Show Plot Miracle Worker

Author: William Gibson

Time Period: The 1880s, during the post-Reconstruction American South

Setting: The home and plantation grounds of the Keller family in Tuscumbia, Alabama

Summary: Young Helen Keller is left blind, deaf, and mute at 19 months old after a severe childhood illness. Isolated in a silent world, she grows up frustrated, undisciplined, and aggressive, acting out like a wild animal.  Desperate and out of options, her parents hire Annie Sullivan—a young, stubborn tutor from Boston and a former visually impaired student from the [Perkins Institution for the Blind]—to help.  Annie faces a fierce battle of wills not only with the rebellious Helen, but also with the indulgent Kellers, who pity the child. Annie insists on strict discipline and isolation to force a connection.