A Light In The Dark

Helen Keller, known as the “Human Miracle”, was a famousAmerican blind deaf female writer in20th century. She became bind anddeaf because of a serious disease when she was19mouths old. Helen losther visual and auditory sense, she can’t recognize the world Like normalpeople do. Helen was handicapped, but she overcame the auditory andvisual difficulties with a strong will and fighting spirit, Helen got to knowthe world, herself and God completely through the tactile sensation.Helen created a great miracle in human society.My thesis, it mainly discusses Helen’s cognition and beliefaccording to her autobiographical works. Besides the introduction andconclusion, this thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapteranalyzes how Helen’s sleeping consciousness was awakened with thehelp of language, and how she came into the world of human beings. Thesecond chapter, applying relevant theories of Autobiography, Semiology,Language Philosophy, Cognitive Anthropology, Cognitive Psychologyand Cognitive Science to analyzes Helen’s special tactile cognition andfeeling. It focuses on the structure of Helen’s tactile world, including howshe forms her tactile world and her tactile experience. The third chapterfurther into Helen’s spiritual world: Helen’s thinking about the life, thedeath, the soul and the God is firmly related to her unique tactileexperience, which shows Helen’s individual temperament. Helen devotedherself to the God finally.In a sense, my study on Helen’s cognition and belief journey alsoreflects Helen’s pursuit of “ideal-self” through all her special life.