Read “The Most Important Day” by Helen Keller, pg 101 respond on class blog, and respond to one classmate’s post. Add no more than one response on each student’s post as your initial response, but you may add comments to reply to additional comments.
Use the following strategies to help as you respond to classmates.
-Add on with differences or similarities
-Analyze rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos, rhetorical questions, figurative language, etc.,)
-Ask questions
-Make a connection (text to self, text to text, text to world)
Choose one or two of the following questions to respond to in approximately 200-250 words.
-Keller's writing is more of a narrative style, but is it still important for her to establish a clearly defined thesis in the beginning? Do her ideas throughout the essay support the thesis she established, or are there any breaks in her position/the unity of the piece?
-Do you think Keller's strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions (the day Annie Sullivan arrived, the morning after, the and several weeks later) is effective? How do the separate instances help convey Keller's position/feelings?
Do you think Keller's strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions the day Annie Sullivan arrived, the morning after, the and several weeks later) is effective? How do the separate instances help convey Keller's position/feelings?
ReplyDeleteThe inclusion of the events within a few weeks most definitely has a positive effect on conveying Keller's feelings. Just by reading the events on the first day, you don't understand what effect they have on her. It is not until the next morning that Keller breaks the doll and it's not until that evening that Keller first feels sadness and remorse. It's only later, a few weeks later, that we see that this first word "doll" sparked interest in learning words. This chain of life-changing events could not be inferred to have happened without Keller's elaboration. It is so effective, in fact, that I believe Keller could've done even more to prove her point. By telling her readers about her first works of literature and her masterpieces, she would further show the importance of this day because all those achievements came about due to this one day. I would try and find at least some fault to Keller's writing, however, I've been attempting for the past half an hour with no success. I guess that just proves Helen's point further that that day was the most important day. To be able to write so that an amateur is unable to find the slightest problem no matter how much he nit-picks is (I think to be) really impressive. All the other articles we've read have been written by non-blind and non-deaf people and our class have been able to find multiple problems (no matter if they are truly problems or just us making excuses) to each one. This talent stemmed from the events of that day, three months before Keller turned seven.
Eric uses the logos of his experience reading the text and logical induction to explain why he believes Keller's narrative strategy is effective. His essay takes the perspective of a reader as he gains understanding of the text. This is a powerful rhetorical tool because everyone can relate to the experience Eric describes. However, he states that it would improve Keller's essay if she provided more elaboration, yet later said that he is "unable to find the slightest problem." Although this is probably only a problem of language, and not actual inconsistency, it is confusing for the reader. I particularly enjoy when Eric describes the inferiority of all the previous essays the class read in "Models for Writers."
DeleteDo you think Keller's strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions the day Annie Sullivan arrived, the morning after, the and several weeks later) is effective? How do the separate instances help convey Keller's position/feelings?
ReplyDeleteIn “The Most Important Day,” Helen Keller, a blind and deaf woman, describes how she emerged from the fog of isolation that her illness caused her. It was her teacher, Annie Sullivan, who helped her to understand how words correlated to objects and classes of objects. Keller’s choice of narrative structure was wise. Instead of attempting to convey the progress of her education in a rigid, linear way, Keller floats between memories that epitomized the emotional and cognitive state of her consciousness at critical junctures in her learning of language. Not only does this condense her essay, it gives special weight and attention to events that she remembers as significant. The reader can really comprehend Keller’s broader story through small but important conflicts and epiphanies in her life. In memory, some moments have a distinct vividness and clarity that others do not. Keller chooses these moments so the reader can feel how she created her own personal narrative by considering these events. “The Most Important Day” is a work of highly effective narrative.
I agree Ryan's statement, "...it gives special weight and attention to events that she remembers as significant," because Keller's strategy of narrating events multiple times was effective. I see that the use of logos is prominent throughout Ryan's response as he states facts on how this helps the reader to understand how this piece was created, and why Keller would choose the moments.
Delete-Ashton
Do you think Keller's strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions the day Annie Sullivan arrived, the morning after, the and several weeks later) is effective? How do the separate instances help convey Keller's position/feelings?
ReplyDeleteI think Keller’s strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions was effective. Each instance helps to convey her feelings by giving a deeper insight to what was going on. Such as the destruction of her doll and not feeling guilty until later in the story. She doesn’t just talk about the things that happened to her in a boring or monotone way. She overall does a great job of making the events that happened throughout the story seem lively and much more clear to the reader.
