Figurative Language in The Miracle Worker

1
Figurative Language in The Miracle
Worker

• By the end of this lesson, you should be able to
  confidently say,
• I can identify, understand and locate figures of
  speech in written context.
• I can verify the meaning of a phrase by checking
  specialized reference materials, both in print
  and digital.

2
Warm Up

• Turn to your shoulder partner and share a sample
  of figurative language from the previous lesson.
• Be sure to state the type as well as the example.

onomatopeia
3
Using Context Clues

• Hints or clues the author gives to help
  understand a difficult term
• Usually found in the same sentence, preceding or
  succeeding sentence

4
Historical Context

• Some words and phrases also have historical
  contexts
• Professor Claude Bélanger at Marianopolis College
  describes historical context with these
  questions
• What was happening at the time of the event or
  the decision that sheds some light on it? In what
  type of society did the event occur? An urban
  one? A rich one? An educated one?

5
What does this mean? Lets review some Miracle
Worker gems

• She has the constitution of a goat
• She isnt battle-scarred yet
• I call it acute congestion of the stomach and
  brain
• Now that youre marshal, youll have this Yankee
  money.
• Spanish monks under a--vow of silence. Which I
  wish youd take!
• I might as well try to work in a hen yard.
• This house is at sixes and sevens.
• Teach an iota of discipline
• She paws his papers to the floor.
• It was always an Irish battle.
• The battle is dead and done with why not let it
  stay buried?

6
She has the constitution of a goat.

• constitution
• the physical makeup of the individual especially
  with respect to the health, strength, and
  appearance of the body.

• Inference
• She is very healthy.

Goats are sturdy animals that can eat garbage and
still remain healthy.
7
She isnt battle-scarred yet.

• battle-scarred
• damaged or affected by fighting
• Background Information
• Mrs. Keller was Captain Kellers second wife.
  Helen was her first child.

• Inference
• Mrs. Keller isnt used to dealing with the
  trials of being a mother.

8
Acute congestion of stomach and brain

• acute bad or difficult, experienced to a severe
  or intense degree
• congestion accumulation of body fluids
• Background
• In the 1880s, doctors were unaware of many
  illnesses.
• Helen probably had Scarlet Fever.

• Inference
• Helen had a sudden onset of illness that was
  severe. Today it would be medically treated

9
Now that youre marshal, youll have this Yankee
money.

• Yankee
• During the Civil War, people from the north were
  called Yankees.

• Inference
• Captain Keller (originally a Confederate
  captain) will have money to spend to get Helen
  the help she needs.

10
Spanish monks under a--vow of silence. Which I
wish youd take!

• Background
• Finger spelling was invented by Spanish monks to
  communicate without breaking their vow of silence.

• Inference
• Annie is explaining who invented finger
  spelling. She is also annoyed with James, so she
  wishes that he too would vow to be silent.
• Annie isnt afraid to speak her mind.

11
But werent we studying figurative language?

• Historical context is often illustrated in
  figurative language like the types we have
  studied.

12
I might as well try to work in a hen yard.

• Hen yard
• Hens are noisy, messy creatures.

• Inference
• The working environment must be very noisy and
  unorganized.
• Hyperbole
• gross exaggeration, metaphor

13
Dont be surprised if I get out to push the horse!

• Background
• Another form of transportation in the 1800s was
  the horse drawn cart.
• Hyperbole Gross exaggeration
• A person isnt strong enough to push a horse.

• Inference
• She is very impatient about getting to her
  destination.

14
Teach an iota of discipline

• iota
• A very small amount

• Inference
• The Kellers want for Helen to learn at least a
  small amount of discipline because she has no
  discipline at all.
• Hyperbole He surely was exaggerating and wanted
  more.

15
She paws the papers to the floor.

• paw
• to strike or scrape with a beating motion

• Inference
• She is forcefully throwing papers to the floor.

Alliteration
16
The man who sold me the ticket should be tied to
the tracks.

• Background
• The railroad was a major form of transportation
  in the 1800s. However, some train rides took a
  long time because of frequent stops along the way.

• Inference
• The train ride was a terrible experience.

Alliteration, hyperbole
17
The battle is dead and done with why not let it
stay buried?

• Symbolism
• The battle is symbolic for an internal conflict.
• Let it stay buried is symbolic for letting
  something go.

• Inference
• The struggle that you experienced is over with.
  Dont keep reliving it.

Metaphor, Personification
18
Wearing the bonnet and smoked glasses, she looks
like a caricature.

• caricature exaggerated, funny form of a person
• Background
• Annie wore a bonnet as was customary for the time
  period. She wore smoked glasses because of her
  failing eye sight.

• Inference
• Helen was curious about her new teacher as she
  put on Annies bonnet and glasses. She must have
  looked like a funny imitation of Annie Sullivan.
• Simile

19
In the South, we view women as the flowers of
civilization.

• Background
• Chivalry is the act of treating women with
  courtesy and respect. Chivalry originated with
  medieval knights. It was an expected trait of
  southern gentleman.
• Symbolism
• Flowers are symbolic of women, beautiful and
  fragile.

• Inference
• In the South, we treat women with respect.

Simile
20
Shes as bright as a little monkey.

• Inference
• Helen can imitate others even if she cannot see
  them. It is unclear if she actually understands
  the meaning behind her actions.
• Simile

• Background
• Monkeys are intelligent primates. However, they
  are skilled at imitating humans. It is difficult
  to know if they understand the meaning behind
  their imitations.

21
This house is at sixes and sevens.

• Background
• an old English expression meaning a state of
  confusion, disarray.
• It may have originated from a dice game called
  Hazard.
• Idiom, Alliteration

• Inference
• The Keller house must be very unorganized.

22
Dont lose heart just because Im not on my last
legs.

• lose heart
• idiom that means to stop believing that you can
  succeed
• last legs
• idiom that means you are going to die soon

• Inference
• Dont give up on me just because Im young.

23
Ive been cooling my heels for an hour.

• Idiom
• Cooling my heels is an expression that means to
  be kept waiting for a long time.
• It originated in the 1600s when people needed to
  cool their hot feet after walking long distances.

• Inference
• She has been forced to wait for an hour.

24
Her hand aches to speak out

• Background
• Annie witnesses Helen fingerspelling in her
  sleep

Inference She CAN learn language
Personification