The miracle worker

The "miracle" in The Miracle Worker occurs when Sullivan and Keller are at the water pump refilling a pitcher of water. It is at this moment that Keller makes the intellectual connection between theword Sullivan spells into her hand and the tangible substance splashing from the pump. Keller demonstrates her understanding by miraculously whispering "wah-wah," the baby talk or gibberish equivalentof "water."
Many have questioned the reality of this depiction, as Keller had not uttered a single vowel in the course of the film, and, as an apparently pre-lingually deaf and blind child, wouldnot have been aware of the existence of verbal communication. Although the moment of comprehension is the most satisfying scene in the film, it was designed for hearing audiences. A hearing audiencewould not be expected to fully relate to the importance of the moment by seeing Keller merely spell the word, which would require an understanding of the manual alphabet. Keller mimics the words Sullivanspells into her hand throughout the film by spelling them back in Sullivan's hand, so at this moment it would only seem that Keller was continuing to mimic without understanding the concept. Tobridge that problem, the film's writer and director had actress Patty Duke (and others who portrayed Keller in subsequent remakes of the film) speak the word "wah wah" while she finger-spelled "water." Themoment of revelation thus becomes clear for hearing audiences, but has been criticized for setting unrealistic expectations for deaf children to "be like Helen Keller" and speak, when even the mostgifted deaf child realistically takes years to utter a comprehensible syllable and a lifetime of speech therapy to maintain the ability. Keller herself never spoke with complete clarity although shepracticed daily from her tenth year.
Nevertheless, according to Keller's own account in The Story Of My Life, she was not actually just a little baby when she experienced the illness that destroyed...