My Perspectives from the Story of My Life

Writing that contains imagery will have

• details that appeal to the senses.

• a biography of an author.

• a timeline of historical events.

• photographs or drawings in the text.

Which excerpt from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller contains the best example of the author’s use of vivid verbs?

• my teacher placed my hand under the spout

• The most important day I remember

• Anger and bitterness had preyed upon me

• but I did not know this until afterward

Read the excerpt from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller.

On the afternoon of that eventful day, I stood on the porch, dumb, expectant. I guessed vaguely from my mother's signs and from the hurrying to and fro in the house that something unusual was about to happen, so I went to the door and waited on the steps. The afternoon sun penetrated the mass of honeysuckle that covered the porch, and fell on my upturned face. My fingers lingered almost unconsciously on the familiar leaves and blossoms which had just come forth to greet the sweet southern spring. I did not know what the future held of marvel or surprise for me.

Which answer choice best describes the imagery in the excerpt?

• Sensory details appeal to the reader’s sense of hearing.

• A metaphor creates a visual image for the reader.

• A simile creates a visual image for the reader.

• Sensory details appeal to the reader’s sense of touch.

Read the excerpt from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller.

Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in, and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that ship before my education began, only I was without compass or sounding-line, and had no way of knowing how near the harbour was.

Which statement best describes the purpose of the imagery in the excerpt?

• It allows the reader to feel how lost Helen feels before she learns to communicate.

• It allows the reader to feel how excited Helen feels when her new teacher arrives.

• It keeps the reader in suspense and eager to find out what happens to Helen.

• It paints a picture for the reader of how dangerous it is to be lost at sea.

Read the excerpt from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller.

She had read his account of Laura Bridgman, and remembered vaguely that she was deaf and blind, yet had been educated. But she also remembered with a hopeless pang that Dr. Howe, who had discovered the way to teach the deaf and blind, had been dead many years. His methods had probably died with him; and if they had not, how was a little girl in a far-off town in Alabama to receive the benefit of them?

Which words from the excerpt best show the author’s use of imagery?

• hopeless pang

• deaf and blind

• had discovered

• been educated

Which line from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller contains imagery?

• Indeed, my friends and relatives sometimes doubted whether I could be taught.

• My mother's only ray of hope came from Dickens's "American Notes."

• My parents at once determined to take me to Baltimore to see if anything could be done for my eyes.

• When we arrived in Baltimore, Dr. Chisholm received us kindly: but he could do nothing.

A comparison of two unrelated things using the words "like” or "as” is an element of imagery called a

• metaphor.

• simile.

• sensory detail.

• vivid verb.

Which sentence is written in the first person?

• The girl in the front row of the class was the only one to raise her hand.

• The mother and father told their children to get ready for their trip.

• My dog always waits for me by the front door when it is time for our walk.

• Janice thought she was late for class, but really her clock was wrong.

Which answer choice best states the difference between a memoir and a biography?

• A memoir contains imagery, but a biography does not.

• A memoir is fiction, but a biography is nonfiction.

• A memoir is written in first person, but a biography is written in third person.

• A memoir is written in third person, but a biography is written in first person.

The first-person point of view allows readers to

• experience an event through the author’s eyes.

• experience an event through the five senses.

• read about a person’s life without descriptive details.

• read about a person’s life from someone else’s viewpoint.