If You Give Me Three Days of Light: The Best Collection of Helen Keller

Chapter 12 My Life (10)
It has been a really enjoyable year as I have studied subjects that are particularly to my liking such as Economics, Elizabethan Literature, and Shakespeare with Professor George L. Gittleridge, Josiah Royce History of Philosophy lectured by Professor.By studying philosophy, one can resonate with the thoughts of those ancient times as well as other thought patterns.

However, the university is not the omnipotent cultural ancient capital Athens I imagined.Here you will not meet great souls, nor come face to face with wisdom.Although they do exist, they appear to have been turned into desiccated mummies.Before we can be sure we have Milton or Isaiah, we have to extract them from the gaps in our knowledge and analyze them in detail, not just imitate them cleverly.exist
It seems to me that many scholars have forgotten that in order to appreciate those great literary works, deep sympathy should be more important than rational analysis.Unfortunately they expended a great deal of time on the explanation without making much of an impression on the minds of the students.Such explanations fall from our hearts as quickly as ripe fruit from a branch.It's as if although we know a flower, its roots and branches, and even its entire growth process, we may still not appreciate a flower with dew.

I often impatiently ask myself repeatedly: "Why bother with these explanations and assumptions?" Such thoughts are flying around in my head, like blind birds flapping their wings helplessly in the air. .Of course, I don't mean to completely deny the essence of those famous works we have read.All I'm against is long and confusing reviews, but one thing's for sure: there are as many opinions as there are people.When explaining the works of masters, great scholars such as Professor Kittledge once said that the works of masters are like giving new vision to the blind.Indeed, he brought Shakespeare to us in its original form. He is the pioneer who restored Shakespeare's status as a poet and the messenger who brought us light.

Sometimes, however, I feel tempted to throw away half of the subjects I am about to study, because the overloaded mind cannot digest the treasures of knowledge acquired at great cost.It is obviously impossible to read four or five books on different subjects and in different languages ​​in one day without missing any details.When you read in a hurry with anxiety and only think about various tests and exams, your brain will become at a loss. It seems that there are too many useless knick-knacks piled up in front of you, and how to choose becomes a problem. one question.At the moment my mind is so full of all this miscellaneous stuff that I just can't sort it out.Whenever I step into the realm of consciousness, I feel like a bull in a china shop.Thousands of bits and pieces of knowledge splattered about my brain like hailstones, and when I managed to dodge them, the phantoms of the dissertations and the spirits of the masters pursued, till I would, In other words, let those evil consciousness run rampant!Perhaps, I should smash all the idols I worship.

It can be said that all kinds of exams are the primary difficulties I face in my college career.Although I have faced many exams and defeated them every time, they always fight back again and threaten with aggressive expressions.Every few days before the exam, I always desperately stuff all kinds of mysterious formulas and indigestible chronological data into my mind, just like swallowing those food that cannot be swallowed by force. Die at the bottom of the sea with science.

Finally, the time of dread comes—exams, and if you feel you are ready, then you have really taken a vantage point, which means that you can call upon the potential of your mind at just the right time, which will help you move toward greater Advance to a higher level.There is a situation that often happens, even if you call in every possible way, no one will answer.And what is most confusing and frustrating is that, at the very moment when you need to call on memory and careful discrimination, they spread their wings and fly away, which is really maddening.What you have worked so hard to put in your mind, but you can't remember it at this critical moment.

"Please briefly describe Haas and his achievements." Who is Haas?What did he do?The name looks familiar.So, among your stockpile of historical events, you search up and down, as if searching for a speck of silk in a sack full of rags.That question must have been memorized, it seemed so close at hand, and you came across it that day when you thought back to the beginnings of the Reformation.But where is it now? You rummaged through everything in your head: revolutions, church schisms, massacres, various political systems, and so on.But where was the man "Haas"?You will be surprised to find that the events you know about are not shown on the test paper.Disappointed, you have to grab your knowledge reserves and check everything you have learned. Finally, the person you are looking for is hiding in a corner, quietly immersed in his own thoughts, , without paying any attention to what disaster he has caused you.

Just then, the invigilator comes over to inform you that the time is up.And so, full of resentment, you kick the fragments of your mind into the corner, and your brain is filled with revolutionary plans to abolish the sacred privilege of professors, why they can ask questions without going through the person being questioned agree?

In the last two or three pages of this chapter, I use some figurative metaphors that people might laugh at.

