Thornton Wilder - Our Town

Before creating this paper I thought about how to aproach it. Even though I decided not to go into detail about the individual characters in the play I still wanted to show how lovingly and affectionately Wilder has portrayed them. So instead of analyzing the main characters I will begin with a short description of the town and its people because that shows us as the readers a lot about the way of life in Grover’s Corners: How do the people treat each other, what do they think about their fellow citizens? Does their attitude change within the play?

I decided to put an emphasis on the motives and themes of the play, because they shape the play and make it unique. So I will go about it by looking at the Stage Manager and his role in Our Town, I will write about the central theme “love” and about Thornton Wilder’s dual vision. I think that these themes are strongly expressive.

In the end I will show how or if the play is connected to American History.and the political situation of the time during which it was written.

. . .
Oh, earth, you’re too wonderful for anybody to realize you […] Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? – every, every minute?

All the loved things Wilder portrays are imperishable. Slocum) and jumps back and forth between the different functions of being a part of the play and directing the play.

Here we can clearly see Wilder’s dual vision: On the one hand people are not supposed to live alone, but to get married and have a family (this is a glance on the whole life), but one the other hand he shows that people are afraid of taking this important step and fear the results of it in that tiny moment in which they have to take the step, because they fear the consequences for their entire life. On the surface it seems to be a happy place without problems where people manage their lives well.

Although Our Town was written on the eve of World War II, it is not a political play. He “…knows everything about Civil War. For the happiness of the people it is not important if the farmers in Our Town ride a horse or drive a FORD. Also we see a kind of pointlessness in their deaths. Each individual has to make his or her own experiences. He comments on the political and religious affiliation and he evaluates: “Very ordinary town, if you ask me. He reflects on the question what future generations shall learn about us living in the beginning of the 20th century. The continuity of the historical events is specific to American identity. Everybody locks their house doors now at night.

Common topics in this essay:
Stage Manager, Grovers Corners, Simon Stimson, Thornton Wilder, George Whys, Emily George, Act II, Joe Crowell, American Historyand, War II, grovers corners, stage manager, daily life, thornton wilder, details daily life, corners people, beginning play, life grovers, dual vision, civil war, stage manager explains, details daily, grovers corners people, life grovers corners, wilders dual vision,

Approximate Word count = 6196
Approximate Pages = 25 (250 words per page double spaced)

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