Student Question
In The Miracle Worker, who are Helen Keller's life antagonists?
Quick answer:
Helen Keller's early life antagonists in "The Miracle Worker" are primarily her own parents, who indulge her behavior due to pity. This lack of discipline becomes an obstacle until Anne Sullivan teaches Helen to obey authority. Later, Helen's physical disabilities—being deaf and blind—serve as her main antagonists. Overcoming these challenges by learning to communicate through writing, sign language, and rudimentary speech marks a significant personal triumph.
Ironically, when she is younger, her antagonists seem to be her own parents, especially her mother. At the beginning of the play, they have allowed Helen to grow up without any consequences for her behavior. This is because they feel sorry for her and do not want her upset. When Anne Sullivan comes, the first thing she must do is to get Helen to recognize that she cannot do everything she wants and to realize that she must obey some kind of authority. Later in life, her antagonists were her own physical disabilities. Being both deaf and blind made life very difficult and she had to learn to communicate both in writing and in sign language, plus she learned rudimentary speech. Overcoming those impediments was a real victory for her.
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