No Handicap is Insurmountable

Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live… (Dorothy Thompson) What makes people afraid? People are afraid of doing things they've never done before because they don't trust themselves or others. If people don't have trust thay will never try to accomplish anything. In the play The Miracle Worker by William Gibson, Annie Sullivan had to trust herself as a teacher in order to be successful with Helen Keller, her blind, deaf and dumb student. She also needed to created a trusting relationship with her student so Helen could overcome her fears, her lack of discipline, and a language barrier in order to become a functioning human being.

Guilt from her tragic past was a roadblock to Annie's accomplishments. She and her brother grew up as orphans in the asylum. Annie felt guilty because she went against a promise and left her brother at the asylum. She is going blind due to an illness she caught at the asylum but her brother died there. Annie wrote a letter that said she felt inadequate as a teacher. She felt that she had failed Helen just like she believed she had failed her brother. Annie said, " God owes me a resurrection." Annie wants a second chance. If she can be successful with Helen, Annie's guilt will no longer hold her back.

Annie's dark sunglasses not only help her eyes feel better but also help Annie hide from her past. Voices in her head remind her of her past and even the glasses can't block them out. The voices keep her feeling guilty, weak and untrusting. The Kellers find it frustrating to speak to Annie through her glasses. When Annie admits her awful past to the Kellers she earns their trust to continue working with Helen. Annie says, "I only today saw what has to be done, to begin!" Annie no longer hears the haunting voices after she trusts herself and the Kellers trust her.