Miss Sullivan played a very important part in Helen’s life. Discuss with reference to the novel.

OR

Getting admission into college wasn’t easy for Helen. Moreover, she encountered a lot of problems while studying there. Bring out her problems.

Ms. Anne Sullivan was Helen’s dedicated caretaker, teacher and a life-long friend. Anne taught Helen how to communicate using sign language and this had a transformative impact on the young girl as it gave her complete access to the world and human connections. Ms. Sullivan was Helen’s lifeline. Without Anne Sullivan, Helen would have been walled in a dark and hopeless world. When Anne began her learning Ms. Sullivan was very patient with her. She made raised letters for Helen to learn the alphabet. She also used real objects, such as fossils to teach about dinosaurs so that Helen would have something to touch, allowing her to make connections with the time period and concepts. Even Helen once said, “All the best of me belongs to her”. Ms. Sullivan stood by Helen as a defender in every situation. At Gilmer School when Helen became slightly ill, Mr. Gilmer made such changes in her coursework that would prohibit her from taking her final examination. Ms. Sullivan carried this incident to Helen’s mother who withdrew Helen and her sister’s name from that school. She also guided her in Radcliffe College where there were few devices available for the blind. She would spell out what the professor said on Helen’s hands. Even after she got married she didn’t leave Helen. After Anne’s divorce she travelled along with Helen to tell people around the world about Helen’s struggle and success stories.

OR

Helen Keller wanted to go to college. And not just any college, Keller wanted to go to Harvard College. But it was in the 1890s that Harvard didn’t accept women, so Keller focused on her second choice, Radcliffe College. Radcliffe College was started in 1879 to provide college level classes for women and officially became a college for women in 1894. Helen’s good friend Dr. Alexander Graham Bell was thrilled while others did not think it was a good idea. Some people found it inappropriate for women to go to college and others thought it would be impossible for a blind and deaf person. Helen and Miss Sullivan worked hard at Radcliffe College. Miss Anne Sullivan attended all of Keller’s classes and helped with reading since Radcliffe College was not prepared for deaf or blind students. At that time many people believed that ones with disabilities, like deafness or blindness, weren’t intelligent enough to go to college. Helen changed people’s perceptions about ones with disabilities. Helen enjoyed college, but she decides that college learning wasn’t ideal. She thought that students’ schedules were too hectic and didn’t allow time to sit and think. She wrote that “we should take our education as we would take a walk in the country, leisurely; our minds hospitably open to impressions of every sort. At the age of 24, Helen graduated with honours. She had fulfilled her dream and had showed the world what a determined deaf and blind woman could do.