Daisy Luna

Mrs. Belmonte
AP English Language and Composition
The Story of My Life
By Hellen Keller
. ! At fi"e # learned to fold and put a$ay the %lean %lothes $hen they $here &rought in
from the laundry'and # distinguished my o$n from the rest. # (ne$ &y the $ay that my
mother and aunt dressed $hen they $ere going out' and # in"aria&ly &egged to go $ith
them.! )*+
This passage o%%ured $hen Hellen $as fi"e $hi%h is $hy this passage stood out to me
sin%e this spe%ifi% moment applies to her entire story of her life in $hi%h she has to
a%%ept the fa%t that she %annot do many of the things that those sorrounding her did.
E"en if she $as young she %ame to the %on%lusion that there $ere far many more
differen%es than ,ust not &eing a&le to see or tal(. The $ay she $as &eing treated for her
&lindness and deafness $as seperating her from her o$n family . Her use of the $ord
!in"aria&ly! defenitely made me imagine ho$ desperately she $anted to go out $ith her
mother and aunt sin%e there $as nothing that $ould %hange her mind a&out going..
#nstead of using ! # &egged to go $ith them ! the gi"es mu%h more feeling 'des%ription
and imagery to the reader a&out $hat she $ill &e limited to do for the rest of her life.
-. ! # do not remem&er $hen # first reali.ed that # $as different from other people/ &ut #
(ne$ it &efore my tea%her %ame to me. # had noti%ed that my mother and my friends did
not use signs as # did $hen they $anted anything done' &ut tal(ed $ith their mouths.
Sometimes # stood &et$een t$o persons $ho $ere %on"ersing and tou%hed their lips. #
%ould not understand' and $as "e0ed. # mo"ed my lips and gesti%ulated franti%ally
$ithout result. This made me so angry at times that # (i%(ed and s%reamed until # $as
e0hausted.! )*+
# $as dra$n to this passage &e%ause it %ontinues the pre"ious passage # in%luded
&efore of her reali.ing she $as different in many $ays. The tone in $hi%h she tal(s is
dolorous espe%ially $hen she sais she $ould try to %ommuni%ate $ith her parents &ut
not e"en them $ould they ha"e the patien%e to e"en try to understand her . Hellens tone
spea(s mu%h of ho$ she $as feeling $hen she $as not understood. She didnt (no$
ho$ to rea%t and $ished that $ords $ould %ome out of ther mouth e"ery single time she
$ould s%ream so her parents didn1t put her aside li(e they did. Hellen e0plains that she
$as angry at times and ,ust (i%(ed and s%reamed until she $as e0hausted &y the end of
the paragraph $hi%h is a $ay of %losing up her %ause and %losing it $ith the effe%t. The
$ords that she used in her effe%t are in this %ase simple $ords &ut %an get the reader to
2ui%(ly get a flash&a%( of ho$ they $ould a%t as little (ids $hen they (i%(ed and
s%reamed. This $ay instead of using &igger3 fan%y $ords Hellen still gets her point
a%ross to the reader of ho$ frustrated she $ould get.
4. ! Mean$hile the desire to e0press myself gre$. The fe$ signs # used &e%ame less and
less ade2uate' and my failures to ma(e myself understood $ere in"aria&ly follo$ed &y
out&ursts of passion. # felt as if in"isi&le hands $ere holding me' and # made franti%
efforts to free myself. # struggled5not that struggling helped matters' &ut the spirit of
resistan%e $as strong $ithin me/ # generally &ro(e do$n in tears and physi%al
e0haustion. !)+
The desire Hellen had to gro$ as a person $as $hy # %hose this passage &e%ause not
many people ha"e the %api&ility of (eep on going $hen they ha"e gone through a rough
time &ut Hellen pro"es all of us $ho say that it is not possi&le to get $here $e $ish to
&e $hen $e ha"ent e"en tried. Hellen $anted to learn ne$ $ords &ut there $as
something that $ould hold her &a%( and she sais that she felt in"isi&le hands holding
her. She didnt mean that literally there $as someone there holding her $hom she
%ouldn1t see &ut she uses this metaphor appeal to the readers emotion to sho$ ho$
diffi%ult it $as to go on $ith her &eing &lind and deaf. At the end she ma(es uses pathos
to appeal to the readers thought a&out $hat matters is to (eep strong through $hat e"er
it may &e that $e are going through instead of ,ust %on%entrating on $hat $e are
struggling $hi%h personally many of us thin(.
6. ! # left the $ellhouse eager to learn. E"erything had a name' and ea%h name ga"e
&irth to a ne$ thought. As $e returned to the house e"ery o&,e%t $hi%h # tou%hed
seemed to 2ui"er $ith life. That $as &e%ause # sa$ e"erything $ith the strange' ne$
sight that had %ome to me. 7n entering the door # remem&ered the doll # had &ro(en. #
felt my $ay to the herth and pi%(ed up the pie%es. # tried "ainly to put them together.
