Everyone has a moment that they are looking forward to. Times like weekends, holidays and days off help guide us through our life. While this way of thinking has many positive aspects, we lose the appreciation of all details of the moments that pass us by. Because we may see moments like holidays as "better" moments, we often fail to see the quality of the smaller ones that we overlook. We see these "small moments" in Thornton Wilder's play Our Town. The play takes us to a small town in New England and we see how simple it is, to the point where we may get bored due to the similarity to our lives. After witnessing events in the play we might have formerly perceived as big and important portrayed as relatively simple and straightforward, we begin to question how important these events are in our life. Not until death does one of the characters realize how much of life was ignored. But …show more content…
after death, she can see how much everyone goes through life without noticing the events that are occurring all the time. To show us that these lessons are true in our own lives, Wilder uses devices such as the lack of props and directly connecting us to the cast to enable us to better relate to the play. He then uses drastic shifts in focus and perspective on events in our lives to drive home what is truly important in life. Finally, by quickly jumping around through time, Wilder shows us that while time passes, our lives stay relatively the same. Wilder uses these techniques to set up the important lessons about how to live our lives. Our Town shows us that everything in life is unique and special, so we should appreciate every moment. The lack of props helps generalize the play and makes it easier to relate the story to our own lives to teach us that every moment is important in our life. The absence of props is the first thing that is even in the play: the first stage direction reads "No curtain. No scenery." (p. 4) The lack of props is a key element of this play. By removing them, we are forced to create our own imaginary surroundings. By creating our own environment, we become connected with the play and can easily relate the town in the story to our own town. A short bit later, the Stage Manager is showing us around the town. He announces "There's some scenery for those who think they have to have scenery" (p.7). The Stage Manager is telling us that while some people "think they have to have scenery," we should fill in these gaps with scenery from their own life. Because Wilder's objective is to show us a better way to live our life, we must be able to see that the characters in the play are no different than we are. When we can connect with the characters in the story, we can learn how to better relate to them and appreciate the big and small moments of our life. Throughout the play, Wilder uses a rather unconventional shift in focus by frequently moving back and forth between big and small events to show the significance of each moment. In the beginning of the play, we are taken to a simple and insignificant moment in Grover's Corners, Dr. Gibbs stopping to talk to Joe the paperboy. While many see this as boring and lacking plot, it is meant to represent the actions we take every day that become part of our routine and begin to lose meaning. Dr. Gibbs asks him if anything serious is going on in the world, to which Joe replies "Yessir. My schoolteacher, Miss Foster,'s getting married to a fella over in Concord"(p.9). This statement shows that our perception of big and little events is relative. Most people would consider that a big event in the world would deal with much larger issues than a local teacher getting married, but in the eyes of Joe, this is very big news. This transition between big and small events shows us that small moments in life are just as important as big ones. Wilder uses another device to us perspective on our lives by dramatically shifting through time, showing the lack of change as time goes on. Early in the play, the Stage Manager introduces Doc Gibbs and his wife. Immediately after introducing them, he states "Doc Gibbs died in 1930...Mrs. Gibbs died first-long time ago, in fact" (p.8) By already knowing about his death, we view his actions in the play differently. Had Doc Gibbs known he would die in 1930, he would have lived life differently, appreciating every moment and spending time with his family. Wilder is trying to teach us the way that we should live our lives. We do not know anything about what happened between now and when he died, but we can assume that most of his life was the same as it had always been. By living a simple life and not taking notice to his surroundings, we can simply remove years of his life from the story without changing it. Although many people live their life aiming at a point in the future, once that moment arrives their life will still be basically the same, and the time spent waiting is time lost and unappreciated. The compression of time shows us the importance of time and how each unique moment should be appreciated rather than rushing towards a point in the future. Unlike most plays, Our Town is unique in its connection between the cast and the audience to teach us the importance of appreciating insignificant events. In Act 1, the Stage Manager calls Professor Willard and Mr. Webb on to the stage to talk to us about Grover's Corners. He directly addresses the audience, asking "Is there anyone in the audience who would like to ask Editor Webb anything about the town?" (p.24). Actors placed in the audience respond to the Stage Manager with questions, such as a woman in a box seat who asks "Is there any culture or love of beauty in Grover's Corners?" (p.26). By directly involving us in the play, Wilder breaks the "fourth wall," and we can more easily relate to the story. Audience members do not feel the separation of themselves and the play because the play involves them and those around them. This is important because Wilder is trying to prove a point to us about the way that we live our lives, and by including us in the play, we can clearly see how our lives are the same as the characters in the story. By involving us in the play, we can better see Grover's Corners as our town, allowing us to more easily understand or appreciate Wilder's message. Wilder points out that things that we may see as very important to our life are really not as significant as we may think. In the middle of This play helps us understand that what many people see as the most important day in a person's life is no different than any other day.
