Final answer:
Helen Keller describes the way blind people perceive the world similarly to how sighted people see in fog or at night, with a lack of clarity and definition.
She uses analogies to express how her pre-language world was undefined, inviting those with sight to ponder the sensory experiences of the visually impaired.
Step-by-step explanation:
Helen Keller describes the way blind people perceive the world in a way that parallels the experience of those with sight under limited conditions.
For example, she compares understanding the world before learning language to being like a ship lost in the fog, indicating a kind of mental disorientation and lack of clarity.
The analogy suggests that without language, her world was unclear and undefined, much like how sighted individuals may struggle to see a ship through a dense fog.
Furthermore, Keller's descriptions might evoke thoughts similar to the dialogues of Socrates, where visual clarity is compared to understanding, and shadows or shades of gray represent a lack of true comprehension.
This aligns with the idea of seeing colors in daylight versus navigating a dimly lit or gray-scale world, an experience that could mirror how Keller and those with visual impairments understand the environment that surrounds them—interpreting it through senses other than sight.
Keller's expression of her experiences offers insight not only into her personal state but also broadens the understanding of perception among the visually impaired.
Her descriptions invite sighted individuals to ponder the adaptability of human sensation and perception, expanding upon how varied and rich the human experience of the world can be, even without the benefit of vision.