-Ashton
Ashton states that Keller's strategy was effective because the narrative helped us understand her feelings by giving us more insight on what was going on. He gives the example of the doll and how Keller doesn't feel any guilt for breaking it. He also describes how Helen does a good job at making the story lively and not monotone, which I agree with. Overall, his response is pretty good and well-written, hitting the key points he needed to answer the question.
DeleteI agree with what Ashton said. He thinks deeply about the meaning of the text which is crucial. He also talks about the emotions you feel when you read the text. He did an admirable job responding.
DeleteThe Most Important Day by Helen Keller is about when Helen Keller met Annie Sullivan, her teacher. The question I choose to answer is "Do you think Keller's strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions the day Annie Sullivan arrived, the morning after, the and several weeks later) is effective? How do the separate instances help convey Keller's position/feelings?"
ReplyDeleteI think that Keller's strategy of narrating the multiple occasions was effective because it showed the ways that Ms. Sullivan taught her and how they affected Helen's life. It also helps us understand more of what was going on in Keller's head during the instances, instead of just knowing that she would grow smarter and better through her time with Ms. Sullivan. She makes what could seem like more mundane experiences for a "normal" person be so uplifting and inspiring because of her situation and how she described feeling at those important moments.
In Claire’s response to “The Most Important Day”, by Helen Keller, she states that Keller’s inclusion of certain events was effective in getting her main points across. She believes that the main purpose of her writing was to describe the importance that Ms. Sullivan had in her own life, which she does effectively while also providing insight on Keller’s own thoughts during these events. Claire also analyzes that Keller’s writing “makes what could seem like a more mundane experience for a normal person be so uplifting and inspiring” due to the way she describes the events she included. I definitely agree with this statement, as I also felt that the writing was quite inspirational. Overall, Claire’s summary and response to this story is concise and well written, making it helpful read for anyone who wishes to get a gist of the story.
DeleteDo you think Keller's strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions the day Annie Sullivan arrived, the morning after, the and several weeks later) is effective?
ReplyDeleteI believe that Helen Keller was effective with her choices of events to include for the purposes of her writing. The first moment she chose to mention was when she first encountered her teacher on the porch of her house. This anectode helps solidify her point on the importance Anne had on her life, even from the first moment she met her. Later, she goes into detail on her teacher giving her a doll and the moment that Anne had helped her understand that every object has a name. These moments help showcase the development of their relationship and just how essential Anne’s teaching was to Helen. This use of pathos also helps the reader connect to the writing, as well as feel inspired by her story.
In her response to Helen Keller's "The Most Important Day", Sophia analyzes Keller's organization and the appeal it gives in the text. Sophia's response is organized to follow the flow of Keller's piece, starting from the beginning of the passage and following the development until the end. I agree with her statement that the anecdotes in Keller's piece support her thesis of Anne's significance. However, I do not feel that the use of pathos was very strong. Though inspiring, I do not believe that there was a lot of connection between the reader and the text. This is because of the oddly simplistic style of Keller's words. They provoke sympathy and intimacy between the reader and the passage, but a connective feeling is not entirely present.
DeleteClaire Liu
“The Most Important Day” by Helen Keller is about her own viewpoint on the day that her teacher, Anne Sullivan arrived. She talks about how her mentor changed her life. Since she couldn't hear or see, Anne Sullivan taught her how to communicate with the sense of touch.
ReplyDeleteThe prompt I chose to answer was: Do you think Keller's strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions the day Annie Sullivan arrived, the morning after, the and several weeks later) is effective? How do the separate instances help convey Keller's position/feelings? I think that the separate experiences that Keller described were effective in showcasing what life was like before Sullivan, and how it was after. For example, Keller explained how her life was empty and disconnected from the whole world. With two setbacks, it was extremely difficult for her to understand what happens around her. "...to reveal all things to me, and, more than all things else, to love me."(102) This quote shows that Keller felt right at place with Sullivan and it drew them close together. I also think that describing different instances on the same day helped show the readers just how big of an impact Anne Sullivan had on her. As her mentor, Sullivan made Keller feel more connected to everything that happens around her. I think that this was a very well written narrative and it tells a really personal and life-changing moment for the author.
