Annie Sullivan's Miracle Worker

572 Words2 Pages

Annie Sullivan takes on a challenge when she accepts a job of helping Helen, a blind deaf little girl. She’s only 20, with no other experience of teaching, but she has determination. In the play Miracle Worker, William Gibson portrays Annie Sullivan as a shrewd, determined, and passionate character as shown through the way she teaches and disciplines Helen. Annie Sullivan is depicted as shrewd. She has different opinions on subjects, such as education, shown when she says, “the, more, i, think, the, more, certain, i am, that, obedience, is, the, gateway, through, which, knowledge, enters, the, mind, of, the, child” (45). Annie knows that if she gets Helen to behave more, she’ll learn more. You can’t learn if you don’t focus. Earlier in the book, Kate asks Annie what she will teach Helen first and Annie responds, “First, last-and in between, language… language is to the mind more than light is to the eye” (24). Kate, Helen’s mother, expects a specific answer of topics Annie will start to teach Helen, but Annie gives her a broad statement …show more content…

Kate is surprised that Annie is so young but Annie to that says “I mean to try… They can’t put you in jail for trying” (23), even though no one has ever taught someone like Helen. Annie may be young and may seem to be unskilled, but she doesn’t let that stop her. She gets this job to teach a deaf and a blind child so she will give it her all even though it is not believed to be possible. To actually get some work done with Helen, Annie says “...leave me alone with her” (50) because she wants her to get away from all the pity from her family. Annie thinks all the pity from Helen’s family is draining out all that she is teaching Helen. She does not think that Helen is learning anything with her family letting her do whatever she wants without consequence. Despite what Helen’s family thinks of Annie, she doesn’t give up doing what she knows is right for

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