The treatment of serious, indeed tragic, subject matter in comic book form, and the depiction of various ethnic and national groups as animals: What's the effect of telling the story as a graphic novel (comic book), and what's the significance of the animal representations

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the miracle worker themeswilliam gibson

themes and meanings

(comprehensive guide to drama)

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there are two central themes in  the miracle worker: that the human spirit can triumph over even the most daunting of disabilities and that a dedicated teacher can transform the lives of those with whom he or she comes into contact. these inspirational themes have long been personified in the widely known true-life relationship between helen keller and annie sullivan, but  the miracle worker  also dramatizes collateral issues that extend beyond the particular case. underlying helen’s process of learning basic principles of what annie terms “obedience” (decorum, etiquette, and hygiene), there are more universal lessons of self-governance—the inculcation of self-restraint instead of willfulness, the development of self-discipline instead of self-indulgence. only when these lessons have been mastered can helen begin to acquire language—which, annie says, “is to the mind more than light is to the eye.”

cornelia

explanation:

we don't know all that much about cornelia aside from what granny tells us about her, along with what we can gather from her few lines of dialogue. it's hard to picture her, too, since we're not given any details about her mannerisms or what she looks like. she could be dressed like a circus clown, for all we know.

even though we wouldn't recognize cornelia if we ran into her on the street, we can't but feel a lot of sympathy for this character. first of all, she's super nice and granny pretty much treats her like dirt. she's constantly asking granny if she needs anything and granny usually responds by snapping at her. here's a typical exchange:

"i thought you might want something."

"i do. i want a lot of things. first off, go away and don't whisper." (14-15)

the word "mongoose" is likely derived from the marathi name mungūs (मुंगूस) (pronounced as [muŋɡuːs]) and ultimately from the telugu name mungisa or kannada mungisi. the form of the english name (since 1698)