Describe symbolism in The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

In The Story of My Life, the ocean is simultaneously a symbol of both fantasy and reality. Before Helen saw the ocean for herself during her first trip to Massachusetts, it was merely a distant idea, a romanticized part of nature that she only read about in books. When she sees it for the first time, she is knocked over and tossed around by a wave, and reality hits her hard—however, despite this experience, the ocean never loses its fantastical nature to her, and she remains in awe of it throughout her entire life.