The Miracle Worker
William Gibson
The Miracle Worker:
Post-Reading
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How do you teach someone who is deaf?
How do you teach someone who is blind?
How do you teach someone who is both blind
and deaf?
The Miracle Worker:
About Helen Keller
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Helen was both blind and deaf at 18 months of age.
She had forgotten at this point some of the words she had learned.
She was described as an “uncontrollable savage” by some.
Alexander Graham Bell encouraged her family to accept a teacher
from the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston (Annie Sullivian
19).
Annie had been an orphan after her parents died and also suffered
from very poor vision (legally blind) and she talked her way into
Perkins Institution for the blind.
Annie sight was restored through extensive surgery.
Annie taught Helen by writing letters onto her hand spelling out
words.
Helen Keller through the expansion of this method no longer dealt
with isolation and she learned to speak, attend Radcliff college and
graduatte with honors.
Helen later lectured to many and wrote several books.
The Miracle Worker:
William Gibson on the Rise
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Mother ran a music school and father a popular pianist.
At one point supported himself as a jazz pianist in his teens and
twenties.
At the city college of NY he took up writing.
Gibson’s English professor encouraged him to writer. After 2
years of school he dropped out to launch his writing career.
Gibson moved to Topeka, Kansas and married a psychoanalyst.
Gibson wrote a play, but did not receive recognition until he
began writing poetry.
Gibson won the Harriet Monroe Memorial Prize in 1945.
The novel The Cobweb became a best-seller.
The Miracle Worker:
William Gibson achieves fame
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Gibson achieved national recognition for
musical in the late 50’s as a playwright.
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The Miracle Worker which was the sequel to
Monday After the Miracle won him the
Pulitzer Prize.
The Miracle Worker:
Gibson’s topics in writing
-Writing deals with isolation and loneliness.
-Loneliness in The Miracle Worker is dealt with as Annie
Sullivan (the person who works with Helen) is able to break
through her barriers of blindness and deafness.
-Although the ideas of isolation and loneliness are negative
Gibson approaches them optimistically (from a bright side).
-Gibson usually brings to the front a new insight into a topic
for a reader.
The Miracle Worker:
Gibson’s writing
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Gibson is known for developing strong characters in his dramas.
Gibson is noted for innovative staging in plays.
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He used two apartments as the stage for one of his plays, both
remaining on the stage throughout the play, and the connection being
a telephone.
- The Miracle Worker utilizes a variety of settings: Annie’s bedroom,
the Keller dining room, and the yard.
- In addition to these plays he also wrote a series of chronicles
(articles) about his plays and the difficulty of the production on
Broadway.
The Miracle Worker:
Gibson’s characters
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When Gibson finished The Miracle Worker he had the play typed
in brail and sent to the real Helen Keller.
Helen did approve of the play, and actually provided four pages
of notes to help Gibson eliminate technical errors.
The Miracle Worker:
Dramatic Background
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The drama, The Miracle Worker, is based on the
real-life story of a teacher, Annie Sullivan, and her
pupil, Helen Keller.
In reality, Annie and Helen met when Helen was
seventeen years old. However, for Gibson’s
drama, he altered Helen’s age so that she was
between the ages of six and seven when the two
met.
Helen is not only deaf and blind, but she is mute,
which is usually found in those people who have
never heard spoken language.
The Miracle Worker:
Protagonist /Antagonist
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Antagonist: a person who is opposed to,
struggles against, or competes with another;
opponent; adversary.
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Protagonist: the leading character, hero, or
heroine of a drama or other literary work.
The Miracle Worker:
Protagonist /Antagonist
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The antagonist and protagonist want the
same thing.
Both characters may be after the same love
interest, fighting over the same landmass, or
traveling far and wide for the same collectible
Star Wars figurine.
They could also both want the same thing in
that they both want to “destroy” the other.
Whatever the shared desire is, when two
people want the same thing, conflict will
inevitably ensue.
The Miracle Worker:
Antagonist/Protagonist
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The antagonist wants nothing more than to see the
protagonist fail at getting what he or she wants.
