The Disabled Are Strong

Darkness is all around. There is no noise and no light. This setting is the world of Helen Keller in the play The Miracle Worker. Like all plays, The Miracle Worker contains protagonists, and there are two protagonists who struggle with obstacles and go through psychological change. Of course, the play includes antagonists, who embody more of an idea than being bad themselves. The protagonists and antagonists create a conflict that is seen throughout the play. The playwright created an idea that he wants the audience to grasp in his play as well.

Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller play the part of the protagonists. Both Annie and Helen propel the action of the play. Because Helen is blind and deaf, her parents, mostly her mother, finds the need of hiring someone to help Helen. The Kellers hire Annie, and Annie moves the action along with being stubborn and suggesting ways to help Helen communicate. Each character struggles with the obstacles placed in front of them. Helen suffers from her disability along with her parents treating her differently. Annie battles her past as an obstacle as well as struggling with Helen's parents and her own disability. Before the climax, Annie refuses to condone Helen's behaviors and states she will never love Helen. Before the climax for Helen, she reverts into her old ways. At the pump, both girls experience change at the end of the play with Helen realizing her way of communication and Annie realizing she loves Helen.

The antagonist in The Miracle Worker is society's view on the disabled, and the other characters portray this role. Each character provides a different scenario of how people treat disabled people. Captain Arthur Keller struggles with believing Annie, who was once blind, can reach ...

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.... Now, as a nineteen year old, she has achieved so much such as going to college, making the Dean's list, and living life to the fullest. She is a great example, just as Helen and Annie in The Miracle Worker are for the idea of disabled people being stronger than the able believe them to be.

The playwright combined all these amazing elements to create The Miracle Worker. He focused on making his two protagonists Annie and Helen who are disabled. He wrote the antagonist to be able-bodied people, but he had the other characters portray the antagonist. The conflict involves the disabled versus the able-bodied people. His idea for the audience to pick up on is disabled people are stronger than able-bodied people think. At the beginning, Helen's world is dark and soundless. She is incapable of communication. However, at the end, Helen's world opens up for understanding.