In Act II, we see the wedding of Emily and George. During the ceremony, Mrs. Soames turns around to talk to us. "Don't know when I've seen such a lovely wedding," (p.77) she says. Although Mrs. Soames is enjoying the wedding, it seems like a typical wedding to us. Mrs. Soames has built up the idea in her head that the wedding will be "lovely", so when it turns out to be a routine wedding, she assumes it is "lovely." From this we see that when we expect enjoy an event, we usually do. Unfortunately, we also tend to have the opposite expectation of other regular days. When we plan on having a normal day, we fail to notice the simple pleasures of the day; we simply pass them off as routine. Wilder wants us to appreciate every day for the way it is, not to just label the important days "good" and ignore the rest. Every day of our lives are unique, the ones with large events may seem more important, but they are really just as significant as any other
day. While many moments of our life seem boring and ordinary, Emily shows us how unique these moments really are. After Emily has died, the Stage Manager informs her that she may return to a day in her life. However, others among the dead advise her against taking this journey, calling it unwise. Emily disagrees, claiming "It's a thing I must know for myself" (p.92). Mrs. Gibbs provides one last piece of advice: "Choose the least important day in your life. It will be important enough" (p.100). In spite of this, she still chooses a rather important day, her 14th birthday. Emily's return to her past life is a shocking experience, as she realizes how much of her life she has passed by. She appears fourteen years into the past, watching the daily routine of the town. Everything that happens we have seen before, common things such as the milkman delivering bottles of milk and making conversation with others. Emily is delighted to be back in her town at first, but she soon begins to see her life under a different light. After spending time back in life, she breaks down in tears. "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?-every, every minute?" (p.108) she asks the Stage Manager. By reliving her life, she notices that no one stops to appreciate all that is happening every moment. From an outsider's perspective, she can see the world moving around her, while others maintain a narrow focus. Wilder uses this scene to reach out to us and urge them not to wait until it's too late to appreciate the world. If we can acknowledge the fine details of life every day, we would live a better life. Waiting for holidays and occasions to enjoy life is a waste of our time on this planet. As Emily discovers only after her death, we miss so much of every day as we rush towards the future, ignoring the present. As the play comes to a close, we are reminded how everything in our life is viewed relatively and what may appear small upon first glance may be much greater. After returning to the others in the graveyard, Emily informs the deceased that it truly was a mistake to return to her life, as she has realized the way that humans ignorantly live their lives on Earth. After this, Mrs. Gibbs looks to the sky and exclaims, "Emily, look at that star. I forget its name"(p.101). This final quote sums up the fact that relatively small things can be huge. A star in the sky appears as just a speck, an intricate snowflake in a blizzard. However, that star in the sky can be millions of times bigger than our planet, and composed of an incomprehensible amount of energy. We look up to the sky and all we see is a field of bright dots, but close observation reveals much more than that. In our own lives, we find ourselves only paying attention to things that are blatant and in our face. Just like the star, paying close attention to small moments reveals more than we could ever imagine. Wilder uses this to teach us that our life consists of overlooking small things and paying attention to what holds our focus. For the small moments to which we do notice, such as a star in the sky, our knowledge is too often limited to a brief label, such as a name. Mrs. Gibbs only knows the star for it's name, not the wonders which occur on it. Mrs. Gibbs reference to the star in the sky truly provides us a way to see how many moments we let slip through our grasps, unappreciated. The play Our Town warns us to appreciate every moment of our life or we will end up missing the truly important ones. While the first two acts of the play may bore the viewer, the third act shows that it is our life that we allow to be so boring. This proves Wilder's point better than any line could, by making us think about our lives and the way we handle day to day events. Wilder teaches us that to live a fulfilling life, we must appreciate every moment no matter how big or small. By ignoring what is happening around us and only looking towards the future, we miss out on the simple yet magical moments of the present.
