Examples Of Failure In The Miracle Worker

The Detour From Failure
Success—the goal of one’s work. People can reach towards a certain limit before it comes to a stop. As shown in The Miracle Worker by William Gibson, determination can lead one on the road to success. Annie Sullivan is a girl from Tewksbury—an asylum for the mentally ill and poor—who is hired by the Keller family to teach their child, Helen Keller. Throughout Sullivan’s journey to create a miracle for the blind-and-deaf Helen Keller; Annie had to keep her head high through the challenges. The only way the teacher could do so is by being determined. Members of the Keller family have doubted her; her memories have come back to haunt her, but her soul was pulled through to prove that she is a sound teacher that can teach the six-year-old. Furthermore, determination deters one from failure.

As seen in The Miracle Worker, Annie Sullivan had a childhood that comes back to haunt her. Annie’s childhood mostly took part in the asylum, Tewksbury Almshouse. In some parts of the play, Sullivan’s past is reiterated to show the reader a horrible aspect of her life. For Sullivan, the asylum had taken the place of a specific memory: the death of her brother, Jimmie. Jimmie and Annie had stuck together for their whole life; they were even placed together in the women’s ward to prevent being separated. When Annie had heard news that her brother had died from his tubercular hip, she was devastated. Then, her life had changed when she had the chance to go to school and escape the appalling place. As stated in the text, “I’m goin’ to school when I grow up!” (Gibson 525). Growing up in a place like Tewksbury had emotionally scarred Annie’s well-being. Fortunately, the determination she had within her had shown through with her results. The results concluded in her escaping the bad part of her life to help a child in need. In serious situations, people must have determination to overcome