The bull that stormed into the china shop and was hit by a hailstorm, and the ghost with the savage face seemed neither fish nor fowl, and now they are laughing at me.Ah, let them continue to laugh.I have used words that describe exactly my state of mind, so I dismiss the jeers and state that I have completely changed my mind about college.

My time at Radcliffe was still in its infancy, but the romantic aura had faded.I've learned a lot from the transition from romance to reality, and it's safe to say that without hands-on experience, you'll never learn the true meaning of things.One of the most valuable lessons I have learned is patience, which tells us that our education should be like a walk in the country, leisurely, leisurely, broad-minded and inclusive.The knowledge thus acquired is like a silent tide, rushing all kinds of profound thoughts into our hearts without a trace.

"Knowledge is power" is true, but knowledge should be more enjoyable.To have knowledge, especially broad and profound knowledge, we need to have the ability to remove the chaff and keep the truth, and turn stones into gold.Understand the thoughts and actions of man in the process of progress, and you will touch the pulse of the greatest human nature in the past centuries. If you cannot feel in this pulse the noble aspirations of man, he does not understand the music of human life.

thanks books
So far, I have briefly described the events in my life, but I have not shown how much I depend on books. First of all, books can bring people joy and wisdom.Secondly, other people acquire knowledge through hearing and hearing, and since my life is very limited in all aspects, I have to find new undiscovered worlds in books.

In my education, I have relied on books far more than the average person, so I will start when I started reading.The first time I read a story was in May 1887, when I was seven years old.Since then, I have hungrily seized any printed paper, and I will not let go of anything that comes within the reach of my "hungry fingertips".But, as I have said, in the early stages of my education I did not study regularly, nor read on any principle.

At first, I had only a few books in Braille—a primer, a set of stories for children, and a book about the Earth called Our Earth, which was my entire library.But, I read it over and over until, the writing was worn out beyond recognition.Sometimes, Teacher Sullivan read to me "listen", and spelled into my hands stories and poems she thought I could understand.But I prefer to be alone in the thrill of reading, and I like to read my favorite stories over and over again.

When I first went to Boston, I really started reading seriously.I was allowed to spend some time each day in the library reading, groping up and down the shelves and picking up any book I could lay my hands on.No matter how much I can understand the words in the book, and whether I can understand them or not, I will read them correctly.It can be said that it is the words themselves that fascinate me, and the content of the book is not in my consideration.

Because I have a strong perception of knowledge, I mastered many of my vocabulary and sentence patterns at that time. Although the meaning of some words and sentences is not clear, but later, when I started to learn to speak and write, These words came out so naturally that my friends were amazed at my rich vocabulary.

Of course, in my early readings, I never finished a book in its entirety, and it wasn't until I discovered "Little Lord Fauntleroy" that I put a worthwhile book together for the first time. Read it, read it.One day, Teacher Sullivan found me flipping through the novel "The Scarlet Letter" in a corner of the library.I was about eight years old at the time.I remember her asking me if I liked little Pearl, and explaining some obscure phrases to me.Then she told me that she had a book about a young boy's experience that promised to be far more interesting than The Scarlet Letter.That book was "Little Lord Fauntleroy," and she promised to read it to me next summer.But we didn't start reading the book until August, because the first few weeks when we were at the seaside were so many new and interesting things that I forgot about the novel.Then there was a period of time when the teacher left me to visit friends in Boston.

When the teacher returned, the first thing we did was start reading "Little Lord Fauntleroy."I vividly remember when and where we read Chapter 1.It was a warm and pleasant afternoon in August, and the two of us were sitting in a swinging hammock tied between two large pine trees not far from home.

We hurried through our washing after lunch, in order to make the most of the afternoon to read the novel.As we walked across the grass toward the hammock, many grasshoppers jumped onto the hem of the clothes, and I remember the teacher insisting that the bugs be cleaned off the clothes before sitting down, which I thought was a waste of time.

The hammock was covered with pine needles because no one had used it since the teacher left.The warm sunshine falls on the pine trees, and the air is filled with the aroma of pine needles, mixed with a unique ocean atmosphere.Before starting to read the story, Ms. Sullivan explained to me some backgrounds that I didn't quite understand, and during the reading process, she also explained new words to me at any time.At first I didn't understand a lot of new words, and I often had to stop after reading for a while, but when I understood the plot of the story, I was eager to keep up with the development of the story, and I couldn't care about those new words at all. Explain, I am also quite impatient to hear.

