The Miracle
Worker
By
William
Gibson
Helen’s Life
Helen Keller was born in
Tuscumbia, Alabama on June 27,
1880. At the age of 19 months, she
lost her sight and hearing as a result
of meningitis.
With the help of her teacher, Anne
Sullivan, she became the first blinddeaf person to effectively
communicate with the sighted and
hearing world. In so doing, she
became an international celebrity
from the age of eight, even before the
era of mass communications.
Elements of Drama
Drama- Literature that is meant to be performed in front of an
audience and is written in a special format called a script.
Character List- A list of all the characters in the play, sometimes
includes descriptions
Dialogue - Conversation between characters in a play
Stage Directions- A set of instructions, usually in italic and
separated from the dialogue, that give information to the readers
and actors in a play. Often the information provided refers to the
scenery, the props, or how the actors should move across the stage.
Acts- Similar to a chapter in a novel
Scenes- Acts are made up of these, each one has a different setting,
either in time or place
Act One Vocabulary
Appraisal- n. an evaluation
Benign- adj. good natured, kindly
Combative- adj. ready to fight
Constitution- n. physical makeup
Impudence- n. shameless boldness
Inarticulate- adj. unclear speech
Indolent- adj. lazy
Act One Vocabulary
Morosely- adj. gloomily, sullenly
Oblivious- adj. not noticing
Restraint- n. self-control
Resurrection- n. a rebirth
Unkempt- adj. messy, untidy
Vigil- n. a wakeful guarding
Vitality- n. energy, strength
Vivacious- adj. full of life
No pessimist ever
discovered the
secret of the stars
or sailed an
uncharted land, or
opened a new
doorway for the
human spirit.
-Helen Keller
Act One Review
1. the Kellers are considered “lucky parents
because Helen survived her illness
2. Kate discovers after the doctor leaves that
Helen can’t see or hear.
3. Helen attacks Martha with the scissors out
of frustration and anger.
4. Kate is upset with James because he
complains about having to “look” at her and
he says she should be locked away in an
asylum.
Act One Review
5. Keller agrees to write Doctor Chisolm when
Helen endangers others- the alternative is to
lock her away in an asylum
6. Anagnos fears Annie’s lack of tact and
stubbornness will get her into trouble with her
new employers.
7. Her little brother Jimmy
8. Helen shows her awareness of change in her
surroundings by using her senses of touch,
smell and taste.
Act One Review
9. The three personal advantages Annie names
to reassure Kate are that she’s highly educated,
young and was once blind.
10. Annie shows an understanding of Helen’s
handicaps when she uses Helen’s strong sense
of touch to her advantage. Some examples are:
vibrations on the porch, letting Helen feel her
face , using objects combined with sign
language to spell words and reinforce meaning.
Act One Review
11. The alphabet for the deaf
12. She signs into Helen’s hands
13. Respect, amusement and acceptance
of the challenge
14. independence, self-reliance, ability to
overcome dire situations
15. loner, still heartbroken over Jimmy’s
death, challenges from illness.