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What is a character sketch of Ms. Sarah Fuller from Hellen Keller's The Story of My Life?

Helen Keller had a strong desire to learn how to speak.  This would be difficult for her, because she could not hear her own voice and she could not see her moving lips.  Helen had heard of a deaf and blind girl from Norway who had learned how to speak, and she became determined to do the same.


Miss Sullivan sought out Miss Sarah Fuller, who was the principal at the Horace Mann School.  Rather than refer Helen to another teacher, Miss Fuller took on the task of teaching the girl herself.  In her autobiography, Helen described Miss Fuller as a "lovely, sweet-natured lady."  


Helen felt Miss Fuller's tongue and lips as the woman spoke.  By doing this, Helen was able to feel the position of her lips and tongue and mimic those movements.  Even though her speech was still lacking, Helen described this as follows:



My soul, conscious of new strength, came out of bondage, and was reaching through those broken symbols of speech to all knowledge and all faith.



Delighted to learn the basics of speech, Helen kept working hard to learn.  Her speech was not clear, and only Miss Fuller and Miss Sullivan were able to understand it.  


Miss Fuller was kind to Helen, and she worked hard to teach her student.  She gave Helen the opportunity to speak, which was something her heart longed for.

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