Later, when the teacher's fingers could no longer spell due to fatigue, I experienced for the first time the despondency of being deprived of something dear to me.So, clutching the book in my hand, I fumbled through the pages with an eagerness I will never forget.

Later, at my urgent request, Mr. Ananos had the book made in Braille.I read it over and over again, almost to the point of knowing it by heart.It can be said that "Little Lord Fauntleroy" has become the closest companion of my childhood.The reason why I recount these details without too much fuss is because my previous casual and incomprehensible reading attitude is completely different from my current reading attitude.

Over the next two years I continued to read a number of books, both at home and while visiting Boston.I can't remember exactly which books I read, or in what state I read them.But I still remember that there are "Greek Heroes", La Fontaine's "Fables", Hawthorne's "Wonderful Book" and "Bible Stories", Ram's "Shakespeare Legends", Dickens' "Children's Book on the History of England" ", "The Arabian Nights", "The Swiss Robinsons", "The Pilgrim's Progress", "Robinson Crusoe", "Little Women", "Heidi" and so on.

These books are all read while learning and playing.Of course, I have always had a strong thirst for knowledge.At the time, I didn't research and analyze the books I read, I didn't know if they were good or bad, and I never thought about their writing style and author's background.Thus these books lay their "treasure" at my feet, and I accept their gift as readily as I accept sunshine and the friendship of my friends.

Among them, my favorite is "Little Women", because it makes me feel that I have the same thoughts and feelings as those healthy children with normal sight and hearing.

I didn't like "The Pilgrim's Progress" very much, I don't seem to have read it all, and I didn't like "Fables".I first read La Fontaine's "Fables" in an English translation, and I only read it briefly, and I just feel that this book is passable.Then I read the French version again, and I found that no matter how vivid the text was and how wonderful the story was, I still didn't like it very much.In fact, I have no objection to ironic fables, but I am somewhat against monkeys and wolves proclaiming great truths.I don’t know why I feel this way, maybe it’s because I feel that the anthropomorphic expression of animals makes me feel uncomfortable. It always feels a bit awkward to let animals speak human words and do human things, so naturally I don’t want to understand it. Meaning.

It is generally believed that La Fontaine's works give us a high sense of morality, but I think this statement is exaggerated.In fact, the most memorable part of his works is the motivation of the story and the narcissism contained in it. All the fables convey such an idea that human morality comes entirely from self-love. Love yourself, and happiness will surely come.I, on the other hand, believe that self-love is the root of all evil.Of course, maybe I'm wrong, because La Fontaine's understanding and observation of human beings is much richer than mine.

In comparison, I prefer to read books such as "The Jungle Story" and "Wild Animals I Know".I do have a strong interest in animals because they are real animals, not anthropomorphic.I love what they love and hate what they hate, their antics make me laugh and their misery sometimes bring tears of sympathy.If these works express a morality, we are too esoteric to be aware of its existence.

I have long been fascinated by ancient ideas, and the history of ancient Greece has brought me into a mysterious realm.In my fantasies pagan gods still walk and talk to humans face to face.I secretly build temples for my loved ones in my heart.I know and love goddesses and heroes of all tribes, and demigods.No, not all gods, I don't like the cruel and greedy Medea and Jason, their evil is unforgivable.I've always wondered why God made them do so many bad things and then punished them.Until now, I still can't figure out why.Just like the book says: God is so silent and silent, when sins laugh and creep through the "temple of time".

The "Iliad" epic made me regard ancient Greece as a paradise. Before reading the original text, I was quite familiar with the story of Troy. The treasures of ancient Greek are at a glance.In fact, what is needed for a great psalm, whether written in Greek or English, is not a commentator but a sensitive heart.Aren't there just a bunch of good men who, through what they call analysis, make great poetry hateful?Therefore, those who impose difficult and obscure comments on others should really learn this simple truth!

I am well aware that learned professors have found far more wealth in the Iliad than I have.I am not a greedy person, I am willing to accept the reality that others are smarter than me.But even with profound knowledge, they cannot figure out the passion contained in the magnificent epic.Of course, I can't figure it out either.And when I read the most wonderful chapters in "The Iliad", I have the feeling of sublimation of the soul, and my narrow life is released, and the limitations of the body have been forgotten by me.My world is rising, it is vast and boundless, sweeping across the sky!
(End of this chapter)