Read the passage from a story in the arabian nights entertainments. the fisherman was very unhappy. "what an unlucky man i am to have freed you! i implore you to spare my life." "i have told you," said the genius, "that it is impossible. choose quickly; you are wasting time." the fisherman began to devise a plot. "since i must die," he said, "before i choose the manner of my death, i conjure you on your honour to tell me if you really were in that vase? " "yes, i was," answered the genius. "i really cannot believe it," said the fisherman. "that vase could not contain one of your feet even, and how could your whole body go in? i cannot believe it unless i see you do the thing." then the genius began to change himself into smoke, which, as before, spread over the sea and the shore, and which, then collecting itself together, began to go back into the vase slowly and evenly till there was nothing left outside. then a voice came from the vase which said to the fisherman, "well, unbelieving fisherman, here i am in the vase; do you believe me now? " the fisherman’s motivation is to make the genius grant him three wishes. try to find a way to stay alive. see how powerful the genius really is. have more time before the genius kills him.

The answer is: try to find a way to stay alive.  

In the passage from "The Arabian Nights Entertainments," the fisherman discovers a vase in the sea with a genius who vows to kill him. The reason is, he has been waiting for so many centuries to be freed and he has become so angry that he would only let the fisherman choose the way he would like to die. Feeling unfortunate to meet his death, the fisherman manipulates the genius to go inside the vase again, preventing him to come out and kill him.

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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.”