Many times, this type of conflict depicts an eager “gogetter” pursuing a dream, and an antagonist that, for one
reason or another, wants to see him or her fail.
The antagonist’s motive may be a number of things—
jealousy, revenge, racial intolerance, etc. No matter the
motive, the antagonist will do anything in to stand
between the protagonist and that dream.
The Miracle Worker:
Antagonist/Protagonist
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The antagonist and protagonist have opposing
desires.
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For example,
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Your protagonist wants world peace and your antagonist wants to
initiate World War III.
Your protagonist wants to go to the Star Trek convention and your
antagonist hates Star Trek so much that he or she devises a
global plan to hijack all busses, trains, and airplanes headed to
the convention.
Usually, the two characters know nothing of each other before
they are forced to fight it out in a battle of good versus evil.
The Miracle Worker:
Act I
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While reading Act 1 be aware of the study
guide questions that follow.
The Miracle Worker: Terms to
know…
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Drama: a literary art form that recreates human life
and emotions. The medium is dialogues and action
with in a frame of sequential events. Drama has
both a written form (a script) and a living form (the
stage presentation).
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Theme: an observation of life which serves as the
controlling idea in a literary work. A theme is seldom
presented word-for-word but is more often found as
an abstract idea, surfacing through the actions and
dialogues of characters, the use of symbols and
recurring images, or the manipulation of literary
devices.
 Universal
feeling or idea or Central Idea of the
story
 What to ask yourself to identify theme:
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What is the central idea of the story?
What is the authors statement about it?
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What is the theme of :
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The Tortoise & the Hare:
 Green Eggs & Ham:
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Theme of “The Secret
Ingredient”
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What IS theme?
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What is the overall idea the author wants us
to walk away with?
A Kafkaesque Theme
Your Turn to try….
Answer Questions on Clip as you go…
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Symbolism
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Symbolism: A symbol is anything that hints at
something else, usually something abstract,
such as an idea or belief. A literary symbol is
an object, a person, a situation, or an action
that has a literal meaning in a story but
suggests or represents other meanings.
General Symbol
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A general symbol is universal in its meaning.
Even if the symbol were removed from a
work of literature, it would still suggest a
larger meaning.
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Ex: While the sea symbolizes the universal
voyage from life to death in The Odyssey, it
retains this association independent from
literature. The "sea" is a general symbol.
Ex: In poetry, a "rose" often is not only a flower,
but also a general symbol for romantic love.
 Define:
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Ex:
Specific Symbol:
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A specific symbol is not universal in its meaning. It acquires a specific
meaning based on how it relates to the content of a novel, poem, etc.
The symbol's significance exists only within the context created by the
author.
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Ex: A hunting cap in The Catcher in the Rye has no universal meaning,
but within the novel it is worn backwards and symbolizes a looking back
at childhood.
Ex: A pair of eyes on a billboard in the Great Gatsby has no universal
meaning, but within the story symbolizes the eyes of God watching
humanity.
Tips about Symbols:
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• The story itself must furnish a clue that a detail is to be taken
symbolically. Symbols nearly always signal their existence by emphasis,
repetition, or position.
The meaning of a literary symbol must be established and supported by
the entire context of
Tips about Symbols:
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To be called a symbol, an item must suggest
a meaning different in kind from its literal
meaning; a symbol is something more than
its class or type.
A symbol may have more than one meaning.
This does not mean that the symbol can
mean anything you want it to because
possible meanings are always controlled by
the context.
Determining what symbolic
objects are…
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To identify a symbol, note if an object seems
to:
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appear repeatedly
have an unusually vivid quality
be described with language conveying much
emphasis
have more significance than its literal reality
would suggest
Determining symbolic meaning
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Carefully examine how the symbol functions
in relation to the story. Ask yourself what idea
is represented by the symbol.
Classify the symbols:
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Classification may reveal opposite relationships,
such as symbols of good and evil, life and death, or
eternal and ephemeral. Or symbols may fall into
isolated categories, such as destruction, innocence,
or sexuality.