Many people take life for granted every day. Many of the characters in the stories we read often do this. In “The Necklace”, Mathilda does this by always thinking of herself and nobody else. My Left Foot shows how Christy Brown never takes his life for granted, and by doing this, it helped him overcome his disabilities. In the story Our Town not taking life for granted is one of the main themes, such as when Emily dies and George becomes very upset about it.
Ordinary actions piece together to form extraordinary lives. Written by Thornton Wilder in 1938, Our Town is a play acted with minimal scenery to give the viewer a greater opportunity to imagine their own town. Set in 1901 in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, Our Town documents the lives and interactions of two families— the Gibbs and the Webbs. Acted in three parts that all describe the smallest actions that we complete everyday without noticing, the first act shows the “Daily Life,” the second act demonstrates love and marriage found in life, and the third shows death and the end of one’s life. Wilder’s purpose of writing Our Town is to explain how daily, habitual actions come together without us noticing and to help demonstrate that those
Thornton Wilder effectively demonstrates the importance of life’s repetition in Our Town through the cycle of life, George and Emily’s love, and the playing of “Blessed Be the Tie that Binds.” The cycle of life is shown repeating from birth to life to death and back to birth again. George and Emily’s love is repetitious and unending, even after the death of Emily, which demonstrates the importance of life. As “Blessed Be the Tie that Binds” is recurrently heard throughout the play, it serves as a bridge through a void of time or place, which is important in understanding the play. It is no wonder that Wilder achieved a Pulitzer Prize for his in-depth work of life.
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Thornton Wilder’s Our Town both explore the fulfillment of life. Emily and Willy Loman fail to take advantage of their lives because they have the wrong priorities and do not take the time appreciate what they already have. Willy focuses solely on achieving his dreams of success as a salesman and helping Biff become a great man, resulting in him ignoring his family, declining status in society, and reality, leading to his demise. He never realizes what he has lost by chasing after inconceivable dreams; however, Wilder’s Emily reflects on her life after she dies and begins to understand that her lack of appreciation for the little moments took away from the fullness of her life. Even though Wilder and Miller tell two unique stories, they use similar methods to show their thoughts on living and essentially convey the same message about how dreams can ruin people and how not appreciating the little things takes away from the quality of life.
...of the characters’ lives as their motivation affects what they do. The play’s overall theme of manipulation for personal gain as well as general control transmits to me clearly that we are not in control, of the events that happen to us. In spite of that revelation we are in control of the way in which we react to the circumstances in our lives. Hence, no human fully grasps the capabilities to control the way we act. We simply allow certain circumstances to overpower us and dictate our actions. Ultimately, I learned that we are our actions and consequently we should acknowledge the accountability that is implied when we act a certain way. Instead of blaming others for the mistakes we make, we should understand that we have the control as much as the power to make our own decisions rather than giving that ability someone else.
