Review of The Miracle Worker (1962) by Aaron B — 20 Nov 2008

[font=Trebuchet MS][color=black][font='Times New Roman','serif'][color=black][font='Times New Roman','serif'][color=black][font='Times New Roman','serif'][color=black][font='Times New Roman','serif'][color=black][font='Times New Roman','serif'][color=black][font='Times New Roman','serif']The miracle worker is a very inspiring movie, which deals with the ultimate struggle of a girl named Helen Keller, that shortly after being born went deaf and blind. She really has no means to communicate with the outside world, until a twenty year old teacher from Boston shows up and teachers her the only way possible, through the power of touch. There are three main struggles in the movie. The obvious one of Helen herself being deaf and blind, her teachers confrontations with her own past of being blind, and the family's struggles of letting Hellen do what she wants and not letting her teacher do her job.[/font][/color].

[color=black][font='Times New Roman','serif']Helen Keller is portrayed as being a very needed and having no manners, but the parents look the other way because her conditions and basically let her do whatever she wants with no consequences. When her teacher Annie arrives she intends to change all that, but as she finds out very quickly not only does Helen not want to change, her parents are very skeptical about what she can actually learn. This is made clear the first lesson when Helen eventually hits Annie in the face and locks her in a room. Helen ends up running outside and hides the key; her parents believe that she dropped it somewhere in the yard and go in to have supper. But Annie stays outside watching Helen, once everyone left she takes the key that she hid and through it down the well. I think this is a very important scene because it shows Annie how smart Helen actually is and that she has the capacity to understand what her actions actually mean. At the supper table Helen just helps herself to whatever she wants on other people's plates when she tries to eat off Annie's plate she pushes Helen away, her parents object to this and get into a big argument, that ends with her parents going outside leaving Helen and Annie alone together. This leads to them fighting all afternoon until Annie finally teaches Helen table manners and even how to fold her napkin. This once again shows her gift intelligence to learn, even though she can see or hear. After this whole ordeal it becomes clear to Annie what she must do for Helen to gain success. She decides that the only way Helen will be able to learn is by taking her away from her parents and bring her to a hunting shack just off Helen?s parent?s estate.[/font][/color].

[color=black][font='Times New Roman','serif']Annie convinces Helen's parents to give her two weeks alone without them, because she believes the only way Helen will learn is she has to depend on Annie for everything. Still Helen is very unwilling to this change and isn't very fond of her teacher. The way that Annie teaches Helen is through sign language and by rewarding good behavior or waiting for Helen to be good. Annie is a very determined and stubborn person. In one instance she would not give Helen her breakfast until she dressed herself. Her father stopped by the window and saw the food and stated "is that Helen's breakfast. Why won?t she eat it"? To this Annie replies she can have it when she dresses herself. Angered Helen's father said "it's ten she has to eat". Just then as her father was doubting she started to put her own clothes on. The reason why Annie is such a stubborn teachers is because of the experiences that she had to go through as a child. She was also blind and she lived in an asylum with other blind and or deaf kids. In this asylum she spoke of great horrors such as when she would go play it would be in the room where the asylum kept all the dead bodies waiting to be buried. When she revealed this to Helen's parents after they stated that they were thinking about sending Helen to one, they said how sympathetic they were, Annie asked "why it made me stronger".[/font][/color].

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[color=black][font='Times New Roman','serif']The biggest part of why Helen couldn't learn was do to the fact how much her parents love and pity her. When they finally return to the Keller house, at the dinner table Helen doesn't show the same table manners as she does when she was just with Annie. She repeatedly throws her napkin on the ground and tries to eat with her hands instead of spoon like Annie taught her. When Annie acts to correct this behavior Helen throws a fit and crawls into her loving mother?s arms. Who feels nothing but sympathy towards the situation, Annie shouts she is just testing you. But then the mother realizes what has just happened and lets Annie take her action but now the father tries to make Annie stop, but his son steps in the way and says your wrong she's right let her go. The brother, who throughout the movie criticizes Annie finally steps up and realizes that she can actually help Helen. When Helen was throwing the temper tantrum she threw water in the face of Annie. So Annie takes her out to refill it, this is when Helen makes the connection of what the sign language really means. That was all Helen needed and everything else started to connect. It seemed like the impossible had happened; now Helen finally had meaning to put to everything that Annie had taught her.[/font][/color].

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[color=black][font='Times New Roman','serif']This is still to this day one of the most inspiring and heart felt movies ever made. Because it shows that even the most impossible task can be accomplished. Especially when given the right tools and teacher for the job. When I first saw the movie in seventh grade I absolutely hated it, I was so board through out the whole thing. But I think it was the fact that I couldn't really grasp what had just happened in front of my eyes. Now I see it much differently, it's an amazing story and I highly recommend it to anyone at any age.[/font][/color][/font][/color].

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