Sydney provides a viewpoint on Helen Keller's narrative, "The Most Important Day" that is in agreement to her narrative. Early on in the summary, Sydney brings up a point on how before Anne Sullivan became Helen's teacher, Helen felt disconnected to the outside world. With Anne's help, Helen felt more engaged with her surroundings. Responding to Keller's short essay, she believes Keller's experiences were effective by providing text evidence and describes that Miss Sullivan has made a big impact on Helen's life by teaching her using the sense of touch. In Sydney's response, she makes several valid points in a well written summary.
DeleteKeller's writing is more of a narrative style, but is it still important for her to establish a clearly defined thesis in the beginning? Do her ideas throughout the essay support the thesis she established, or are there any breaks in her position/the unity if the piece?
ReplyDelete"The Most Important Day" by Helen Keller is driven forward by its strong thesis. Although the piece is mostly narrative, the story she weaves is a support for her thesis of meeting Anne Sullivan to be the most important day of her life. Though this thesis does slightly twist at the end to give more of a reflection on Keller, it still emphasises the wonder of learning that captivated her. Not only does the narrative part of her piece support her thesis, but her thesis also provides a setting for the narrative as well. The narrative part of her piece is quite zoomed in, following specific moments in time. With the background that the thesis provides it is more evident to the reader as to how this meeting affected Keller's life as a whole. Though the thesis is not the full focus of the piece, it is definitely beneficial towards it.
Claire Liu
In Claire's response to the prompt about the thesis in the beginning, she gets right to the point about how the story is driven by the strong thesis. She includes that the thesis provides a setting for the narrative and that the thesis follows specific moments in time. She then concludes that the thesis is not necessarily the focus of the piece but it drives it forward. I completely agree with the last statement that Claire addressed. The thesis was definitely a strong holding point in the narrative but it wasn't the whole thing.
Delete-connor lee
DeleteDo you think Keller's strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions the day Annie Sullivan arrived, the morning after, the and several weeks later) is effective? How do the separate instances help convey Keller's position/feelings?
ReplyDeleteThroughout the “The Most Important Day”, written by Helen Keller, Keller describes how her “Most Important Day” impacted her and what new knowledge it gave her. She starts by describing that it took place with her teacher, Anne Sullivan. As said in the prompt, Keller splits her narration into three different sections: the arrival of Sullivan, the next morning, and a couple weeks later. I believe that this is very effective because it shows the progression of Keller’s knowledge. In addition, it shows how Keller’s point of view shifted through the story. For example, in the first part Keller describes how she was just sitting on the porch like it was a normal day, not knowing what was to come. The morning after Anne Sullivan began to teach Keller the knowledge that she really needed. She was soon able to spell simple words. This gave her a more understandable method of communication which is something she never had. Several weeks later she was able to understand that everything has a name and each thing is connected to another thought. This shows the progression of Keller’s ability to spell words into people’s hands and understand the meanings of different words. Overall, this narrative was well written and the strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions was used wisely.
-Shishira
In Shishira's response to that prompt correlating with the essay, "The Most Important Day" by Helen Keller, she gives a brief summary that sums up the story. She includes an example about how Keller described the day that changed her life. I think that including it was effective in answering the prompt because she gave a clear example about how Anne Sullivan played such a big role in Keller's life, even from the very beginning. I liked how Shishira wrapped up her response by analyzing the text and explaining how the author's strategy within the piece made it a better narrative. Overall, her response was well written and answers the prompt clearly.
DeleteDo you think Keller's strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions the day Annie Sullivan arrived, the morning after, the and several weeks later) is effective? How do the separate instances help convey Keller's position/feelings?
ReplyDeleteIn "The Most Important Day" by Helen Keller, she writes about the many instances Annie Sullivan has helped her learn and educated her. I believe that Keller's strategy of narrating these events are effective because it gives many examples on why that specific day was so important to her. In the narrative, Keller shows how Anne Sullivan, her teacher, taught her words and how it correlates to nouns. The first example was when Miss Sullivan spelled out the word "doll" in her hand and gave her a doll for her to comprehend. She did not understand words, like "doll", actually had something to do with a physical doll. Later, Miss Sullivan brings Helen to to a stream and shows her water, the word she has been struggling to figure out.
