Literary Techniques In Our Town By Thornton Wilder

The play, Our Town, written by author Thornton Wilder is certainly adept in terms of his literary techniques. The play commences as the audience in the theatre takes their seats and the play’s narrator, the Stage Manager, sets the stage with minimal props for the scenery. In Act One, the narrator delivers a vivid description of the town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire and introduces the story about the relationship between the Gibbs family and the Webb family. In the beginning of the play, the reader learns of the daily lives of the citizens of Grover’s corners. Next, in Act Two, the reader is then treated to the lovely display of matrimony occurring in the chapel as George Gibbs and Emily Webb, two of the main characters in the play, exchange

their vows. Lastly, the play concludes with the Third Act, where the reader is at last left enlightened yet forlorn at Emily Gibbs’s desire to turn back the clock for one more day, even though ultimately, she knows the impossibility of this wish.

One can clearly distinguish that Wilder uses the literary techniques of symbolism, the uniqueness of the setting on the stage,and finally the acts of communion in a professional manner, based on a few of the chapters from Thomas C. Foster’s book, How To Read Literature Like a Professor.

There are numerous symbols to be unearthed in Our Town, but there are a few that are quite distinct from the rest. One such example is the time capsule mentioned in Act 1. The Stage Manager, the narrator, explains that within this time capsule will be a copy of William Shakespeare’s plays, the town’s newspaper, the Sentinel, a bible, a copy of the U.S. constitution, a copy of the New York Times and most importantly a copy of the play itself. The very reason Wilder incorporated an object like this in his play was most likely to convey the notion that the past deserves to be remembered and cherished, much like the daily lives’ of the people in Grover’s Corners. He also wanted to convey this notion to the people of the modern day, that

they should appreciate the gift of their lives in general. In fact, the Stage Manager implies that by placing a time capsule in the earth, “people a thousand years from now’ll know a few simple facts about [them]” and from there, those same people of the modern day will be able to grasp the idea that their daily lives are just as significant as the people of the past (33). Another prominent symbol that resurfaces throughout the course of the play is the hymn, “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds.” Although the hymn portrays a hint of symbolic Christianity, Wilder utilizes this hymn to represent the “tie” of human stability and love, much like the divine love displayed between the characters George Gibbs and Emily throughout the play. In Act One, for example, the hymn is played at a choir practice as the two converse across the windows of their homes, which was probably placed in this part of the plot in order to foreshadow their marriage. In Act Two, coincidentally, the hymn is also played at their wedding and again at Emily’s funeral in Act three. In fact, Emily nostalgically mentions in Act Three that she admires that her “Papa remembered that that was [her] favorite hymn,” which would suggest that she loved it because it was a memento of the love or “tie” between her and George. This also suggests that Wilder created the couple of George and Emily as an example to illustrate the constancy of human life and that even through death, the fundamentals of life are forever tied in eternity. Foster could also agree with Wilder’s usage of symbols in this context, but would probably argue that these symbols could possibly have more than one meaning in Wilder’s context. In chapter twelve, “Is That a Symbol?” of his work, How To Read Literature Like a Professor, he argues that a symbol such as the time capsule may not be “reducible to a single statement” and will “involve a range of possible meanings and interpretations,” or in other words, the time capsule could symbolically represent another whole meaning not previously mentioned, but as of now, it most clearly represents the notion to appreciate the past and ultimately learn from it (55).

The setting of the play as well as the stage set up is certainly a unique aspect of Our Town.

On stage, there is a minimal number of stage props to be discovered. There are two tables, some chairs for the tables and two ladders for Act Two, but there is no vivid scenery displayed. Wilder most likely reduces the scenery due to the fact that he feels the need to demonstrate that the play itself could be represented by any town across the globe, and also to demonstrate the building blocks of community that could be traced to other towns like Grover’s Corners. In fact, in the very beginning of the play in Act 1, the Stage Manager states that “in [their] town [they] like to know the facts about everybody,” which would imply that the people of Grover’s Corners maintain a potent sense of community, a sense of community that could compare to other towns across the globe (7). What is also unique about the setting of this play, is the fact that all the characters’ actions are completely imaginary; they do not use stage props to perform them, unlike a majority of today’s plays on stage. By limiting the characters’ actions to the imaginary, Wilder seemingly establishes the notion that the setting, along with the actions of the characters performed in that particular setting, can be representative of the daily life of a standard town citizen, which overall makes his setting exceedingly unique. To demonstrate, Wilder describes characters such as Joe Crowell, Jr. “ hurling imaginary

newspaper into doorways” and milkman Howie Newsome “walking beside an invisible horse” and “carrying an imaginary rack with milk bottles,” which are both imaginary actions that help to establish the setting without the assistance of stage props (pages 8 and 10). Foster could also agree that the setting of the play is certainly unique in any aspect, and that uniqueness shapes the distinction between the seemingly fictional town life of Grover’s Corners and the daily lives’ of people in the real world. In fact, in chapter 19, “Geography Matters” of How To Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster states that “it’s place and space and shape that bring [people] to ideas and psychology and history and dynamism,”. In other words, the town of Grover’s Corners itself, brings forth the idea of the appreciation of time to other people, and may empower them to appreciate the value of their lives in general (92).

The technique of using acts of communion in Our Town are part of Wilder’s numerous literary techniques found throughout the course of the play. There are many scenes in the play where the characters come together for communion such as the children's breakfast in Act One, but one of the most prevalent scenes where the act of communion is displayed is at Emily Webb and George Gibbs’s wedding in Act Two. Their newfound companionship founded on romantic love represents the most powerful example of communion. Essentially, this emphasizes the play’s theme of the appreciation of human life and experience. Marriage, above all, truly serves as the pinnacle for any kind of communion. As described by the character Mrs. Gibbs, “people are meant to go through life two by two,” or in other words, without the euphoria of marriage one may feel lonesome and withdraw him or herself from the notion of communion. It is clear that Wilder included this marriage scene in order to represent the notion of communion. He wanted to possibly motivate the reader to enjoy the human experience and the gift of time to its fullest. Another example of communion could be the character Emily’s connection with the dead souls in Act Three. At first, she’s unable to accept her untimely death but when she returns to her childhood past as a spirit, she knows she must accept her death and join the dead in peaceful communion. This acceptance of death serves as a gateway into a communion of a garden of souls. Emily even mentions in Act Three that human beings are “just blind people,” which could imply that people are sometimes blind to the opportunities to form a communion with other people, and that this includes marriage and death. In fact, Foster indicates in chapter 2 of How To Read Literature Like a Professor, “Nice to Eat With You: Acts of Communion,” that a person saying “ ‘I’m with you, I like you, we form a community together’” is technically “a form of communion”. This idea can also apply to the idea that marriage and the acceptance of death are forms of communion, and Wilder represents the strength of these particular communions masterfully.

Wilder is certainly adept at utilizing the techniques of symbolism, the uniqueness of the overall setting and the acts of communion in a professional manner. It is no wonder as to why the play of Our Town is acclaimed by some critics. With the knowledge gleaned from some chapters of Foster’s How To Read Literature Like a Professor, it is clear that Wilder utilizes these literary techniques effectively in some aspects.