Helen Keller wrote the autobiography, The Story of My Life as a young student, having

battled insurmountable odds and ensured her rightful place in Radcliffe College. Helen was
very aware of the opportunities presented to her and how her life could have been so
different had it not been for the positive influences that surrounded her.
The most memorable event that Helen recalls in The Story of My Life and probably the one
for which she is best known due to its dramatic effect on ANYONE who reads about it or
who has seen it in the movie is her recollection of the "W-A-T-E-R" incident
Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgottena thrill of returning
thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me (Ch IV)
This event has the capacity to reach even the most cynical person. The life-changing
capacity of the most simple action must surely reach into the depths of anyone's soul and
inspire a person to do more with what he or she already has at his or her disposal.
Other events, and there are many significant ones without which Helen's new found means
of communication would not have blossomed, may fade into insignificance as this is the
pivotal point at which her life changed.
I have chosen a different kind of second event to recall which reveals that there were still
many "barriers" and that Helen was only human and not necessarily so different from
everybody else in her struggles to be understood.
Mildred, Helen's younger sister, inspires jealousy in Helen who is keenly aware of Mildred's
arrival and her mother's shared affections and time. In the crdle in which Helen lovingly
rocks hr doll, Nancy, lay Mildred and Heln, without a thought, attempted to overturn the
cradle and tip the baby out because
when we walk in the valley of twofold solitude we know little of the tender affections that
grow out of endearing words and actions and companionship(Ch II).
This event could have had a very negative impact on Helen's development were it not for
her loving, supportive family. It brings a stark reality to this "happily - ever - after" story.