In The Miracle Worker, Annie Sullivan and Captain Arthur Keller, Helen's father, are both similar and different. If we look at the similarities, both love Helen, though the captain hides his feelings more than Annie does. Having Helen, both are determined to help her make progress as Miss Sullivan and Captain Keller want her to be able to help herself. Both want success.
These two dominant figures in Helen's life are also very different. Miss Sullivan is determined to bring Helen into some kind of calm and to follow what Miss Sullivan is asking her to do. Helen has long been able to bully anyone into doing as she wants including eating off the plates of anyone at the table. Annie must fight both the determined Helen and Helen's father as he would indulge his daughter. As a captain during the Civil War, he is used to giving orders and having them followed, but he cannot seem to get control of Annie as she does what is best for Helen and defies the Captain. Leading to constant conflict on how to handle Helen, Annie finally has to appeal to Helen's mother, Kate, for help. The father wants to help his daughter learn, but totally disagrees with Annie's methods as he is required to learn to say no to the child.
Eventually, the breakthrough is made with Helen's sharp mind, and Annie and Captain Sullivan can work together to help Helen learn.
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