The Story of My Life’ is based on the value of perseverance. It also glorifies the tireless and undying spirit of overcoming insurmounting hurdles and obstacles in life. Due to sheer perseverance, a deaf and dumb child Helen Keller learnt to communicate and interact with the outerward in a meaningful way. There is no doubt that at moments she felt helpless and frustrated but Helen was determined to succeed. She was a wonderful fighter.
Helen Keller overcame the seemingly insurmountable obstacles and blindness. She became an icon of perseverance and untiring struggle throughout the world. The autobiography ‘The Story of My Life’ was written when she was only 22 years old. Her autobiography ‘The Story of My Life’ still motivates and guides thousands of those unfortunate blind and deaf children for whom there is only darkness and silence in the world. She lived in her isolated world until Miss Sullivan came to open up a world of communication to her. Anne taught her manual sign language, braille and lip-reading. Helen’s achievements are awesome. She had a thirst for knowledge and her love for learning and books was intense. It is quite amazing how she could lead a productive and purposeful life with all her handicaps.
Another important theme of the autobiography is the message that even the blind and the deaf can lead a wholesome, purposeful and exciting life. Helen Keller set an example for all the physically challenged, especially the deaf and the dumb. She became the first blind and deaf to earn a bachelor degree. She enjoyed reading Shakespeare, Dickens and had good grounding in Greek and Latin. She read almost all the leading French and German writers. She loved swimming, sailing, canoeing, visiting mountains and beaches. She had an inner eye that could feel the beautiful sights, sounds, inner and smells of Nature. She loved the company of the famous and great personalities of her times such as Alexander Graham Bell and Mark Twain.