Determine how much depth a particular symbol has
and classify its possible meanings. While your paper
may focus on only one major symbol, you may be
able to divide it into two specific meanings and two
general meanings.
Remember
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Remember: A symbol has a literal
meaning in a story but suggests or
represents other meanings.
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Not all symbolism is obvious; often it is subtle and
indirect.
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American Beauty
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http://youtube.com/watch?v=APQbMCEjQK0
&feature=related
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In the clip American Beauty what kind of
descriptions are use to describe the paper bag?
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What does the paper bag mean to the male
character speaking about the bag?
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Based on the description of the paper bag and
what the paper bag appears to mean to the male
character, what would you predict that the bag
symbolizes throughout the film?
Symbolism & “The Miracle
Worker”
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Smoked Glasses
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Suitcase
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Doll
Plot
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Plot: the progression of events in a literary
work. Each part of the plot is essential that if
one part were removed, the whole structure
would be disturbed.
Plot
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Sequence of incidents or actions in a story.
Whatever the characters do, or whatever
happens to them, constitutes plot.
Finding Nemo Plot
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/course/
course1/unit/shortstory.shtml
Plot
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The most important element in plot is conflict.
External or internal conflict
A story often ends when conflict is resolved
but this is not always the case…
Plot Structure
Plot is the literary element that describes the
structure of a story. It shows the a causal
arrangement of events and actions within a story.
Types of Linear Plots
Plots can be told in
Chronological order
Flashback
In media res (in the middle of things)
when the story starts in the middle of the
action without exposition
Pyramid Plot Structure
The most basic and
traditional form of plot
is pyramid-shaped.
This structure has been
described in more
detail by Aristotle and
by Gustav Freytag.
Aristotle’s Unified Plot
The basic triangle-shaped plot structure was
described by Aristotle in 350 BCE. Aristotle used
the beginning, middle, and end structure to
describe a story that moved along a linear path,
following a chain of cause and effect as it works
toward the solution of a conflict or crisis.
Freytag’s Plot Structure
Freytag modified Aristotle’s system by adding a
rising action (or complication) and a falling action
to the structure. Freytag used the five-part
design shown above to describe a story’s plot.
Modified Plot Structure
Freytag’s Pyramid is often modified so that it
extends slightly before and after the primary
rising and falling action. You might think of this
part of the chart as similar to the warm-up and
cool-down for the story.
Plot Components
Climax: the turning point, the
most intense moment—either
mentally or in action
Rising Action: the series of
conflicts and crisis in the story
that lead to the climax
Falling Action: all of the
action which follows the
climax
Exposition: the start of the
story, the situation before the
action starts
Resolution: the conclusion,
the tying together of all of
the threads
Conflict
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Results from the struggle of two opposing
forces. One of the forces is usually a person.
That person usually confronts one or more of
five basic kinds of opposition.
Opposition includes other people, forces of
nature, society, fate, and internal elements
battling for control.
Conflict
Conflict is the dramatic struggle
between two forces in a story.
Without conflict, there is no plot.
Types of Conflict
Interpersonal Conflict
Human vs Human
Human vs Nature
Human vs Society
Internal Conflict
Human vs Self
The Plot Thickens:
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Characterization
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The creation of believable fictitious personalities.
The basic methods of characterization include
these:
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An explicit statement by the author
The character’s appearance
The aspects of setting which reflect influence of the
character
The character’s actions, including mannerisms
Reactions of and to the character
The character’s thoughts
What the character says
What others say about the character
Defining Characterization
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To describe the qualities or peculiarities of: (A
notable or distinctive feature or characteristic)
Using the following pictures, write a brief
description of what a character who
has/wears these items would be like. Be
descriptive use details.
The Miracle Worker:
Act I Writing Response
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Helen Keller was an astonishing person who
succeeded in life despite her disabilities.
However, it wasn’t always easy for her to
learn. The person who had the most
extraordinary impact on Helen’s education
was her teacher, Annie Sullivan.
Write a multi-paragraph essay analyzing
the character of Annie Sullivan and the
impact she had on Helen’s life. Make sure
to use details and examples to support
your analysis.