If You Give Me Three Days of Light: The Best Collection of Helen Keller

Chapter 44 Anne Sullivan's Letters (1)
letter one
This text comes from a letter from Miss Sullivan, and it is also the most important paragraph in this letter.

It was written three days after she arrived in Tuscumbia, dated March 1887, 3.

…At six-thirty I arrived in Tuscumbia, where Mrs. Keller and Mr. James Keller were waiting for me.They said they had been waiting at the train station for two days.The distance from the station to home is only one mile, and the feeling on the road is warm and cozy.I was surprised to find that Mrs. Keller was a very young woman, probably not much older than I, I thought.Captain Keller greeted us in the yard, he shook hands with me warmly, and extended a warm welcome to my arrival.My first question was: "Where is Helen?" I tried my best to suppress my urgency, and I was shaking so badly that I could hardly walk normally.

As we got closer to the house, I saw a kid standing on the porch, and Captain Keller said, "This is Helen, she's been waiting all day for someone to come, she's playing like crazy when her mother picks you up at the station It's gone." Before I could get up the steps, she suddenly rushed towards me, fortunately Captain Keller was behind me, otherwise I would have been knocked to the ground.She then started touching my face, clothes and bag, she took the bag from me and tried to open it.It was not easy to open the bag. She fumbled carefully to see if there was a keyhole.When she found a keyhole in the bag, she pointed to the bag and gestured to me to open the lock with the key.Mrs. Keller quickly stopped Helen, and she told Helen not to touch the bag casually with gestures.Helen's face was flushed with anxiety, and she became very angry when her mother tried to take the bag from her.To get her attention, I showed her my pocket watch and asked her to touch it.As a result, the storm subsided in an instant.

Maybe it's because all my friends put the candy they brought her into the bag, and she was also looking forward to finding candy in my bag.I had just opened the bag when we walked upstairs together.She immediately searched my bag, hoping to find something to eat.To make her understand, I kept nodding to her, pointing to a box in the hall.I mean, here's my box, and she's supposed to be looking for food in the box.She was very clever, and immediately understood, so she ran downstairs and told her mother with signs that there were sweets for her in this box.After a few minutes, she came back to help me unpack.She put my bonnet on one side and looked in the mirror as if she could see, and I couldn't help but laugh at the funny way she looked.

For some reason, I expected to see a pale, emaciated child—an idea I guessed from Dr. Hao's description of Laura Bridgman when she first arrived at the Academy.But being pale and thin had nothing to do with Helen. She had a ruddy complexion and a strong body, no different from a romping colt.In Helen, you don't see the anxiety and cowardice that are common in blind children.

Mrs. Keller told me that she was very intelligent and fully capable of making her own decisions.Moreover, since the disease caused her to lose her eyesight and hearing, she has never been sick again, and her body has grown very healthy and her energy is extremely strong.Her appearance was difficult to describe, she was bright and intelligent, but her expression was not flexible, and she seemed to lack a soul or something inner.She has a large, well-defined mouth.Plus, you can tell at a glance that she's blind.One of her eyes is larger than the other and protrudes noticeably.She showed apathy or impatience with the caresses of anyone but her mother.She rarely smiles, in fact, I've only seen her smile once or twice since I've been here.She was irascible and capricious, and no one could control her except her brother James.

The most pressing problem at present is that I must find a way to train and manage her without dampening her courage, at the same time.I think I should start from scratch and slowly win her trust.I will not use strong means to conquer her, but I will insist on principles from the beginning, and reasonable obedience is required.What will impress everyone is Helen Keller's tireless and active character.She never stayed silent for a moment.Her hands would hold anything, but nothing held her attention for long.Now she's here, now there, and everywhere.The restless soul of this sweet little girl groped in the dark, and her angry, ignorant hands destroyed everything they touched, for she knew nothing else to do Do.

When she helped me open the box, she found the dolls given to her by the little girls, and she was very happy.I figured this would be a great opportunity to teach her her first words.So I slowly spelled the word "doll" into her hand, nodding while pointing at the doll, the way she often gestures with things that belong to her.At that time, as long as someone gave her something, she would point to the thing first, then point to herself, and at the same time nod her head, which meant that the thing belonged to her.Now, she's confused by my spelling, so I spell it all over again.She imitated my spelling decently, then pointed to the doll too.

