What is the message of The Miracle Worker?
The central theme of The Miracle Worker is communication. William Gibson’s play is based on the true story of Annie Sullivan, a young woman from Massachusetts who in the 1880s succeeded in teaching Helen Keller, a young deaf-blind girl from Alabama, how to communicate through sign language.
What are some of the main themes in The Miracle Worker?
The main themes in The Miracle Worker are perception and prejudice, the importance of communication, perseverance and patience, and love and letting go. Perception and prejudice: Annie is able to see Helen as an equal, while the Kellers learn to see beyond their initial judgments about Annie.
Why did William Gibson write The Miracle Worker?
Inspired by the ordeal educator Annie Sullivan underwent in trying to teach the dumb, deaf and blind Helen Keller how to learn, he wrote an 1880s-set teleplay called “The Miracle Worker” for Playhouse 90.
What does the key symbolize in The Miracle Worker?
For Gibson, keys and locks evoke the way Helen’s mind works. Annie sees Helen as a bright young child who is nonetheless barred from learning about the world by her blindness and deafness. Annie aims to “unlock” Helen’s potential by teaching her how to communicate through sign language.
What is the plot of the miracle worker?
Blind and deaf after suffering a terrible fever as a baby, young Helen Keller (Patty Duke) has spent years unable to communicate, leaving her frustrated and occasionally violent. As a last chance before she is institutionalized, her parents (Inga Swenson, Andrew Prine) contact a school for the blind, which sends half-blind Annie Sullivan (Anne Bancroft) to teach Helen. Helen is initially resistant, but Annie gradually forms a bond with her and shows Helen ways of reaching others.The Miracle Worker / Film synopsis
What does the water pump symbolize in The Miracle Worker?
It’s apt that water is what inspires Helen Keller to finally understand how to communicate with the external world because in doing so it’s as if she has been born anew, baptized in the waters of truth and knowledge. In this way, water symbolizes the miracle of Helen’s rebirth.
What is the plot of The Miracle Worker?
What kind of story is miracle worker?
biographical film
The Miracle Worker is a 1962 American biographical film about Anne Sullivan, blind tutor to Helen Keller, directed by Arthur Penn.
What are three symbols in The Miracle Worker?
The Miracle Worker Symbols
- Water. Water is the most overt symbol in The Miracle Worker.
- Keys and locks. Another important symbol in The Miracle Worker is the key.
- Smoked glasses.
- Dolls.
- Sight and blindness.
- Candy.
What is the obvious symbol in The Miracle Worker?
Water
Water is the most overt symbol in The Miracle Worker. It’s the cornerstone of the play’s most famous scene (and one of the most famous scenes in American theater), in which Annie Sullivan pumps water on Helen Keller’s hands in order to teach her how to communicate via sign language.
How did The Miracle Worker end?
The play ends with Annie embracing Helen and telling her, in sign language, “I love Helen forever and ever.”
What is the most obvious symbol in The Miracle Worker?
Water. Water is the most overt symbol in The Miracle Worker. It’s the cornerstone of the play’s most famous scene (and one of the most famous scenes in American theater), in which Annie Sullivan pumps…
Is there a study guide for the miracle worker by William Gibson?
Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on William Gibson’s The Miracle Worker. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world’s best literature guides. A concise biography of William Gibson plus historical and literary context for The Miracle Worker. A quick-reference summary: The Miracle Worker on a single page.
What is the plot of the play the miracle worker?
The Play. The Miracle Worker begins as a doctor reassures the parents of the infant Helen Keller that their daughter’s fever has passed; she will survive her severe illness. After the doctor leaves, the mother notices that the baby responds neither to hand movements in front of her eyes nor to any sounds.
What is the significance of the keys and locks in Hamlet?
She feels as if a new life is woven into her after struggling hard in her life. The second significant symbol appears to be the keys and locks in the play. Gibson refers to them, time and again, in the play. They give us important clues to the mind of Helen.
What did William Gibson do in the 1940s?
William Gibson grew up in New York City and later attended City College of New York, where he was active in theater. In the 1940s, Gibson wrote a handful of novels, plays, and poetry collections, without much success.