Monday, July 19, 2010

How did the visit to Boston change Helen's views regarding books?

Helen Keller spent a great deal of time in Boston throughout her life.  It was Helen's first visit, however, that introduced her to the joys of reading.  Helen visited the Perkins Institution in Boston, which had a vast library.  This library was full of an assortment of unique books. The Perkins Institution was a school for the blind.  The books in the library there were printed in Braille or with raised letters.  During her visit, Helen was allowed "to spend a part of each day in the Institution library, and to wander from bookcase to bookcase."  This filled her with fascination and excitement.  She enjoyed selecting various books and reading parts of them.  


At this time in Helen's life, she had only been able to communicate with words for a short amount of time.  When Helen read excerpts from the books in the library, she was unable to fully comprehend them.  It was a little later in her life that she was fully able to understand what she read, and it was then that she became an avid reader.

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