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Reframing the Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan: Resisting (Dis)ability Stereotypes through an Analysis of Children’s Literature

ISBN: 978-1-83909-144-5, eISBN: 978-1-83909-143-8

Publication date: 25 November 2019

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter investigates how we have come to know what we know, in the United States, about the terms “ability” and “disability” through the story of Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan Macy. What is the narrative of Helen Keller as told through children’s literature? How might the ways in which her life is presented contribute to stereotypes of what it means to be disabled? What, if any, are the ways in which authors of these books resist writing about her as someone who “overcame” her disabilities? How is Helen Keller’s relationship with her teacher, Anne Sullivan, portrayed and what might this representation contribute to the concepts of dependence and interdependence?

Method/Approach

This project provides a sociological analysis of common themes through a content analysis of 20 children’s books on Helen Keller.

Findings

The theme of the widely circulating “story of the water pump moment” (when Keller realizes that hand movements signify language) depicts a one-sided relationship of Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan Macy. This informs the narrative representations of Anne Sullivan Macy as “miracle worker” and Helen Keller as “miracle child.” Another theme is the “complexities of resistance,” which shows how these narratives uphold the stereotype that Helen Keller needed to “overcome” her disabilities while also resisting this notion and showing how she also helped Anne Sullivan Macy.

Implication/Value

This demonstrates how widely circulating stories such as those about Helen Keller shape what we know about what it means to be abled or disabled, challenges simplistic binary understandings of the disability experience, and points to the power of narratives to shape systems of beliefs.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

I dedicate this project to my dear brother, Mark, who I love with all my heart. Thank you for teaching me as a child and today to think differently about the world around me. I would also like to thank Joshua Vlahakis, Allison Carey, my colleagues at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, the anonymous reviewers, and the editors of this volume for all of their helpful feedback that served to strengthen this chapter.

Citation

Najarian Souza, C. (2019), "Reframing the Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan: Resisting (Dis)ability Stereotypes through an Analysis of Children’s Literature", New Narratives of Disability (Research in Social Science and Disability, Vol. 11), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 11-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-354720190000011004

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited