How Is Keller Presented In The Miracle Worker

The characters of William Gibson’s The Miracle Worker reveal the experience of children with disabilities second hand and the influence it has on their relationships. Helen Keller is a deaf and blind mute, isolated in her own world, unable to communicate with others; it’s possible she lost her sight and hearing as a result of an acute congestion. She’s “quite unkempt, attractive but noticeably blind, with one eye larger and protruding” whereas her gestures are abrupt, incessant and “lack human restraint.” Captain Arthur and Kate Keller are unable to differentiate compassion from love, indulging in each of their child’s desires. Annie Sullivan, the opposite of the desired dessicated spinster, doesn’t reinforce Helen’s problematic behaviors but rather through “persistence, love and sheer stubbornness breaks through” unlocking the safe, that no one could have opened prior to her arrival. (Gibson)(4)(1) …show more content…
Captain Arthur Keller is a man in “his forties with chin whiskers” who fought in the Civil War for the South (which contributes to his belief that women must be treated similar to delicate flowers.) Keller seems to be more realistic of the situation, not willing to send a letter to each oculist that appears in the newspapers. He states that he’s “stopped believing in wonders” and it’s understable considering that Helen has been to “specialists all over Alabama and Tennessee “ but she continues to make no remarkable progress. It’s evident that caring for the child has taken a toll on her vivacious aura, the “girlish playfulness” mentioned in the initial introduction scene are gone, she’s now a “woman steeled in grief.”