Then I took the doll away from her, I mean, I would give it back to her as soon as she learned to spell the alphabet.But she thought I was going to take her doll away, and in a second she lost her temper and tried to take it away.So I shook my head and tried to grab her fingers to spell the letters, but things got worse and she got more and more angry.I had no choice but to push her to a chair with all my strength until she was exhausted and stopped struggling.It was at that moment that I suddenly felt the futility of the constant struggle - I had to do something to turn her mind around.Finally I let her go, but I refused to hand over the doll.

Knowing she has a sweet tooth, I went downstairs to get some cakes.I took the cake to Helen and spelled "cake" in her hand.Sensing her eagerness to eat cake right away, I spelled the word again and patted her hand lightly.This time she spelled the letters quickly, and I gave her the cake, which she devoured.With initial results, I regained a little confidence.I think that being the case, I should continue to make persistent efforts to tap her potential.So I showed her the doll again, spelled the words again, and handed her the doll like a cake.She spelled it "doll" and I added the final "l".Maybe there was nothing more attractive to her, she ran downstairs with the doll, and she never came to my room that day.

I gave her a sewing board yesterday.I inserted the first row of pins vertically, and then asked her to touch the rows of small holes on the board. She immediately understood, so she started to play with the plug-in board with great interest. It only took a few minutes to fully insert the board. Finished cleanly.I figured I'd take this opportunity to teach her another new word, so I spelled "card."She spelled "ca" first, then paused to think, then, gesturing for something to eat, she pushed me toward the door, meaning I had to go downstairs and get her some cake.Apparently, the letters "ca" reminded her of "that class" on Friday - I think that not only did she have the concept of "cake" as a food name in her head, but she also established the relationship between words. Associations between.

I obeyed her command and brought her a cake, and she seemed very happy.Then I spelled the word "doll" and made a search-around gesture.She knew I was looking for the doll and her hands followed my every movement.So she pointed to the bottom, which meant that the doll was placed downstairs.Just like she wanted me to bring her a cake, I made the same gesture as her and pushed her towards the door.She started to walk forward, then hesitated for a moment.Apparently, there was a heated debate in her heart about whether to go or not to go.Finally, she decided not to go and let me get it.Shaking my head, I spelled the word "doll" hard, and I opened the door for her.

But she was stubborn and refused my request.So I snatched her unfinished cake, to show her that if she brought the doll, I would give her the cake.She stood silently for a long time, her face flushed red.In the end, the desire to eat the cake got the upper hand.She ran downstairs to fetch the doll.Of course, I fulfilled my promise and returned the cake to her.But I didn't let her into the house to continue learning words.

This morning, as I write this, she is acting infuriating.She fumbled on the stationery or stuck her fingers in the inkwell, and was always dangling behind me.Seeing these stains or not, this is her "masterpiece".Then I remembered the beads that kindergarten kids play with, so I asked her to string them all together.At first I put two wooden beads and one glass bead together, and then I let her touch the string and the two boxes of beads next to it.She nodded, and immediately strung wooden beads.Shaking my head as I took the beads off, I was going to tell her that it was correct to string two wooden beads and one glass bead.

She touched the beads carefully and restrung them.This time she stringed a glass bead first, and then two wooden beads.I had to take the beads down again and demonstrate to her that I should string two wooden beads first, and then the glass bead.This time she finally got it right, and she was very fast.After she had strung the beads, she tied the ends together and put the beads around her neck.When stringing the next string of beads, I didn't make enough knots so the beads fell out.But she solved the problem by herself, by stringing the string through a bead and fastening a clasp, which was a very clever way.She played with the beads with great interest until dinner, during which she showed me the beads from time to time, hoping to get my affirmation and praise.

I know the letter is very illegible.But my eyes are very swollen now, so I don't care much. I have a lot of things to say, but I can't figure it out. I really don't know where to start.Because of the handwriting, please don't show my letter to others. If you want to really tell others, you can read the letter to everyone.

Letter two:
monday afternoon

Even though the last thing I want as a person is conflict to escalate, sometimes it's hard to avoid it.For example, this morning, there was another scuffle between Helen and me.

Helen's eating habits are really surprising.She would reach for something on our plate, and, when food was served, she would grab the plate and pick what she liked.Instead of letting her touch my plate this morning, she insisted on reaching out, and a battle of wills began.Our quarrel naturally disturbed the whole family, and they got up and left one after another.I acted calmly, locked the dining room door, and continued to eat my breakfast, but Helen was lying on the floor kicking and screaming, making me restless, and she tried to drag my chair away.She went on like this for half an hour, and then she got up to see what I was doing.I let her know that I was eating, but she was not allowed to touch my plate.So she pinched me with her hands.Every time she pinches, I hit her to let her know how powerful I am.

