The Miracle Worker: Act 1 Questions

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The Miracle Worker: Act 1 Questions
RECALLING
1. How does Helen’s mother discover that Helen cannot see? That she cannot hear?
2. Why does Helen pull the buttons off Aunt Ev’s dress?
3. What three advantages does Annie claim to have over Dr. Howe? What is her background?
4. According to Annie, what is the most important thing for Helen to learn?
5. What does Annie make Helen do before allowing her to have the doll? What does Helen do
with the doll once Annie gives it to her?
6. What does Helen do with the key to Annie’s room?
INTERPRETING
1. What does Keller mean when he states that his wife is not “battle-scarred”? Does Mrs.
Keller agree with his view of child rearing? Explain your answer.
2. Describe Helen’s physical and emotional state at the end of Act One, when she is about sixand-a-half
years old.
3. What reasons does Captain Keller have for refusing, at first, to contact Dr. Chisholm?
What reason is revealed by his question, “Katie, how many times can you let them break your
heart?”
4. Aunt Ev says of Helen, “This child has more sense than all these men Kellers, if there’s ever
any way to reach that mind of hers.” What evidence in Act One suggests that Helen is, in
fact, very bright?
5. In what ways are Helen and Annie similar?
6. What flaw has Annie found in Dr. Howe’s methods?
7. Why does Annie want to carry her own suitcase? Why does she want to get down the ladder
on her own? How do Annie and Captain Keller differ in their beliefs about the relationships
between men and women?
8. Why does Helen lock Annie in the bedroom? What is Helen attempting to do?
CRITICAL THINKING
1. Annie quotes Dr. Howe’s saying that “Language is to the mind more than light is to the eye.”
What does this statement mean? Why is it important that a child learn language? What
else must a child learn that Helen has not learned?
DEVELOPING SKILLS IN READING LITERATURE
1. Act and Scene. An act is a major unit of action in a play. An act may have more than one
setting and can include several scenes. A scene is a unit of action that takes place in one
setting. Act One of the Miracle Worker contains a number of scenes. These scenes flow
smoothly into one another. On a sheet of paper, list the events that signal scene changes in
Act One.

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2. Flashback. A flashback is a part of a story or play that interrupts the sequence of events
to relate an earlier conversation, scene, or event. What information is provided in
flashbacks about Annie Sullivan? About her brother, Jimmie?
3. Setting. Setting is the time and place of the action of a story or play. When and where do
the events in this story take place? In the time of this play, what were the prevailing
attitudes about the roles of men and women? What were the prevailing attitudes toward
the handicapped? Does Annie share these attitudes? Explain.
4. Conflict. Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces. One of Annie’s conflicts is with
Helen. When does this conflict begin? At the end of Act One, who seems to be winning this
conflict? In addition to the conflict with Helen, what conflict is Annie having with Captain
Keller? With James? With herself?