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The Miracle Worker

The Miracle Worker

List Price: $5.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An imprisoned mind set free
Review: "The Miracle Worker," a play by William Gibson, has had an enduring presence as a piece of living literature. It appeared on Broadway during the 1959-60 dramatic season, was made into a motion picture a couple of years later, and then was remade as a television movie for the 1979-80 season. The play's genesis lies in the real story of Helen Keller (1880-1968), the woman who was struck deaf and blind by illness at the age of 19 months. "The Miracle Worker" tells how a young Helen was led out of her prison of silence and darkness by the remarkable Anne Sullivan, who set out to teach the girl sign language.

"The Miracle Worker" is a truly great play. Gibson brilliantly takes the historical facts of Keller's childhood (many of which can be found in "The Story of My Life," Keller's 1902 autobiography) and turns them into a suspenseful, profoundly moving piece of theater. Although the core of the play is the fiery relationship between Sullivan and the wildly undisciplined Helen, Gibson's drama takes in the entire Keller household. I was particularly moved by the relationship between "Miss Annie" and Helen's frustrated but devoted mother.

"The Miracle Worker" is remarkable because much of the story is told not in dialogue, but in Gibson's stage directions. This is one of those plays which is not only powerful in performance, but also a gripping read.

Gibson's play is one of those great examples of a drama that takes real American life stories and turns them into enduring art; in that sense, it is comparable to such great works as "The Crucible," by Arthur Miller, or "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail," by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee.

"The Miracle Worker" is not only a compelling human drama, but also a reflection on courage, love, education, and the transcendent power of language. As an interesting complementary text, I recommend Octavia Butler's science fiction story "Speech Sounds" (which can be found in Butler's book "Bloodchild and Other Stories").

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An imprisoned mind set free
Review: "The Miracle Worker," a play by William Gibson, has had an enduring presence as a piece of living literature. It appeared on Broadway during the 1959-60 dramatic season, was made into a motion picture a couple of years later, and then was remade as a television movie for the 1979-80 season. The play's genesis lies in the real story of Helen Keller (1880-1968), the woman who was struck deaf and blind by illness at the age of 19 months. "The Miracle Worker" tells how a young Helen was led out of her prison of silence and darkness by the remarkable Anne Sullivan, who set out to teach the girl sign language.

"The Miracle Worker" is a truly great play. Gibson brilliantly takes the historical facts of Keller's childhood (many of which can be found in "The Story of My Life," Keller's 1902 autobiography) and turns them into a suspenseful, profoundly moving piece of theater. Although the core of the play is the fiery relationship between Sullivan and the wildly undisciplined Helen, Gibson's drama takes in the entire Keller household. I was particularly moved by the relationship between "Miss Annie" and Helen's frustrated but devoted mother.

"The Miracle Worker" is remarkable because much of the story is told not in dialogue, but in Gibson's stage directions. This is one of those plays which is not only powerful in performance, but also a gripping read.

Gibson's play is one of those great examples of a drama that takes real American life stories and turns them into enduring art; in that sense, it is comparable to such great works as "The Crucible," by Arthur Miller, or "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail," by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee.

"The Miracle Worker" is not only a compelling human drama, but also a reflection on courage, love, education, and the transcendent power of language. As an interesting complementary text, I recommend Octavia Butler's science fiction story "Speech Sounds" (which can be found in Butler's book "Bloodchild and Other Stories").

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: How can you help someone who is mentally handicapped?
Review: And not only that, Helen is physically handicapped as well. Sure, heartwarming, interesting, whatever. Only problem is, how do you develop good in someone who has a GENETIC disease? (Based on her behavior, I'd say she has Sanfillipo's). Anne Sullivan isn't realistic either.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Inspirational
Review: Based on a true story, The Miracle Worker is a poignant drama exposing the childhood struggles and feats of Helen Keller. Keller's life story is widely regarded as one of the most inspirational triumphs of the human spirit in American history. This modern drama is a near perfect rendition of Keller's early years on a homestead farm in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

As the play begins, Kate Keller discovers that her child, Helen, cannot hear nor see her. A period of time elapses, and the family is trying to decide what they should do for Helen. After a bit of reluctance, Captain Keller consents to writing to Dr. Chisholm, an oculist who might be able to help her. It turns out that the oculist cannot help Helen, but he does contact Alexander Graham Bell, who in turn refers the Kellers to the Perkins Institute for the Blind. The Institute sends to the Kellers Annie Sullivan, a teacher who will attempt to communicate with Helen. Annie's first day with Helen is rough, as Helen ends up locking Annie in her room and throwing away the key. Eventually, Annie is able to finger-spell into Helen's hand, but Helen doesn't quite understand what the words mean. When Annie tries to discipline Helen, Helen gets mad and won't let Annie touch her. This prompts Annie to ask for two weeks alone with Helen in the Kellers' garden house. Once again, after great reluctance, Captain Keller assents. The two weeks pass and Helen still hasn't learned what words mean. Annie asks for more time alone with Helen, but the Kellers refuse and insist on bringing her back into the house. The reader is left wondering what will happen and reads on, awestruck, as Helen begins to make tremendous progress.