Then she walked around the table again, she wanted to see who was here.It turned out that she was a little surprised when she found no one else but me.After a few minutes, she began to return to her seat for breakfast.She kept eating with her hands, and I handed her a spoon, which she dropped on the floor.I forced her to leave the chair to pick up the spoon.It was a bit of a headache but eventually I got her back in the chair and I put the spoon in her hand and forced her to eat with it.

She complied, and within a few minutes she had finished her breakfast in peace.But then we had another fight over folding napkins.At that time, she finished her breakfast, threw the napkin on the ground and ran to the door.When she found the door locked, she kicked and screamed again.I pulled her back and spent another hour teaching her to fold her napkins after meals.In the end, I let her go, and it was a relief for me to let her play in the warm sunshine.Back upstairs in my room, I threw myself on the bed exhausted.Feeling better after a good cry.I think I have to fight this little girl many times before I can teach the two most basic human qualities: obedience and love.

Goodbye, dear, don't worry about me.I will work hard, I will do my best and use all necessary means to achieve the goal.By the way, Mrs. Keller is great and I like her a lot.

letter three

Tuscumbia, Alabama, June 1887, 3

Since the last time I wrote to you, Helen and I have lived "independently".We now live about a quarter of a mile from her home in a garden cottage called "Ivy Green," which is also the Keller property.

Because not long after I came here, I discovered an important problem-surrounded by my family, I couldn't educate Helen.She ran amok with everyone in the family, her mother, father, servants, and the black children she played with.But his family were always accommodating to her whims, and no one ever seriously argued with her, except her brother James, who occasionally disobeyed her wishes.

Like all tyrants, Helen stubbornly holds the "divine power" to do whatever she wants.If she doesn't have the ability to make her servants understand her orders and get what she wants, she will throw a fit of rage.Every thwarted desire triggers a powerful emotional outburst.I imagine that as she grows older and stronger, her bad temper will become more and more unreasonable.When I first started teaching her, I had already encountered many difficulties.In other words, she won't give in easily without a tough fight.But I will not make compromises, nor will I coax her.I can start with something as simple as letting her do her own hair, wash her hands, or tie her shoes.Strong tactics are necessary, and of course it invites fights, but I have to.

Another headache is that the family members will intervene, especially Captain Keller, who can't stand her crying.So in order to get peace, he would rather make concessions.But I won't do that, knowing full well that you can't teach her languages ​​or any other skills unless she learns to obey my orders.I have thought a lot about this matter, and I believe that "obedience" is the only way to enter children's inner world and lead to knowledge, trust and love.Just like we write a letter, the speed will definitely be slower when we start to write.I thought I should win her love and trust the way I treat normal children.But I later discovered that all normal access to the child's inner world had been cut off.So far, she accepts everything I've arranged for her, but she refuses to be touched by others, and you can't ask her to show you the love, compassion, or childlike innocence she has, whether she wants to or not. Still unintentional.

In the past, we would make certain plans for the completion of a task.But when we actually act, we will find that the (value) system of "labor glory" that we followed before does not apply in some places.So we struggle, relying only on our own strength, relying on that innate spirit of inquiry to act.For this kind of energy from the bottom of our hearts, we will not easily feel it. It must be the moment when our great needs ignite this energy before it will surface.

Mrs. Keller and I once had an open conversation.I explained to her how difficult it was to get along with Helen under the existing conditions.So, I want this baby to have to be separated from the family for a few weeks and she has to learn to trust and obey first before I can move on.After a long time, Mrs. Keller said that she would consider this matter carefully, and the key was to see Captain Keller's opinion.Fortunately, Captain Keller readily acceded to my plans, and he made the garden cottage of the old mansion our new dwelling.He said Helen often went there to play and she liked that place.They would check it regularly every day, of course, without Helen's knowledge.In this way, I non-stop to prepare for our "departure new home".We have now moved into a new home.

Our new home smells like paradise.There were two rooms, one large and one small, the larger of which was square, with a large fireplace and a large oriel window.In the smaller house lived a little colored boy named Percy, who was our servant.There was a porch in front of the house, overgrown with vines, which you had to part with your hands to see the garden beyond.Our three meals a day were brought by servants.Usually we sit on the porch and dine.Besides, the black kids would light the fireplace for us to keep warm, so I could give all my thoughts to Helen.

(End of this chapter)