ENGL_0890_Critical

ENGL 0890: Critical Reading CCRI: Spring 2022 Instructor: David Tennant Narrative Exercise (1) Student Name___________________________________ Read the Helen Keller narrative and answer the following questions: What kind of narrator does Keller use? [Check one]: ____ first person ____ third person What kind of story does Keller tell here [Check one]: ____ fiction ____ non-fiction ____ biographical ____ autobiographical Topic: What is this narrative generally about? [One-sentence summary]: _________________________

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What does Keller remember of her life before her fever? ______________________________________

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How did she feel about her life before her illness? ___________________________________________

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What happened to her as a result of the illness? And how did her life and her feelings change? ________

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What kind of adversity [i.e., hardships, difficulties] did she face as a result of her condition post-illness?

Specifically, what was she unable to do that most people take for granted? And how did that affect her?

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What solution did her parents find for helping Helen work through the challenges of her condition?

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YES

The story is an inspirational account of the world of a blind and deaf girl, and how she triumphs

over her disabilities, going to school and college, facing exams and learning to enjoy the simple things in life.

It is not precisely clear what is the last thing Keller remembered before her illness.

After being ill, she remembers the light getting dimmer and dimmer before going out altogether.

Helen's mother was the first to notice that something was wrong with her.

Helen's personality had changed, and she just appeared to be disconnected.

Keller's mother noticed that her daughter didnt show any reaction when a hand was waved in front of her face

Her mother's concerns were confirmed by their family doctor who diagnosed Helen to be deaf and blind.

Not only was Helen unable to recognize others, her behavior became wild and unruly.

Hellen Keller could see nor speak. She had a major challenge in learning to read, speak and write.

A new form of sign language was developed for her by her instructor Anne Sullivan.

Her lack of the ability to see and hear made her to be aggressive, unruly and rude.

Her parents decided to find an instructor, Anne Sullivan whom she worked with for 49 years.

Keller's mother came across a travelogue by Charles Dickens, American Notes, in 1886.

She dispatched Keller and her father to Baltimore, Maryland to see specialist Dr. J. Julian Chisolm

David Tennant

Again, no mention of these things in the text

David Tennant

Keller's teacher is not named in the narrative.

David Tennant

There is no mention of school, college, or exams in the Keeler narrative.

What is her teacher trying to help her be able to do? And what is the difficulty she has in doing it? _____

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Lastly, what does Helen finally learn how to do? And what does it make possible for her life?

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What is the story’s outcome? What adversity has Helen overcome? And how is her life transformed? ____________________________________________________________________________________

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Thesis [meaning, message, or main point]: What does the author show, prove, or convey about how to live with or overcome adversity and/or the importance of education, relationships, or communication? ____________________________________________________________________________________

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Tone [the narrator’s attitude]: What is the author’s tone in this narrative? _________________________

What is the overall feeling evoked by the narrative? And why? _________________________________

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Analysis: Quote the passage [1-2 sentences] that best exemplifies the narrator’s attitude:

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______________________________________________________________________” (Keller ).

What do you find noteworthy in this passage?_______________________________________________

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Evaluation: Is this author’s approach to presenting her story effective? [Check one]: ____Yes ____No

Explain how and/or why is the author’s approach is effective or ineffective?_______________________

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She wanted Keller to learn words by making a connection between objects touched.

However, Keller was defiant, refusing to cooperate with Sullivan's instruction. Her

frustration grew, and the tantrums increased.

With the help of Sullivan, she was able to learn how to read and write. She also helped Helen to associate objects by touch with words spelled out by finger signals on the palm of her hand.

Helen Keller was able to attend college and later became an advocate for the blind.

After graduating from Radcliffe, Helen dedicated her life to advocacy for persons with disabilities.

She became a role model and idol to those who struggle with disabilities and brought much hope into their lives.

She became a highly recognized and the recipient of numerous awards.

She overcame her disabilities and never allowed the challenges those disabilities to get in the way of her success.

She proves that learning is can be possible with determination and will. She also indicates that elationships and communication can also thrive with no written or spoken language.

I find the mood of Keller's memoir inspiring and uplifting. Keller suffered a difficult fate, yet,She shows how she came out of anger,and pain to new life through learning

Keller understood and repeated the word in Sullivan's hand. She then

pounded the ground, demanding to know its "letter name.

The determination and will in education,

communication and passion in helping the other people.

yes

The author's approach is effective because it has identified how Helen endured the most

adverse inhibitors of learning and communication to become one of the most

reknowned humanitarians of the 20th century.

David Tennant

THis is not in the text either.