Set in the early 20th century, spanning twelve years, Our Town by Thornton Wilder portrays the lives of those living in Grover's Corner, New Hampshire. This play gives insight into the inner workings of this society and the bonds that are formed within this particular community. Specifically delineated are the Gibbs and the Webbs, two families living here. As the play progresses, and the relationships between the two families evolve, Our Town presents other characters varying from a typical milkman to a drunken choir head. As opposed to having one central plot in this play, it rather examines the lives and the progression of the lives of the towns' inhabitants. Typical, mundane activities are described such as Mrs. Gibb's taking over some of her son, George's chores, and the love affair that transpire between George Gibbs and Emily Webb. While Our Town generally represents minor aspects of the lives of these people, some live-altering events do occur; Emily Webb, after the marriage to George Gibbs, dies during the birth of her second child. It is then, at this point, that the play begins to take on a more surreal quality. When Emily, after death, is reunited with her late mother of two or three years, she learns that rather than the deceased being the "dead" ones, it is the living beings are. According to Emily's insight following her death and then her returning to earth to re-watch her twelfth birthday, she declares that the living are blind to the true events that transpire. A play such as this is successful in providing a general understanding of the times and of human society itself.
             Coinciding with this idea that a play, or other work of literature can reflect a particular time period, Our Town does just that. Some of the historical insight is directly stated, however, it is in reference to Grover's Corner in particular. Nonetheless, the play plainly tells that the majority ...