before Miss Sullivan's arrival, she was her loving refuge. Whenever Helen had a tantrum of frustration on account of being unable to express herself, she would go into her mother's arms where she would forget the cause of her tempest. Her mother was very much concerned regarding Helen's education. She was always requesting her husband to arrange for her education. It was she who saw the hope of the possibility of Helen's education while reading the account of Laura Bridgman. She wanted Helen to be educated like her. She also felt very sad on knowing that Dr Howe, who had taught Laura Bridgman, had died. She was always in search of finding out ways to make life of Helen more comfortable.Main characters in the story of 'My Life' by Helen Keller are:
a. Helen Keller: The protagonist-narrator of the story. Being blind and deaf as a child, she narrates her experience as a blind and deaf person from her childhood. She was not baffled by her disabilities, instead became strong and resilient with her strong will power. A true inspiration to everyone.
b. Kate Adams: A caring "mother of Helen Keller" who loved and supported her.
c. Anne Sullivan: Helen's teacher whose teaching slowly transformed Helen during her early life.
d. Arthur Keller: Father of Helen, a veteran, editor, and a hunter.
e. Mildred Keller: Little sister of Helen.
f. Martha Washington: A good friend and companion of Helen.
g. Mr Anagnos: Helen's friend and The Director of the ""Perkins Institute"" for the Blind.
h. Alexander Graham Bell: Inventor and teacher for the deaf, well-wisher of Helen.