I haven’t really read the actual manuscript of the play yet,
but I was really touched when I watched it being performed in class. What
interested me the most in the play was how Annie could teach Helen how to speak
when the latter’s senses were obstructed. Through the duration of the play,
many human values could be seen and many of life’s greatest lessons could be
learned.
In the
story, Annie Sullivan became the perfect epitome of everything a teacher should
be. A teacher not only should be able to teach his/her students how to read and
write, but he/she should also able to teach them what path in life they should tread. From
the very start, Annie, being physically unable to see, has already learned the
core values of patience and perseverance, which she then passed on to the
Keller family. Annie’s courage in staying in an asylum and overcoming her
brother’s death alone is also really commendable.
A
typical human being is born with five different senses: sight, smell, hearing,
taste, and touch. Losing one is bearable, losing two is difficult, but losing
two and having another disability is near to worst. Helen Keller is a typical
cute little girl who wasn't that lucky enough to have all these essential
senses. Besides from lacking the ability to see and hear, she also couldn't speak. If you were placed in this kind of situation, what would you do?
Helen
Keller’s situation is never next to easy. Not being able to see and hear
prevents her from knowing about the outside. What happens then if the only
thing that connects her own thoughts to the world has also been taken away from
her? For Helen, all she could do was let all these feelings out in the form of
rage. She couldn't tell everyone how she felt, what she wanted, what she
needed, and what she wanted to express. She
wanted to link her world to her family’s and everyone else’s world, but she couldn't. Annie Sullivan, however, did all she could to build a bridge for
Helen.
At
first, Helen
was really stubborn. Maybe because she was just a kid and it was normal for her
to act that way. Maybe because she just didn't want to learn. Or maybe because
she just liked to fool around people. But for me, Helen became obdurate because
of one simple reason: she already lost hope that someone would be able to help
her, but Annie’s determination was greater than Helen’s sensory impairments and
even greater than her helplessness.
In
spite of all the negative things and pressure that the Keller family was
putting on Annie, the latter still did not lose hope that someday, Helen would
be able to learn and live just like any normal kid could. And Annie was right.
She persevered, day and night, to teach Helen how to read, write, and behave
properly. She didn't mind all the things and words people spat at her. She didn't listen to the critics telling her she wouldn't succeed. Because Annie
knew she would. And then again, she was right.
Helen Keller, a girl who was deaf, blind, and mute at the same
time, finally learned how to communicate and express her own feelings. She
learned how to persevere. She entered school and became better than most of the
students. She then graduated with flying honors.
Sometimes, it’s not our
abilities to see, hear, or speak which define us. It’s the way we overcome
these obstructions that defines who we really are. In the play, Helen is a
strong girl who managed to endure it all. While Annie, the person beyond
Helen’s success, is the miracle worker.
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