What is the main reason you should know the meaning of every word in a short story as opposed to a novel?
a) the vocabulary tends to be more challlenging in a short story than in a novel.
b) the language in short stories is denser than the language in a novel.
c) short stories include more symbolic messages than novels do.
d) teachers are more apt to test you on a short story than a novel.

i would say the answer is erm c but if you dont agree im so sorry

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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.”