“The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness.”- (Kazantzakis). The play Our Town, written by Thornton Wilder, takes place in the small town of Grover’s Corners. The residents of Grover’s Corners are content with their lives and do not mind the small town they are living in. Emily Webb, a girl living in Grover’s Corners does not think secondly about her life… until it is over. This play can be compared to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, where men are kept prisoner until one man is able to escape. Only after escaping the cave, does the man realize how much better the life outside is, and truly understands that his previous life was a prison. Emily's crossing from life to death is a parallel to the the
?If you remain imprisoned in self denial then days, weeks, months, and years, will continue to be wasted.? In the play, 7 stories, Morris Panych exhibits this denial through each character differently. Man, is the only character who understands how meaningless life really is. All of the characters have lives devoid of real meaning or purpose, although they each have developed an absurd point or notion or focus to validate their own existence. In this play, the characters of Charlotte and Rodney, are avoiding the meaninglessness of their lives by having affairs, drinking, and pretending to kill each other to enhance excitement into their life.
The theme of Our Town is that people do not truly appreciate the little things in daily life. This theme is displayed throughout the entire play. It starts in the beginning with everybody just going through their daily life, occasionally just brushing stuff off or entirely not doing or appreciating most things. But as you progress through the story you begin to notice and squander on the thought that the people in the play do not care enough about what is truly important. By the end of this play you realize that almost everybody does not care enough for the little things as they should, instead they only worry about the future, incessantly worrying about things to come.
I am going to discuss whether or not the play “Our Town” has a biblical standpoint. If it doesn’t I will tell you why I think that and if it does I will give reasons as why I believe that.
People who thinks of Thornton Wilder primarily in terms of his classic novella “Our Town,” The Bridge of San Luis Rey will seem like quite a switch. For one thing, he has switched countries; instead of middle America, he deals here with Peru. He has switched eras, moving from the twentieth century back to the eighteenth. He has also dealt with a much broader society than he did in “Our Town,” representing the lower classes and the aristocracy with equal ease. But despite these differences, his theme is much the same; life is short, our expectations can be snuffed out with the snap of a finger, and in the end all that remains of us is those we have loved.
Ingrained within the American identity is a restless spirit that is never content to be defined by the same terms for too long. Yet the things Americans value remain the same, evidenced by the titles they strive so hard to attain—husband, wife, mother, father. These titles represent who Americans are as much as what they are. They are the roles that give Americans purpose and meaning. The defining aspect of Raymond Carver's short story, “A Small, Good Thing,” is the fact that its characters are undeniably American. “A Small, Good Thing” was originally published in 1981 as “The Bath” in Carver's second major publication, What we Talk About When we Talk About Love, before reappearing two years later in Cathedral, longer and revised. The second version includes a new ending that lends more closure than its predecessor but completely changes the meaning of the story, painting the conflict in a new light, creating a tone that saturates the story like a colored filter over a lens; however, what the new ending offers most is deeper insight into the identity of the characters involved—who they are, what they hope for, what they're afraid of, and what has the power to heal them.
My idea of the theme of the play doesn't differ all that much from Wilder's theme. My idea of the theme only adds to Wilder's theme.
Montag never appreciated the simple things in life. He would never walk or drive slow enough to see the colors of things. This bothered Clarisse McClellan very much. She loved to catch raindrops on her tongue, and she always left little presents for Montag to make sure he appreciated these simple things. Through her spirit and her small simple presents, Montag finds the strength to also appreciate these things.“And then very slowly as he walked, he tilted his head back in the rain for just a few moments and opened his mouth..”(Bradbury 24). Montag begins to see that no matter how hard life gets, he will always have these smaller things that he can enjoy.
An ironic ending is also foretold by the town’s setting being described as one of normalcy. The town square is described as being “between the post office and the bank;” every normal town has these buildings, which are essential for day-to-day functioning. The townspeople also establish a normal, comfortable setting for the story. The children are doing what all typical kids do, playing boisterously and gathering rocks. The woman of the town are doing what all stereotypical females do, “exchang[ing] bits of gossip.” The men are being average males by chatting about boring day-to-day tasks like “planting and rain, tractors and taxes.”
The American dream described in the play can be achievable, but Willy’s ways of achieving that American dream leads him to a failure. According to an article published by the South Atlantic Modern Language Association, the play builds the idea of American dream that it is harmful and immoral as long as it is based on selfishness and greediness. However, the dream us described realistic when it is achieved on values that ar...