Mid Life Of Helen Keller

HELEN KELLER’S MIDDLE LIFE

The summer of 1887 was more fun for Helen than all of her previous years. Every object she touched and named seemed to bring her closer to the rest of the world, which pleased her and made her more confident. One thing Annie worked on with Helen was to find the beauty in everything. She taught her the different kinds of flowers, and trees, by their smell and the way they felt. Annie and Helen had most of their lessons in the outdoors that summer. The two liked to climb trees, and read books because they thought it was relaxing and something different. Helen later said, “The birds and flowers and I were happy peers.”1 That goes to show just how much the two were outdoors.

That same summer, Helen began to learn geography, although she did not know it at the time. Annie built dams out of pebbles, and made raised maps in the sand to show where mountains and valleys were. Annie informed Helen about glaciers and volcanoes and other natural disasters. Even though Helen was actually learning some vitally important things, it seemed to her like the two were just playing in the sand.

One day the two of them were in the woods, and decided that it was time to eat lunch. Annie helped Helen up into a nearby cherry tree because they were the easiest to climb, and she ran back to the Keller house to get some food. Helen promised to stay there and keep still. While Annie was away, the sky suddenly turned dark, which Helen could tell, because the warmth of the sun turned into coolness. Helen knew the smell of a rainstorm, and was positive one was coming. The wind started to howl, so strong that it almost knocked her out of the tree. Helen began to get scared, and hoped Annie was coming soon. Helen was just about ready to jump when she felt Annie’s hand pull her down from the tree. The two girls made it back home before it began to rain,. but it was not until many years later that Helen would climb another tree. Helen explained nature by saying, “It wages open war against her children, and under softest touch hides treacherous claws.”2 Captain and Kate were pleased with the progress Helen had made, and hoped

Annie wanted to stay with them until Helen knew how to learn on her own. It didn’t take

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...ple to keep trying, no matter how difficult things may seem at the time.

ENDNOTES

1 Helen Keller, Story of my Life. (Park Ridge, New Jersey: Andor Publishing.,

1976), p.17.

2 Ibid ., p. 24.

3 Van Wyck Brooks, Helen Keller. (New York: E.P. Dutton and Company.,

1956), p. 30.

4 Marion March Brown, The Silent Storm. (New York: Abingdon Press., 1983),

p.24.

5 Ibid., p.26.

6 Helen Keller, Story of my Life. (Park Ridge, New Jersey. Andor Publishing.,

1976), p. 30.

7 Ibid., p.36

8 Ibid., p.40.

9 Van Wyck Brooks, Helen Keller. (New York E.P. Dutton and Company., 1956),

p.39.

10 Ibid., p. 47.

11 Ibid., p. 49.

12 Ibid ., p. 55.

13 Helen Keller, Story of my Life. (Park Ridge, New Jersey. Andor Publishing.,

1976), p. 50.

14 Ibid., p. 51.