The days when people would go to a zoo simply for (0. AMUSE) are long ago. Today, when we place greater (1. IMPORT) on the survival of animals in the wild, zoos have duty to inform the public and improve our (2. KNOW) of the environment and the problems faced (3. WORLD) by large numbers of animals. Today's zoos also play a role in the (4. PROTECT) of threatened species, breeding animals for release in the wild. Many zoos also fund (5. SCIENCE) research into animals and their behavior. The way animals are treated in zoos has changed, too. Many intelligent animals suffer from (6. BORE) in captivity and their keepers now try to improve the (7. PSYCHOLOGY) state of the animals in their care. They do this by, for example, providing the animals with a (8. VARY) of different food or by changing the animals' (9. DAY) routine. Although some critics of zoos remain (10. CONVINCE) , there can be no doubt that animals in zoos today enjoy a more comfortable existence than in the past.

"fire and ice" is one of robert frost's most popular poems. it was published in december 1920 in harper's magazine and in 1923 in his pulitzer prize−winning book new hampshire. it discusses the end of the world, likening the elemental force of fire with the emotion of desire, and ice with hate.

c. the power of desire is greater than the power of hate.

sthe miracle worker  ▾search

home  >   study guides  >   the miracle worker

the miracle worker themeswilliam gibson

themes and meanings

(comprehensive guide to drama)

print  print  document  pdf  list  cite  link  link

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.”