Writing in this strategy helped Keller illustrate her struggle learning with disabilities growing up even if it was compacted into a narrative from a small fragment of her life, and for her to be specifically writing about this unlikely day, it suggests that it was a significant part of her life. By writing in this style, it helps highlight the "most important" occasions that has happened to her in her youth.
I agree with Margaret because I also believe that the narration with multiple occasions was used effectively. She then goes on to describe how the multiple occasions play the role of all the examples that support Keller’s idea that it was her most important day. She describes how Keller was explained how doll was spelled out into someone hands. Sullivan used this method to show Keller how to spell many other words. Margaret then goes on to describe how the example portrays the disabilities Keller faced while growing up. I agree with Margaret because she says that the narrating of events was used effectively. This is valid due to all the points she made. In addition, to add to her points I believe that the multiple instances showed progression of knowledge.
Delete-Shishira
DeleteDo you think Keller's strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions the day Annie Sullivan arrived, the morning after, the and several weeks later) is effective? How do the separate instances help convey Keller's position/feelings?
ReplyDeleteI believe that Keller's way of writing is very effective to put a message out to the reader how important Sullivan was to Keller. In the first anecdote, Keller describes Sullivan as if she was a savior who was so helpful during the process of educating Keller. Another example was when Sullivan taught Keller about what water was and what it felt like. Keller described it as if it was a life changing experience, and that she was getting better as the days went on. These events and style of writing truly show the progress that Keller has been making as a child ever since Sullivan became her teacher, and it is truly an effective way of writing. -connor lee
In Connor's response he describes Keller's way of writing as a message of how important Sullivan was to Keller. I agree with Connor that Keller's way of writing is very effective and. Connor also clearly states why he believes that Keller's way of writing was effective and uses different examples to support his belief.
DeleteThe story "The Most Important Day" by Helen Keller is a story about her teacher, Annie Mansfield Sullivan, and how she changed Keller's life.
ReplyDeleteDo you think Keller's strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions the day Annie Sullivan arrived, the morning after, the and several weeks later) is effective? How do the separate instances help convey Keller's position/feelings?
I think that Keller's strategy of narrating event is effective and it helps convey Keller's position/feelings. The narrating strategy was effective because the examples and reasoning she used was very convincing. For example, when Keller was describing when she first met Sullivan, she used pathos to appeal to the reader. I believe that this story was good and written well.
I agree with your assessment. Its use of pathos touches the reader, making them evoke emotions. This is not only seen in her first time meeting Sullivan, but with her quote, "I stood on the porch, dumb." In return, giving us this mentality to cheer her on as she strives to learn.
DeleteI also believe there's a negative side to the inclusion of the multiple interactions, such as negatively affecting the structure, while also giving amazing details and story that outweighs its downsides.
Although this piece doesn't rely on ethos or logos, Keller's writing dependency on pathos really pays dividends, as it creates a well put together, emotional story. Would you agree?
-Jonah Bahr
Do you think Keller's strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions the day Annie Sullivan arrived, the morning after, the and several weeks later) is effective? How do the separate instances help convey Keller's position/feelings?
ReplyDeleteKeller's strategy of narrating multiple occasions of her interactions with Annie Sullivan can give off good and bad affects to her writing. On a positive note, it helps extend the plot by adding more content and giving details on her progression in learning. This allows for a more enjoyable reading experience, as it gives off the charm of rooting for her and an engaging story of rising above. However, some may perceive it as confusing. With the examples of her meeting with Sullivan coming out of the essay left and right or even out of the clear blue, it affects the structure. In return, not making the piece of writing very straight forward.
Although Keller's use of the encounters with Sullivan can negatively alter the structure, its content added and interesting story outweighs it.
-Jonah Bahr
ReplyDeleteDo you think Keller's strategy of narrating events on multiple occasions the day Annie Sullivan arrived, the morning after, the and several weeks later) is effective? How do the separate instances help convey Keller's position/feelings?
Hellen Keller explained different situations in which she experienced multiple things. This shows how far she has come from simply being deaf and blind. In the essay she uses a lot of pathos. The narrative is effective and interesting
WHen Hellen Keller describes different experiences, this really does show how curious this makes a person when there is an outside world and they are not apart of it. Elise cont.
ReplyDelete