The Miracle Worker, a play by William
Gibson, is based on the lives of Helen Keller and her lifetime companion, Annie
Sullivan.
In terms of conflicts, there are two
major kinds: internal and external.
There is only one kind of internal conflict and that is man (or woman) against himself
(or herself). (This would include having a guilty conscience or talking oneself out of
being afraid.) There are several kinds of external conflicts, including man vs. man, man
vs. the supernatural (or God), man vs. society, and man vs.
nature.
The most prevalent kind of conflict in this play is
man vs. man. This would include primarily Annie against Helen, Annie against Captain
Keller, the Captain against James, Annie against James, and even the Captain against
Kate Keller (but to a lesser degree).
Man vs. nature might
be seen in Annie's struggle to keep her eyesight.
Man vs.
society can be seen when Annie decides to treat Helen as she sees
fit in order to reach through the obstacles of Helen's loss of vision, hearing and
speech. The Keller family is very unhappy with Annie's "tough love"
approach. Man vs. society is also seen in the behavior of Annie—a young lady from the
North—as opposed to the expectations of "genteel" href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/comportment">comportment of
ladies in southern society in the late 1800s.
The most
obvious example of internal conflict is Annie fighting to come to terms with her
memories—specifically those of her brother Jimmy, who died when they were very
young.
To name a specific instance of man vs. man, perhaps
the most memorable incident is in Act Two, scene two, when Annie is trying to get Helen
to eat with a spoon and sit nicely at the table. The scene is a memorable one to
see, filled with only Annie's
commentary, and a great deal of physical acting as Helen and Annie brawl across the
dining room table.
There follows the longest and most famous onstage
fight in American
theatre...
Another
entertaining scene (in Act One, scene seven), which involves an early conflict in the
play, begins with Annie pitted against Helen, and ends with Annie pitted against the
Captain. When Annie will not let Helen have her own way (which the family is accustomed
to doing to get any peace), Helen hits Annie in the face with the doll Annie has brought
to her (knocking out Annie's tooth); then Helen locks Annie in her room—all on the first
day Annie arrives. Helen hides the key, which has a great deal of symbolism in the play,
and will be significant at the end of the play. In order to get her
out of the room, the Captain must climb to the second floor window and carry Annie down
the ladder.
KELLER:
Come
out!
ANNIE:
I
don't see how I can. There isn't
room.
KELLER:
I
intend to carry you. Climb onto my shoulder and hold
tight.
ANNIE:
Oh,
no. It's—very chivalrous of you, but I'd really prefer
to—
KELLER:
Miss
Sullivan, follow directions! I will not have you also tumbling out of our windows...I
hope this is not a sample of what we may expect from you. In the way of simplifying the
work of looking after
Helen.
This conflict, man vs.
man, as seen with Captain Keller against Annie, is only one of the many conflicts in the
play.
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