Handout #1

Questions for The Miracle Worker, Act 1 (pgs. 7 – 18) Answer questions below. Pick one scene from question 2, 3, or 4 and draw a picture of what a snapshot of that scene might look like, using as much detail as you can.

1. The Miracle Worker takes place in Tuscumbia, Alabama in the 1880’s. What evidence of the setting (time period and location) can you find in text?

They use a lamps to light the house, Kate offers to escort the doctor to his “buggy,” the doctor comes to the house, the children play with paper dolls.

2. The doctor tells Captain Keller and Kate, “You’re a pair of lucky parents.” In what way are they lucky? In what way is this statement ironic?

They are lucky because Helen has not died as the doctor originally thought she would. He says he has never seen a baby full of life and energy like Helen. It is ironic because even though Helen survived, it turns out she is deaf and blind. What kind of life will she be able to lead?

3. Who are Percy and Martha? How does Helen interact with them? What does this tell you about Helen?

Percy and Martha are two black children who work at the Kellers. Helen is constantly putting her hands in their mouths and feeling her own lips. She gets frustrated and almost stabs Martha with scissors. This tells us that Helen knows the children are communicating with each other and she wants to do this as well. When she can’t, she gets angry and violent.

4. Aunt Ev suggests that Capt. Keller write to a man who might be able to help Helen. How is Captain Keller’s reaction different from Kate’s and why?

Captain Keller says he doesn’t want to write to any more doctors because no one has been able to help Helen. He has “stopped believing in wonders.” Kate, on the other hand, has never given up hope and continues to ask the Captain to write until he agrees.

Handout #2

Questions for The Miracle Worker, Act 1 (pgs. 19 - 26) Answer questions below.

1. Describe Annie Sullivan using three examples from the text. Your examples can be physical or personality traits.

Annie is described as a twenty-year-old girl who looks very serious and stubborn (Answers will vary).

2. Who is Anagnos? What is his relationship to Annie?

Mr. Anagnos runs the Perkins school. Annie is a student at his school and it seems like he has been somewhat of a mentor to her. They have a very close relationship by the way they speak to each other, the ring he gives her, and how she says she owes him everything.

3. Why do the children give Annie a pair of smoked glasses as a gift? What does the reaction of the children to Annie’s departure imply about her relationship to them?

They give her the glasses because she had an operation that makes her eyes sensitive to light. Annie is very close to the other children who plead with her not to leave. She teases one little girl by saying that she’ll put her in her suitcase and take her to Alabama.

4. This is the first scene that contains a flashback. Give a short summary of the flashback (three to four sentences) and explain why the author is including this flashback at this moment in the play.

In this flashback, we learn that Annie was blind and her younger brother Jimmy was crippled. Both children are orphans and Annie has taken responsibility for Jimmy’s care. When they get to the orphanage, they are separated. The author includes this flashback because Annie is leaving the girls at Perkins, who are begging her not to go, just like Jimmy begged Annie not to let “them” take him. She is leaving her “family” and it is difficult.

Handout #3

Questions for The Miracle Worker, Act 1 (pgs. 26 - 37) Answer questions below.

1. Look in the text for examples of simile. Find one and explain what it is describing.

Annie says she is “ as shaky inside as a baby’s rattle.” She’s explaining to Kate that she is very nervous, even if she appears confident. Annie also says that Dr. Howe treated the disabled children “like – eggs everyone was afraid would break” instead of treating them like ordinary children.

2. Reread the exchange between Captain Keller and James on pg. 27 – 28. How would you describe the relationship between James and his father? Why do you think James refers to Kate as “Mrs. Keller” and then “Mother”?

James does not have a good relationship with his father. They seem to fight a lot and don’t appear to get along. James calls Kate “Mrs. Keller” because he doesn’t see her as family. He calls her “Mother” sarcastically when he is reprimanded by his father.

3. What does Annie tell Kate that she will try to teach Helen? Why do you think this is so important?

Annie says she will teach Helen language because it is even more important to understand language than it is to see. If you know language in any form, you are able to communicate with others.

4. Dialect is a particular form of language that is specific to a region or place most often recognized by an accent. Compare the way Kate speaks to the way Viney speaks. How is their speech different?

Viney uses “improper” English – she says “hisself” for “himself,” “ain’t” instead of “isn’t,” and “gone” instead of “going to.” Viney also drops the final “g” on many of her words, which is indicated by an apostrophe. Kate uses “correct” speech and more sophisticated vocabulary like “delayed.”

Handout #4

Questions for The Miracle Worker, Act 1 (pgs. 37 - 50) Answer questions below.

1. How is Annie teaching Helen language? What is Helen’s reaction to this experience? What is Annie’s first impression of Helen after watching her?

Annie forms the letters of the deaf alphabet into Helen’s hand. Helen is intrigued and forms each letter, imitating Annie’s hand gestures. Annie says Helen is very bright and she is impressed by how quickly Helen learns.

2. How does Helen react to having her new doll taken away? Summarize what happens after Annie makes her spell the word.

Helen becomes very angry and fights Annie to get it back. After Annie makes her spell “doll,” Helen smacks her in the face with the doll and locks her in the bedroom.

3. How does Kate get out of her room? What happens to the key?

Captain Keller has to use a ladder to get Annie out of the bedroom window. Helen, who has been hiding the key in her mouth the whole time to keep it from being discovered, waits until she thinks she is alone and then drops the key down the well.

4. Describe the flashback Annie has while locked in her bedroom. What do you think is happening? Why is Annie having this flashback at this point?

Annie’s flashback is of her brother Jimmy crying in pain. He collapses and perhaps becomes unconscious. A doctor tells Annie that Jimmy will be going away. Maybe he is going to die or be put in another section of the ward, away from her. She’s having this flashback because she is hurt and alone with no one to help, just like Jimmy was hurt and she couldn’t help him.