Alder explicates that people are governed by the theories of birth order and striving superiority. Specifically, the latter theory is concerned with how an individual becomes overwhelmed with their quest for being better than others. The former informs on how personality and behavior develops in people as a result of the position the hold in the family in terms who was born first. Further, the paper delves to link Helen Keller, a famous author, political activist and lecturer on the tenets of Alder’s theories and how well she managed to become one of the most renowned women in the United States.
Keywords: Alder, Keller, Personality, Striving superiority, Theory of birth order, blind and deaf.
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Alfred Adler is famous for contributing to several theories that inform on people’s personalities based on their insecurities and position in the family (Adler & Radin, 2014) . In the former reference, inferiority, or what he coins striving for perfection, Adler states that people can achieve their goals if they can manage their insecurities. These extends to the challenges that one goes through childhood which transforms them to be greater people when they become adults. Notably, Adler was suffering from rickets when he was a child. Thus, he faced a lot of challenges as he not similar to the other people in the society. Although he k new that part of his inability, he strived, through hard work, to challenge himself to become a physician so that he would help other people that are like him. Helen Keller is another remarkable personality that strived to beat her inferiority to become a serious political thinker, activist, an author and lecturer. This paper will analyze Keller’s life discourse in the lens of Adler’s theories.
Striving for perfection is one of the reasons behind Keller’s success in the political arena and social life. She was born a healthy child on June 27, 1880, to Captain Arthur and Kate Adams Keller in Alabama (Rosenthal, 2017) . However, she was diagnosed with a rare disease at the age of 6 that left her blind and deaf. Regardless, she was never lost hope with life but instead desired to become one of the best people in the world. According to Adler, the great force that underlies the motivation of many individuals is a matter of personal fascination (Adler & Radin, 2014) . In other words, some people thrive to become the best through overcoming their limitations while others succumb to societal observations consequently failing to reach their goals. Those that accept their condition get to become the best. That said, Keller was not limited by the fact that she was blind and deaf. As such, she worked to overcome her inherent limitations.
The goal of superiority is gleaned on the useful side of life and contributes to the developing human community. People who have feelings of inferiority strive to attain a position of superiority over others (Adler & Radin, 2014) . While the definition mentioned above seems negative, it also holds true for Keller’s case who struggled with deaf and blindness from the period that she was a child to the time that she became an adult. It is evident that her motive and success can largely be attributed to her condition. She wanted to become the best that she was in since she was typically a smart person from childhood (Rosenthal, 2017) . Throughout her lifetime, she awed people, including Dr. Alexander Graham Bell with her profound knowledge. For example, unlike other disabled people in her condition, she mastered Braille and learned to use the type writer within six months.
Remarkably, Helen Keller style of life was distinct from that of many people who are in her condition. This is because her skills and talents had been recognized earlier by Anna Sullivan; her teacher. Miss Sullivan was the person behind Keller’s first experience in school. She first used an alphabetic code as a way of communication (Rosenthal, 2017) . On a positive note, Keller could recognize what her teacher was trying to communicate which startled many people in the community. It is in the best interest to believe that this was the period that she recognized she was “able-d differently.” To conquer her inferiority, she dedicated her life to working with Miss Sullivan who would then teach her the finger tip alphabet that was developed by Dr. Bell. At the age of six and in only six months, she managed to identify 625 words. By the age of ten, Keller had mastered Braille as well as the manual alphabet and could use the type writer. It was during this age that she vowed to help fellow disabled people. By the time Keller was 16 years old, she could speak well and got admitted to preparatory school and college whereby she graduated from Radcliffe College.
Keller’s actions were inclined towards social interest rather than personal gains. During the age of ten, there were no positions that were open for the disabled people. One day while she was at the market with Miss Sullivan, one vendor undermined her citing that she could not count her change because she was blind. As such, she vowed to her teacher that she would learn to count to eliminate the stereotype revolving around blind and deaf people (Rosenthal, 2017) . When she managed to learn, her superiority complex propelled her to work hard to help the disabled not only in the community but at the national level. Consequently, the little girl became one of the history’s remarkable women. She dedicated her life to scaling up the lives and the conditions of the blind in the community and around the world. She has lectured in more than 25 countries globally. As an extension of her work, Helen Keller International is her legacy that gives an audience to the blind and deaf.
Alder’s birth order theory informs on how personalities are cultivated from developmental issues (Adler & Radin, 2014) . In this context, the position of a person in the family leads to the development of character traits and behaviors. In essence, Keller was born the fourth in a family of seven children. Alder asserts that people born as middle children are eager for parental appraisal and tend to work hard in the respective field to accomplish this goal. Although Keller did not work hard to please her father, her personality as a consequence of her position in the family marked the boundaries for her success. Due to her position, she rose to become the most flexible, diplomatic member of the family and recognized person globally.
References
Adler, A., & Radin, P. (2014). Practice and theory of individual psychology . London: Routledge.
Rosenthal, K. (2017). The politics of Helen Keller | International Socialist Review . Isreview.org . Retrieved 3 August 2017, from http://isreview.org/issue/96/politics-helen-keller
