Hidden Messages in Three Days to See by Helen Keller

Helen Keller, a woman, who can be seen as an awakening point for all of those who are her readers. When people start to read her biography, they firstly in the most times are surprised with a sentence “A deaf-blind American author, political activist, and lecturer.” In addition to this, even thought she was not blessed with the abilities of sight and hearing, she got a Bachelor degree in Arts for the first time in history as a deaf-blind human being. Furthermore, she published several books, essays, and her autobiography, The Story of My Life, at the age of 23 years old, and she wrote an inspirational and full of her desired abilities of sight and hearing essay which is “Three Days to See” that I am going to explain and show my understanding on.

The “Three Days to See” is seen as an essay that shows the heart-touching desires of a deaf-blind woman who wants to see the world through her well-natured eyes, but it is far more than this. Keller has given deeper messages, understanding, and hidden beauties of life in this piece of writing. She used an imagined story and a comparative language that she compared herself with blind eyes and those with natural eyes. Furthermore, in some cases, she ridiculed natural eyes owners. In general, in the essay, she imagined that she had three days with all human senses to see the world. Briefly, she wanted in that interval to collect enough memories that will remain for the rest life after her three days. In her first day, she wanted to see her teacher in eyes, friends, loyal dog’s eyes, a baby, her home, and taking a walk around the field. In the second day, she was going to Theatre and Museums which the last one she called a place that shows the past and present. The last day, she went to see the real present life in New York City, and she was watching people smiling, walking, and being busy and sad. Then as the last step, she visited the Theatre again, and she re-became blind finally. Despite of this interesting imagination, her actual purposes obviously are: making people aware of their blessings, and she advises readers to live each day “as if it were their last.”

Six Hidden Messages Among and Between Sentences

First, the significance of appreciating what we have at a moment. She explains how people careless about their blessings “only the deaf appreciate hearing. Only the blind realize the blessings that lie on light.” It means that people with all natural senses are not appreciating what they have till “they lose it.” Based on it, she encourages people to use their senses as much as possible because it is the reason, using, why they were created. She doubted about the eyes owners really see what is actually going around. For example, after a long walk, she questioned her friend “What did you see?” and she replies “Nothing in particular,” so she criticizes her and say that she could see and feel hundreds of things although she is blind. That is why she wished a course to teach people “How to Use Your Eyes.” 

Second, there is a making priority that is interesting. She prioritized seeing her teacher at the first over all. If we were there, surely we would want to see something else, but by doing this in her writing, I think she wanted to say that the one who helps you to see and understand the real life and open your inner eyes to realize the inner meanings and beauties is more important than anything and anyone else. Then, seeing friends and surroundings that make her life “worthy” shows how should everyone gives huge value to their close relations. It means that people must remember who stood beside during the tough times and not forgetting them after that. 

Third, in the first night of the first day, she said that she could not fall asleep due to that much of things that she has seen in a single day, but most of us have going through a numerous numbers of days without noticing anything, so she might mean to say that we as people just wasting our eyes and time, so she might want to explain how every day we lose tremendous packs of pure beauties. 

Fourth, she dedicated the second day to Theatre and Museums. Despite their importance, she mentioned the words of “Past and Present” in the Museum which it might mean that to understand the life, we have to know about the past then the present as well. 

Fifth, she emphasized to be optimistic in live and never disappointed as she said that “the dawn of each day must reveal a new beauty” which means that no matter how much beauty you have seen, each day there are many new beauties that waiting for your seeing. If every dawn be a sign of shining many new beauties, so what is the point of living under the cloud of darkness and sadness? 

Sixth and finally, when she visited New York City, she saw many sights. She wrote how the “pleasant” sights made her heart fill, and how the “sad and ugly sights” made her uncomfortable, but she kept her eyes opened in both cases. It tells us that as the English quote says life is like a novel, maybe you do not like some slides and be excited about another slides, but at the end, the all slides, bad and good, completes the novel which is life. If you want to realize and understand life, you have to face problems, get excited and anxious, and experience many upward and downward.