The Miracle Worker: Analysis of Setting
"The Miracle Worker" is a powerful play that explores themes of communication and personal transformation through the story of Helen Keller, a blind and deaf child, and her teacher, Annie Sullivan. The setting is primarily the Keller family's farmhouse in Tuscumbia, Alabama, which serves as both Helen's childhood home and the backdrop for her struggles and triumphs. The simple yet significant design of the set includes two distinct areas: the Keller house and a versatile space for other settings, which helps to illustrate the isolation and confusion experienced by Helen.
As audiences witness Helen's transformation from a frustrated, angry child into a more connected individual, the setting plays a crucial role. It highlights the stark contrast between Helen's internal world, where she feels trapped and disconnected, and the outside world that she is gradually learning to understand. Annie Sullivan's arrival introduces a dynamic shift in Helen's life, as she employs innovative teaching methods to break through Helen's barriers. The climactic moment, where Helen learns the connection between language and objects, symbolizes her first step toward engaging with the world around her. Overall, the setting of "The Miracle Worker" not only establishes a physical space but also reflects the emotional and intellectual journey of its characters.
The Miracle Worker: Analysis of Setting
First published: 1957, television play; 1959, stage play
First produced: 1957, on television; 1959, at the Playhouse Theatre, New York City
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Psychological realism
Time of work: 1880’s
Asterisk denotes entries on real places.
Places Discussed
*Keller house
*Keller house. Two-story farmhouse located near Tuscumbia, Alabama, that was Helen Keller’s birthplace and the home in which she grew up. Gibson’s script calls for a set consisting of two areas divided by a diagonal line. The area behind the line represents the Keller house and includes two rooms and a porch area. The other area accommodates a variety of other settings as needed. Audiences can best appreciate the simple setting by trying to imagine how a blind and deaf child who initially has no concept of human language would interact with surroundings that she can neither see nor hear.
Angry and full of incomprehension of the world outside her body, Helen lashes out at those around her until Annie Sullivan forces her to settle down, behave civilly, and begin to learn how to understand the world in terms of language, which she teaches Helen through hand movements. Shortly after Annie arrives, she and Helen have a fight, which Helen wins by locking Annie in her room and hiding the key. Annie wins the next big fight by forcing Helen to eat off her own plate with a spoon. Afterward, she takes Helen from the main house to live with her in a detached garden house, where she can exercise complete control over Helen to break her of her almost feral habits. The play’s “miracle” occurs when Annie makes Helen pump water into a pitcher, and Helen finally grasps the connection between Annie’s hand movements and water, thus discovering the concept of language. The play thus ends with her on the threshhold of full entry into human society.
Bibliography
Brustein, Robert. “Two for the Miracle.” The New Republic 141, no. 19 (November 9, 1959): 28-29. Argues that Gibson is a gifted writer, with literary and dramatic skills, but that The Miracle Worker is merely an essay on interpersonal relations and that Gibson’s weakness for the inspirational dooms him to the second rank.
Hayes, Richard. “Images.” Commonwealth 71, no. 10 (December 4, 1959): 289. Argues that The Miracle Worker’s message of goodness is aesthetically irrelevant.
“A Hit at 10: The Miracle Worker.” Newsweek 54, no. 18 (November 2, 1959): 97. Representative of the many favorable reviews when the play opened on Broadway. Focuses on Annie Sullivan as the exemplary teacher and on the themes of love and discipline. Like many reviews, it expresses surprise that the play succeeds in spite of its first being written for television.
Kerr, Walter. “The Miracle Worker.” In The Theater in Spite of Itself. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1963. Discusses how The Miracle Worker succeeds in spite of some weaknesses.
Tynan, Kenneth. “Ireland Unvanquished.” The New Yorker 35, no. 37 (October 31, 1959): 131-136. Describes Gibson’s juxtaposition of laughter, combat, and pathos. Argues that the play affirms the dignity of the species.
“Who Is Stanislavsky?” Time 74, no. 25 (December 21, 1959): 46-52. Discusses the theatrical qualities of The Miracle Worker, especially the fight sequences, and examines the development of Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller as characters in the play.