The Miracle Worker

Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan

"People seldom see the halting and painful steps by which the most insignificant success is achieved."
-Anne Sullivan
Born in a merry family, Helen was an intelligent young child who was loved more than anything by her mother and father. However, on January, 1882, the door of happiness closed and she was faced with the darkness surrounding her. Helen's eyes saw only black; her ears heard silence and nothing more. She had become blind and deaf.

Everyone knows the story of Helen Keller, and how she fought off her disabilities and hardship. However, without the work of the 'Miracle Worker', she might not have been able to accomplish all her dreams and become famous at all. The 'Miracle Worker' is noted as Helen Keller's lifelong mentor, Anne Sullivan. First recommended to the Kellers by Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, Anne took a step into Helen's life as a governess and gradually became her companion. Since her student could not look or hear, she had to write words into Helen's palm perpetually. The day that Anne said "My heart is singing for joy this morning! A miracle has happened! The light of understanding has shone upon my little pupil's mind, and behold, all things are changed!" was the day she put one of Helen's hands under the water-flowing pump, and the with the other one wrote 'water' over and over again. Helen later explained that she suddenly understood that the cold streams of liquid she was feeling was indeed 'water'. That day, young Helen learned thirty new words. To Anne, Helen's learning was her own joy. Even though the child first threw dreadful tantrums and refused to learn anything from her governess, Anne didn't give in. She simply could not see the poor girl suffer in heart and mind. How Helen became proficient at speaking, writing, and reading were all due to Anne's unending efforts.

Anne Sullivan stayed at Helen's side until her death. While Helen's stay at Radcliffe College, every class,  she wrote lectures and notes onto her pupil's palm. Her own hand was full of blisters, red and sore, but Anne cared more about Helen's understanding of the lessons. The books that were not written in Braille was also Anne's job to read to Helen. For these arduous tasks were done 5 hours or more a day, as a result, she suffered greatly for her eyes. Despite Sullivan's declining health, both student and teacher chose to travel around the world, giving lectures and working for the American Foundation for the Blind(AFB). The support Anne gave to Helen as well as other disabled ones must never be forgotten, and how she made the closed door of happiness to open again will be told by generation to generation.

All throughout her years, Sullivan showed us that one has potential to do anything they want with belief. She showed us that types of difficulties can be turned into learning steps of life. She showed us that dreams are worth fighting for. Hopes and efforts are worth fighting for. Disabilities are worth fighting for.

For more information about Anne Sullivan, click here.