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.

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

Explanation:

Helen Keller's The Story of My Life is an autobiographical account of her life as a blind and deaf person. Beginning from her childhood days, even before she learned how to communicate, she recounts how she felt as a handicapped child.

In the given passage, she recounts how frightened she was when she first started to be given special education under the supervision of Miss Annie Sullivan. She admits she felt like a ship, "tense and anxious, grop[ing] her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and waited with beating heart for something to happen". The passage shows how lost she felt and uncertain about what the future holds for her, especially the start if her education. This passage shows the reader to feel how lost Helen feels before she her education.

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