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"The Persistence of Vision"
by John Varley

Publishing DataPreviewBackgroundNavigation Guide
Publishing Data

First published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 1978
Winner of a Hugo for Best Novelette
Winner of a Nebula for Best Novelette
Collected in Science Fiction: Stories and Contexts, ed. Heather Masri

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Preview
In the near future a man hitchhiking across the country during an economic depression comes across a commune founded by deaf-blind people and learns to fit himself into the routine of their daily life.
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Background
Helen Keller (1880-1968) was a deaf-blind author and activist. Various plays and films titled The Miracle Worker portray her relationship with her teacher Annie Sullivan.
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Navigation Guide
Characterize the narrator.
React to the punishment meted out to the narrator when he is careless and injures Scar.

Explain the stages of acquisition of language in Keller:

  • hand talk
  • shorthand
  • body talk
  • Touch
  • ***
Differentiate between hand talk, shorthand, and body talk.
What is ***
Characterize Pink. Describe her relationship with the other residents of Keller; with the narrator.
How necessary is Keller to these people?
Why does the narrator fear Touch?
Why does the narrator stay at Keller for so long? Why does he eventually leave?
In what way is Keller an organism?
Why is communication the strength of Keller?
What is the Together? What is its importance to the way of life in Keller?
How has his stay in Keller affected the narrator? Why does he return? What does Pink do for him?
Where have the adults gone? What has happened to the children?
Does the story end happily?
 
 
 
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