Surrounding the major themes of change and transformation and language and meaning is basic integrity and emotional honesty. Audiences found the story of Annie's struggle to teach Helen language and her eventual success life affirming and uplifting. The actors' intense energy and commitment to truth in the scenes of physical struggle between Annie and Helen were held as the most memorable moments of the play when it first opened on Broadway. The exchanges that take place in The Miracle Worker are all derived from factual events that Gibson has woven together to construct a fluid, emotionally real, depiction of the "miracle" Anne Sullivan was able to work: teaching Helen Keller language.Īudiences and critics alike were most drawn to The Miracle Worker's honest and emotionally vivid portrayal of the relationship between Annie (as she is called in the play) and Helen. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The challenge, as Annie makes plain here, will be to discipline Helen while still nurturing Helen’s potential for learning. Although some of the reviews were mixed, the audience response was very favorable and during its run the first production of The Miracle Worker rarely failed to fill the 1,000 seat theatre.ĭrawing heavily from letters written by Anne Sullivan in 1887, as well as from Helen Keller's autobiography, William Gibson constructed a drama around the events that took place when Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan, first met in the 1880s. Start studying Elements of Drama in The Miracle Worker, Acts II and III. Act Two is all about the discipline that Annie tries to exercise over her young pupil. After it was warmly received by television audiences, it was rewritten for the stage and opened on Broadway in 1959 at the Playhouse Theatre.
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This is a short summary of key employer responsibilities: Provide a workplace free from serious recognized hazards and comply with standards, rules and regulations. Helen’s parents sought the help of Samuel Howe, who had been successful teaching a blind and deaf girl. In doing so, it’s implied, Annie not only triumphs where many other doctors have failed-she also comes to terms with her own traumatic past.Initially written for television, The Miracle Worker by William Gibson first aired in 1957. Read this student summary of act 1 of The Miracle Worker. In the end, Annie succeeds in teaching Helen the concept of meaning-that is, the relationship between words in sign language and the things they represent. Annie is shown to be a highly capable teacher-not so much because she’s a genius, but because she’s persistent and has a personal stake in helping her pupils succeed.
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Annie tries to teach Helen Keller how to communicate by introducing her to sign language. In a way, taking care of children is her way of atoning for having “abandoned” James as a child. She seems to be attracted to teaching, not just because she’s benefitted from education personally but because she continues to feel guilty for James’s death.
The Miracle Worker: Act II - Vocabulary Quiz For edHelper com subscribers - Sign up now by clicking here Click. Later, Annie attended the Perkins Institute for the Blind, where she learned how to read and write, and eventually received surgery to help her regain her sight. The Miracle Worker- Act 2 Scene 5 Flashcards.
James (or “Jimmie”) died at the almshouse, and Annie appears to feel personally responsible for the death of her beloved brother. A Massachusetts “Yankee,” as several of the Kellers like to call her, Annie grew up blind in a squalid almshouse with her younger brother, James Sullivan.
Annie Sullivan is the “miracle worker” of the play’s title, and the play’s protagonist.