Overcoming Challenges In The Play 'The Miracle Worker' By William Gibson

Esther Rotshtein
Mrs. Freundlich
English
14 March 2023
Overcoming Challenges
" Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it." This quote was written by Hellen Keller. In the play "The Miracle Worker" by William Gibson there were three characters who overcame their challenges and all became great people. Hellen was a little girl who was deaf and blind, but despite these challenges she became a wonderful motivational speaker and an empowering writer. Annie Sullvian was Hellen's teacher and role model in life, but she too had experienced trauma which she had to overcome to help Helen succeed. James was Helen's half brother who was very immature about his father marrying Helen's mother after his mother died. Going

Helen's condition of being deaf and blind caused her to lack the skills to communicate, with those around her, but despite her challenges she learned how to communicate and became a wonderful writer and motivational speaker. This can be compared with a metaphor of a safe with no key. "'She is like a little safe, locked, that no one can open,'" (Gibson,18). This shows that she is disconnected from her own family because they can not communicate, therefore causing them to lack faith in her ability to succeed. However, Helen's mentor, Annie, helps her learn sign language in order to gain the ability to communicate to the best of her ability. During the learning process, Helen's brother James relates, "... she imitates everything, she's a monkey." (Gibson,36). This shows, for many months Helen thought this was a game of monkey see monkey do, nothing more. She knew how to imitate to spell the word back but didn't know that the word had a meaning to it. What is surprising is that Helen was content

Annie grew up in an asylum with her little brother. " Annie, when are we going home? You promised!" (Gibson,40). Annie had a lot of traumatic experiences with her brother, in the asylum. She promised her brother Jimmy that she will never abandon him. She tried her hardest but the time came where she had to, " Forever and ever, you said forever." (Gibson,40). From these experiences it was hard for her to love another child because she has all this guilt from not doing everything she could to keep her brother from dying in the asylum. This is demonstrated in the play where it says, " I didn't come here for love, I came here for money," (Gibson, 80). Later in the play when Helen learns that words have meanings Annie spells into her hand, " I love Helen forever and- ever" (Gibson,122). Annie had a lot of trauma, and it was hard to love another child, but with time, and hard work she did, and so could