Then my eyes filled $ith tears/ for # reali.ed $hat # had done' and for the first time # felt
repentan%e and sorro$.! )*+
The reason $hy # %hose this passage $as &e%ause it is one "ery important part in the
story as $ell as a "ery $ell use of pathos. Hellen transmits her emotions to her readers
so they %an see that she %an no$ name o&,e%ts. She also %onstantly reminds her
readers that $hen you limit yourself thats $here you $ill get &ut on%e you thin( &igger
than $hat you $ant you $ill get mu%h further than only $ishing . Throught the &oo(
Hellen al$ays &rings up her doll &ut this time she &rings her up in a different $ay. She
reali.ed that she had &ro(en her doll $hi%h meant mu%h to her. #t $as the doll that had
&een gi"en to her &y Miss Anne the one $ho taught her lo"e . She in%luded this part to
tell the reader that there are times you ha"e to let go in order to fly to$ards $here you
$ant. Her doll had &een &ro(en &ut her sight
had &een fi0ed for her to (eep on going.
8.!Miss Sulli"an had taught me to find the &euty in the fragant $oods' in e"ery &lade of
grass' and in the %ur"es and dimples of my &a&y sister1s hand. She lin(ed my earliest
thoughts $ith nature' and made me feel that !&irds and flo$ers and # $ere happy
peers.!!)9+
This passage stood out to me &e%ause of it1s po$erful imagery and important meaning.
This passage sho$s the reader the signifi%an%e that one person %an &e to another.
Hellens purpose $ith this passage is to sho$ the reader the importan%e someone %an
ta(e in your life. :hen # read this passage # thought to myself that there are those
people in our life $ho al$ays tea%h us the smallest things that mean a lot to us &ut $e
,ust don1t see that and manage to &elie"e that $e are still not seeing that %hange that $e
ha"e e0pe%ted. Kellen pro"es us $rong $ith this passage she also gi"es the &irds a
meaning of happiness. She reminds us that peers are not the ones %apa&le of ma(ing us
happy &ut a %reature as simple as $e may thin( it is &ring mu%h more to us than $e
e0pe%t it to.
*. ! # remem&ered the morning that # first as(ed the meaning of the $ord' !lo"e! This $as
&efore # (ne$ many $ords! )-;+
E"en if this is a "ery short passage it stood out to me &e%ause &efore (no$ing many
$ords Keller still as(ed Miss Anne $hat it meant from Miss Anne telling Keller that she
lo"ed her. :hen # read it # thought to myself ho$ $eird it $as for someone to as( $hat
lo"e is $hen you %an feel it $hi%h is $hy # &elie"e Keller as(ed . Sin%e she felt it . The
fa%t that she remem&ered the morning in $hi%h she as(ed means that must ha"e &een
the first time that she felt lo"ed &y Miss Anne . Keller $as left to the side &y e"en her
family $hi%h ma(es this moment one in a million sin%e she had not had a feeling li(e that
other than $hat her mother $ould gi"e to her. Keller mar(s the importan%e of that
morning my telling us that she $anted to (no$ the meaning of !lo"e! &efore she $as
a$are of many other $ords sin%e she felt !lo"e! $as more important.
9. ! <ou %annot tou%h the %louds' you (no$/ &ut you feel the rain and (no$ ho$ glad the
flo$ers and the thirsty earth are to ha"e it after a hot day. <ou %annot tou%h lo"e either/
&ut you feel the s$eetness that it pours into e"erything. :ithout lo"e you $ould not &e
happy or $ant to play.!)-+
This passage o%urred after Keller $as sitting do$n trying to find the meaning of lo"e
$hile it $as raining sin%e she $as 2uestioning herself if a day $ithout sun $as lo"e. Miss
Anne told her these $ords $hi%h in my opinion are $ords that ha"e a hea"y meaning of
lo"e . #ndeed lo"e %annot &e tou%hed &ut you %an feel it. Miss Anne sais that lo"e pours
on e"erything $hi%h %annot really happen sin%e lo"e is not a li2uid &ut she means it in
the $ay that you %an spread lo"e on e"erything. Here she ga"e lo"e a meaning &y
saying that $ithout lo"e she Hellen $ould ha"e not &een happy or $ould not $ant to
play. This goes &a%( to $hen Hellen didnt (no$ ho$ to a%t and $as $ild $hen e"en
tou%hing the (ids. :hy= This $as &e%ause Miss Anne had not yet entered to her life and
didnt (no$ the meaning of lo"e yet. Miss Anne ma(es the great %omparason of lo"e
$ith rain &y saying that flo$ers and earth are thirsty to ha"e the rain after a hot day
&e%ause they are thirsty and is the only thing that $ill ma(e them %alm their thirst. She
%ompares us $ith flo$ers and earth &e%ause $e need lo"e after all the struggles 'ups
and do$ns' and espe%ially $hen $e are almost dying &e%ause $e &elie"e $e $ont
ma(e it through $hat $e are going through. Personally Miss Anne used this e0ample
&e%use it $as to get a point to Hellen. The perfe%t point that $ould ans$er her 2uestion
$iith her o$n e0perien%e.