Besides educating the public about an important cultural icon, The Miracle Worker also promotes handicap awareness. I believe that this play can be used as a tool to teach children about accepting people with disabilities. As a disabled person myself, I testify to Keller's strength and every time I think of Keller, I am continually reminded at what I have accomplished in life despite tremendous difficulty. I'm sure that anyone who has ever been faced with an unusually tough set of circumstances will cherish this story, regardless of age, sex, or interests. As I said before, it's all about the human spirit -- if Keller's story doesn't inspire you to accomplish more in life, I doubt that anything will.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent real, vivid play!!!!
Review: Fantastic play!!!! The real suffering of everyone involved is sooo real! It's inspiring because it details the struggle to overcome serious handicaps. Annie is my absolute favorite character. I love the scenes with her & despite her own set of problems, like being blind herself & having terrible flashbacks & nightmares about her horrifying childhood, she gets her heart into getting Helen in touch with the world. Anne is one courageous lady!!! Even though I hear she was very modest about her accomplishments, Anne still deserves the honor of being remembered as the miracle worker of all time. I love how she persisted even though the rest of the Kellers were just content to have Helen "trained." Anne wanted Helen to be free to live like a real independent human being & it's so touching how she became attached to the little girl even though Helen was VERY difficult to handle, knocking out two of Annie's teeth & locking her in the room, then later battling with her at the breakfast table. And through it all, poor Annie struggles with trachoma hurting her eyes as well as being haunted by the death of her brother James. Of course, having James Keller around to make stupid remarks doesn't help either & I often felt like telling him to shut up. I get the feeling that there was a real power struggle between Arthur Keller & Anne too. I think Kate wanted to stand by Anne, but was didn't want to oppose her husband, whom along with everyone else, called him "Captain." I mentally cheered inside when Anne gets a chance to be alone with Helen, then later when she finally gets through to Helen about language! Anne really worked hard for that & I get the feeling that even though Kate & Arthur fell all over her thanking her at first because she'd "tamed" Helen, I read that later they really didn't appreciate Anne going the extra mile for them & teaching Helen to be independent & that's too bad because they really missed out on what Annie could have taught THEM and brought to their lives. Here's to you, Anne Sullivan!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow!
Review: Gibson's explanation of the turbulent life of Helen Keller was amazing. People who give it low reviews often do not see the inner meanings of the novel. Sure, it's not filled with fast-paced action, but its meanings are enough to make the play worth reading. Annie Sullivan helped the Keller family and herself overcome many emotional obstacles. Captain Keller and James learned to love and understand, and Annie herself came to terms with her brother's death. Through her guidance of Helen, she coulsd move on. Gibson captivated the heart with his portrayal of this family. WOW!!!!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It was a good book
Review: I enjoyed this book because the book has really good charecters in it it and they are really active.And the book is also very funny because the charecters like helen do very funny things, like helen eats off of other peoples plate and she is always mad happy or sad or she is always hitting people. It is also funny when Helen tries to show people when she is happy or sad because she is handycap it makes it look funny. The book and the movie is almost word for word.There are a lot of charecters in the book so sometimes it is hard to keep track of who is talking and who is doing what. But it is a good book and i think some people will like it better than other people would.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: -- Pre-Cyberpunk Novel by William Gibson?
Review: I found this novel to differ wildly from william gibson's excellent "cyberpunk" novels...Neuromancer, Burning Chrome, Count Zero, etc. It's really hard to believe the work is written by the man who gave us the gritty prose of "Idoru" and the amazing Artificial Intelligence characters of "Neuromancer". The book is historical in nature, but unlike "The Difference Engine" (in which John Keats falls in with Charles Babbage and devises a mechanical computer) _the events happen exactly as they might have in the real world!_ There is no alternate history, no fanciful imaginings, nothing!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I've seen it! It is awesome!
Review: I have been to "The Ivy Green", Helen's childhood home and I've seen the play. It is so wonderful to see what Anne Sullivan does with Helen. It is majesticly written. You must see it at her home to get the real effect.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Miracle Worker
Review: I love Miracle worker b/c it is thoughtful & fun to read. I reccomend this book to people who have a vivid imagination


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