Name:______Period: ______

Study Guide for The Miracle Worker Unit Test

Plot

1. What is the setting of the Miracle Worker? Identify the time period, time shift from scene one to scene two, and time frame from scene two until the end. (How long was Annie given to perform a miracle?) Where did the story take place? Consider all of the locations.

2. Who are the main characters and what are their roles in the story?

3. What is the main conflict?

4. Write a single sentence summary for each of the five elements of a story.

5. James is a dynamic character. Explain his change.

6. There is clearly one protagonist. Who is it and who are three antagonists? Explain your answers.

History

1. Identify what you know about Helen’s life chronologically:

·  Birthdate

·  At 19 months

·  At about 6 years

·  Adult life

·  Death

2. What do you know about Annie’s life before Helen and after the story ends? (Give at least three specific details.)

3. Describe Helen’s behavior before Annie arrived. Be specific with at least three details of text support.

4. What is fingerspelling? How is it used?

Story Details

1. Why does Helen steal Aunt Ev’s buttons? Why is this significant?

2. How did Helen’s family treat Helen prior to her water pump epiphany? (Give at least three examples.) Did each help her or hurt her? Explain.

3. What four items did Mr. Anagnos and the blind girls at the institute give to Annie?

4. Who was Mr. Howe and why was he important to the story (and Annie) even though he was never seen?

5. Why is the character, Belle (who makes an appearance but has no lines) important to Helen?

6. For whom does Annie grieve and why?

Annie and Helen’s Relationship

1. What makes Annie a good teacher for Helen? Give at least three reasons.

2. What did Annie use to teach Helen?

3. Helen acts violently toward Annie on many occasions. What does she do? Why? How does Annie respond?

Putting it all together

1. Where was figurative language used in the play? (Give at least three examples.)

2. How has comparing the playbook to the movie helped you understand the story better?

3. Who said each of these quotes and what do they mean?

·  “...she (i.e. Helen) keeps pokin' her fingers in my mouth. I just bite 'em off”?

·  “Might as well leave the l, a, d, d, e, r, hm?”

·  “The greatest problem I have is how to discipline her without breaking her spirit.”

·  “...obedience is the gateway through which knowledge enters the mind of the child”?

·  “Folded - her napkin?”

·  “From the moment she stepped off the train, she's been nothing but a burden, incompetent, impertinent, ineffective, immodest”?

Don’t forget to review vocabulary and personal dictionary definitions.