Elements of Drama in The Miracle Worker, Acts II and III Answers

Read this excerpt from a play.Hailey (entering from the side door and depositing a full backpack on the table): Hi, Mom! I’ve got a ton of homework tonight.Mrs. Renault (stepping forward and offering a letter for inspection): Oh, yeah? Well, a letter came for you today. It says it’s from the Encore Summer Institute.Hailey (taking the letter and opening it): I’ve been waiting for this (reading the letter, eyes growing wider). Oh, Mom, I got in. Unbelievable. I can’t, I mean, this is amazing.Mrs. Renault (shaking her head and clutching her hands, jaw dropping): Read it out loud. . . .Which line from the play contains dialogue that reveals emotion?

Read this excerpt from The Miracle Worker.ANAGNOS: . . . It will no doubt be difficult for you there, Annie. But it has been difficult for you at our school too, hm? Gratifying, yes, when you came to us and could not spell your name, to accomplish so much here in a few years, but always an Irish battle. For independence.Which element of drama does the author use in this excerpt?

Read this excerpt from The Miracle Worker.CHILDREN: There’s a present. We brought you a going-away present, Annie!ANNIE: Oh, now you shouldn’t have –CHILDREN: We did, we did, where’s the present?SMALLEST CHILD [MOURNFULLY]: Don’t go, Annie, away.What does this excerpt reveal about Annie?

Read this excerpt from The Miracle Worker.(But she swallows over getting the ring on her finger, and cannot continue until she finds a woebegone joke.)Which element of drama does the author use in this excerpt?

Read this excerpt from The Miracle Worker.(The lights begin to come up, down left, on a long table and chair. The table contains equipment for teaching the blind by touch – a small replica of the human skeleton, stuffed animals, models of flowers and plants, piles of books.)Which element of drama does the author use in this excerpt?

Read this excerpt from The Miracle Worker.CHILDREN [DELIGHTED]: There’s another present! Beatrice! We have a present for Helen, too! Give it to her, Beatrice. Here, Annie!(This present is an elegant doll, with movable eyelids and a momma sound.)It’s for Helen. And we took up a collection to buy it. And Laura dressed it.ANNIE: It’s beautiful!CHILDREN: So don’t forget, you be sure to give it to Helen from us, Annie!Which word best describes the children in this excerpt?

Read this excerpt from The Miracle Worker.ANNIE: The only time I have trouble is when I’m right.(But she is amused at herself, as is ANAGNOS.)Is it my fault it’s so often? I won’t give them trouble, Mr. Anagnos, I’ll be so ladylike they won’t notice I’ve come.ANAGNOS: Annie, be – humble. It is not as if you have so many offers to pick and choose. You will need their affection, working with this child.Which word best describes Annie in this excerpt?

Read this excerpt from The Miracle Worker.ANAGNOS: Possible. I should warn you, she is much given to tantrums.ANNIE: Means something is inside. Well, so am I, if I believe all I hear. Maybe you should warn them.ANAGNOS [FROWNS]: Annie. I wrote them no word of your history. You will find yourself among strangers now, who know nothing of it.ANNIE: Well, we’ll keep them in a state of blessed ignorance.Which statement best describes Annie’s attitude toward her upcoming assignment in this excerpt?

Read this excerpt from The Miracle Worker.ANAGNOS: . . . It will no doubt be difficult for you there, Annie. But it has been difficult for you at our school too, hm? Gratifying, yes, when you came to us and could not spell your name, to accomplish so much here in a few years, but always an Irish battle. For independence.(He studies ANNIE, humorously; she does not open her eyes.)This is my last time to counsel you, Annie, and you do lack some – by some I mean all – what, tact or talent to bend. To others. And what had saved you on more than one occasion here at Perkins is that there was nowhere to expel you to. Your eyes hurt?ANNIE: My ears, Mr. Anagnos.(And now she has opened her eyes; they are inflamed. Vague, slightly crossed, clouded by the granular growth of trachoma, and she often keeps them closed to shut out the pain of light.)ANAGNOS [SEVERELY]: Nowhere but back to Tewksbury, where children learn to be saucy. Annie, I know how dreadful it was there, but that battle is dead and done with, why not let it stay buried?Which of these statements provides the best summary of the scene?

Read this excerpt from The Miracle Worker.(As soon as they locate her voice they throng joyfully to her, speaking all at once; ANNIE is down on her knees to the smallest, and the following are the more intelligible fragments in the general hubbub.)CHILDREN: There’s a present. We brought you a going-away present, Annie!ANNIE: Oh, now you shouldn’t have –CHILDREN: We did, we did, where’s the present?SMALLEST CHILD [MOURNFULLY]: Don’t go, Annie, away.Which of these statements provides the best summary of the scene?

Read this student summary of act 1 of The Miracle Worker.In act 1, twenty-year-old Annie Sullivan is preparing to leave her school and become a teacher herself. She is bidding farewell to Anagnos, her mentor, and to many young girls who have been her students and friends. The action slows when Annie and Anagnos have a discussion, and the play becomes boring. Then Anagnos and the girls present her with gifts, and she is appreciative and sentimental. She voices some concerns about leaving Perkins.Which sentence should be removed to improve this summary?

Read this excerpt from The Miracle Worker.ANAGNOS: . . . It will no doubt be difficult for you there, Annie. But it has been difficult for you at our school too, hm? Gratifying, yes, when you came to us and could not spell your name, to accomplish so much here in a few years, but always an Irish battle. For independence.(He studies ANNIE, humorously; she does not open her eyes.)This is my last time to counsel you, Annie, and you do lack some – by some I mean all – what, tact or talent to bend. To others. And what had saved you on more than one occasion here at Perkins is that there was nowhere to expel you to.What do Anagnos’s words reveal about Annie in this excerpt?

Read this excerpt from The Miracle Worker.ANNIE [MEEKLY]: Yes. But I know what I’m like, what’s this child like?ANAGNOS: Like?ANNIE: Well – Bright or dull, to start off.ANAGNOS: No one knows. And if she is dull, you have no patience with this?ANNIE: Oh, in grownups you have to, Mr. Anagnos, I mean in children it just seems a little – precocious, can I use that word?ANAGNOS: Only if you can spell it.ANNIE: Premature. So I hope at least she’s a bright one.Which of these statements provides the best summary of the scene?

Read this excerpt from The Miracle Worker.ANNIE: Oh, in grownups you have to, Mr. Anagnos. I mean in children it just seems a little – precocious, can I use that word?ANAGNOS: Only if you can spell it.Which element of drama does the author use in this excerpt?

Read this excerpt from The Miracle Worker.ANNIE: Oh, in grownups you have to, Mr. Anagnos. I mean in children it just seems a little – precocious, can I use that word?ANAGNOS: Only if you can spell it.ANNIE: Premature. So I hope at least she’s a bright one.ANAGNOS: Deaf, blind, mute – who knows? She is like a little safe, locked, that no one can open. Perhaps there is a treasure inside.ANNIE: Maybe it’s empty, too?Which is the best description of Annie based on this excerpt?