>. ! #t $as in the spring of >?; that # learned to spea(. The impulse to utter audi&le
sounds had al$ays &een strong $ithin me. # used to ma(e noi%es' (eeping one hand on
my throat $hile the other hand felt the mo"ements of my lips. # $as pleased $ith
anything that made a noi%e and li(ed to feel the %at purr and the dog &ar(. # also li(ed to
(eep my hand on a singers throaght 'or on a piano $hen its &eing played.!)6-+

# %hose this passage &e%ause of its po$erful meaning it had to Hellen Keller. This
passage mar(s ho$ Keller $ould struggle &ut not gi"e up on $hat she $anted to hear
and see. @ot &eing a&le to hear didn1t limit her to not hear musi% or singers. Her not
&eing a&le to hear herself didnt limit her to ma(e noi%es. She (ne$ $hat $as $rong $ith
her &ut she also (ne$ that she %ould ma(e herself heard. The $ay that you %an tell this
meant mu%h to Keller $as her in%luding the season and the year in $hi%h she learned to
spea(. After all her noi%ed and feeling on mo"ements there $as no longer any reason for
that. This passage in%ludes imagery that ma(es the reader "isuali.e ho$ Hellen tou%hed
o&,e%ts to feel the sounds.
?. The Auote of the Boo( B !The most important day # remem&er in all my life is the one
on $hi%h my tea%her' Anne Mansfield Sulli"an' %ame to me. # am filled $ith $onder $hen
# %onsider the immeasura&le %ontrasts &et$een the t$o li"es $hi%h it %onne%ts. #t $as
the third of Mar%h' >>9' three months &efore # $as se"en years old....# felt approa%hing
footsteps. # stret%hed out my hand as # supposed to my mother. Someone too( it' and #
$as %aught up and held %lose in the arms of her $ho had %ome to re"eal all things to
me' and' more than all things else' to lo"e me. ! )6+
There are many 2uotes in the &oo( that # %an say are full of meaning to Hellen &ut this
one parti%ularly in my opinion is the one that holds more meaning than all the 2uotes
together. Keller %ompares all days of her life to the most important day of her life $hi%h is
the first $ay to to (no$ the differe%e of the importan%e &et$een the t$o. The fa%t that
she %an still remem&er the name of her tea%her and the e0a%t date in $hi%h she met the
$oman $ho %hanged her life %ompletely sho$s that it $as a "ery important day for her
as $ell. She held Miss Anne thin(ing that it $as her mom $ho she $as going to hold and
then held %lose to her arms. :ho $ould imagined that $hen she held her that $as going
to &e one of the %losest people to her. :hen # read the last part # too( Keller holding
Miss Anne as a sym&ol of lo"e . That lo"e that she re%ei"ed $as $hat %hanged Keller1s
life fore"er. E"erything that had &een re"ealed to her $as than(s to the lo"e. Keller also
tells us ho$ it $as that she got to Miss Anne $hi%h $as approa%hing footsteps $hi%h
%an &e a sym&ol of ho$ she struggled and the time it too( to finally %hange her life
%ompletely.
;. Cefle%ti"e Letter
This assignment really helped me pra%ti%e on my analysis s(ills $hi%h is $hat # ha"e
&een struggling for 2uite a $hile $hen reading any arti%le that has &een gi"en to me. #
tend to %at%h myself %onstantly &eing &road $ith y $ritting and thats $here # struggled . #
(ept on going &a%( and reDreading $hat # $rote to ma(e sure e"en myself $as a&le to
understand it and if # $as the audien%e reading $hat (ind of 2uestions # $ould &e left
$ith so # %ould go &a%( and in%lude that in my analysis. This &oo( $as in my opinion
difi%ult to find rhetori%al de"i%es &ut # tried to %hoose 2uotes that had a rhetori%al de"i%e
so # $ould not only analy.e the 2uote. #t $as a &it frustrating to pi%( 2uotes &ut after
reading Keller1s pie%e # reali.ed that all # $as doing $as mu%h more less than $hat Keller
did $hi%h made me glad # read the &oo( &e%ause theres al$ays those reminders $e
need to (eep on going $hen $e thin( $e %an1t.