Problem
Read this essay by Helen Keller. This essay by Helen Keller about the most important day of her life.
A. What is Keller's thesis? What question do you think Keller is trying to answer? Does her thesis answer her question?
B. What is Keller's purpose?
C. What was Keller's state of mind before Anne Sullivan arrived to help her? To what does she compare herself? How effective is this comparison? Explain.
D. Why was the realization that everything has a name important to Keller?
E. How was the "mystery of language" (7) revealed to Keller? What were the consequences for her of this new understanding of the nature of language?
F. Keller narrates the events of the day Sullivan arrived (2-4), the morning after she arrived (5), and one day several weeks after her arrival (6-9). Describe what happens on each day, and explain how these separate incidents support Keller's thesis.