Biography of Laura C Redden Searing. Paper Sample

Laura C Redden Searing was born on the 9th of February on Maryland, and later became a deaf journalist. Fundamentally, one of the first books published by Laura Searing was the Idyls of Battle and the Poems of Rebellion in 1864, which are both widely read across the globe. As a physically challenged individual, Laura was born deaf, but she lost her hearing senses when she was 11 years after suffering from spinal meningitis (Anon, 1967). Later in 1855, she enrolled in the Missouri School for the deaf in the Fulton Missouri, where she learned about the use of sign language and the American Manual Alphabet. Notably, she later graduated from the deaf school in 1858. However, she did not later enroll in the college since colleges were not accepting deaf women during the time. The establishment of the National Deaf College played integral roles in accommodating people such as Laura, thus supported them in getting their education and fulfilling their dreams.

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During this time, these were the barriers to her education, and as a way of supplementing her studies, Laura toured almost the whole of Europe between 1865 and 1869. Fascinatingly, it was during this time that she learned French, Germany, the Spanish language and the Italian language. In 1876, Laura got marries to Edward Whelan, and they both had one child Elsa Waller Searing in 1880 (Anon, 1967). The two divorced in 1894 and she Laura later died in 1923 buried in California. It was after Laura decided to stay with her daughter after the divorce in California. Bragg (2001) and Jones (2003)notes that Laura concentrated on her poetry work, and she managed to publish some books and poets that have a positive impact on the current society as well. From the life and the achievement of Laura, it is my contention that Laura was someone who valued her origin, and also a determined individual to the extent that nothing could separate her from her dreams. She is known to be a woman who conjured everything to achieve the impossible.

Laura was a significant icon for females, and he impacted the society positively, not only did she present the role of women in society, but she managed to proof that women can achieve anything regardless of their health condition (Bragg, 2001). Also, Laura left long-term contributions to the community with her romantic life, the insightful articles and the knowledge that have a positive impact on the individuals in the society (Jones, 2003). Additionally, through her determination, she remains as a lesson to many women in the society. Through her story, women in the society learned that regardless of their situation in the community and their physical health, nothing should hinder them from achieving their dreams (Anon, 1967).

Laura did not live a comfortable life, and it is evident that she faced many challenges in her life. Despite the challenges that Laura encountered in the society, she was still determined to make the best out of it. Laura grew up the time when women were not given many chances to be part of the society, but still, Laura was determined to go through life and at the end she emerged as the winner (Anon, 1967). Another challenge that Searing faced was the lack of education for women in the society Laura never lost hope. It is evident that she lived in the society where men were given more chances compared to the people in the community, but for Laura, this was not a problem. As much as she knew it would take long before gaining the education desired on her side, Laura had prepared to wait as long as it could make and this is the reason she had the chances to learn French, Spanish and Italian. Additionally, being deaf also came with challenges, it was hard for Laura to be accepted and fit in the society because it was not possible for people to understand her (Jones, 2003). In most case, we are told that Laura struggled to communicate with people and this is the reason she was motivated to learn the sign language and the real lip communication strategy. According to her, she believed that she could learn this and she could be in the position to communicate with people (Cited in Bragg, 2001).

According to Jones (2003), the contribution of Laura to the society was tremendous and thereby leaving lasting mark on the lives of individuals she interacted with. Ideally, various reasons made Laura famous (Bragg, 2001). These included her career life, which played important roles in improving her publicity when she worked with the New York Times and completed historical books on Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses. Ideally, these emerged as her primary accomplishments in life. The most important thing is the fact that Laura was never intimidated by her disabilities and she was rather determined, to make the best out of life, and this is what she managed to do (Bragg, 2001). Laura was an individual who was deaf and despite the fact that she was deaf, did not stop from pursuing her dreams. She was determined, and this is why the society developed respect for Laura, she also completed poems, articles, and books that are still used in the current society.

The Interesting Facts

Laura interacted with prominent figures in the society like Lincoln, Grant, and Bell.

They treated her meningitis with Quinine, and this is the reason she ended up losing her ability to hear.

Despite her efforts to learn about the real lips but Laura did not manage to do that.

Laura began writing poems when she was only 19 years, and during this time she uses the name Howard Glyndon, which was a pet name.

She was the first friend with Lincoln and the grant along with other influential characters in the society.

Laura also toured the battlefields with General Grant, a place in which women usually werent allowed.

She lived with her daughters family after they got divorced, and she wrote poems with her grandchildren John and Laura.

Laura did not let the stereotypes of the age dictate what she could and couldnt accomplish both as a woman and as a Deaf woman.

They treated her meningitis with Quinine, and this is the reason she ended up losing her ability to hear.

Despite her efforts to learn about the real lips but she did not manage to do that.

Quotes by Laura Searing

One of the known quotes by Laura is Do you not all love your mother tongue? Then why should not the mute prefer his language to any other? . According to this quote, it is evident that Laura was an individual who appreciated her mother tongue and there was no way she could give up her language in preference to the other (Jones, 2003). Laura is questioning people who have the habit of dropping their words at the expense of the others, and it is the reason she is wondering if these people love their language. From this, it is evident that Laura was an individual who was so much committed to her culture and this is the reason she is trying to question people as to why they can abandon their languages.

The quote starts with a question and then a warning that one should not mute to prefer the language of someone else. If Laura were addressing me, I would tell her that I do love my mother tongue and I cannot mute to prefer the other language. However, I do not speak my mother tongue that frequent, and still that does not mean I do not love my language.

The first thoughts that came into my mind immediately I saw the quote was how Laura was committed to her culture and origin. To me, this was an individual who valued everything around her, and she knew this was not her downfall. It is the same reason as to why Laura struggled hard regardless of her physical condition to make sure she had attained the best in life. I also see Laura as a person who could speak her mother tongue regardless of the place and the position she holds in the society.

As much the quote speaks a lot about the culture, it also has a profound meaning to me. I now perceive Laura as a woman of integrity who valued nothing but her origin. She also loves her language, and she is not an individual who can be affected by the elements of Westernization. Personally, I respect someone who values their culture, and for this reason, I trust Laura even more. I also believe that deaf people in the society are just like us, and they should be given opportunities just like others in the society for them to attain their dreams. The quote can also relate to the issues facing the community. We are living in society, where individuals are so much interested in Westernization to the extent that they forget their roots. There are even some people who do not know their culture and they have picked other languages leaving their mother tongue, and I think these are the individuals that Laura is trying to address through the quote. It is, therefore, important for people in the society to learn and appreciate their mother tongue and should always practice speaking it.

Fundamentally, there is a lot we can learn from Laura. It is a person who lived in the ages where even education was not provided for the girls, and despite these challenges, she remained focused. Laura was an individual who was deaf but she trusted her instincts, and this is the reason Laura attained her goals remained focused. A great lesson is that people should not be disregarded or disrespected in the society because of their physical appearance. The above discussion about Laura fulfills my argument that the life and the achievement of Laura, it is my contention that Laura was someone who valued her origin, and also a determined individual to the extent that nothing could separate her from her dreams.

References

Anon. (1967). Laura Catherine Redden. Retrieved 2016, from https://usdeafhistory.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/redden-laura-searing.pdf

Bragg, L. (2001). Deaf World: A Historical Reader and Primary Sourcebook. New York: NYU.

Jones, J. Y. (2003). Sweet Bells Jangled: Laura Redden Searing : a Deaf Poet Restored. New York: Gallaudet University Press.