Our Town by Wilder Thornton - Essay Example

Normal people, their daily routines, family relationships, and times of growing up, characterize the act. It depicts Gibbs and Webb’s childhood experiences, and how they are grown in the same town and became neighbors. The narrator gives a vivid description of the town, houses, and people living there, by saying, “We all know that something is eternal. And it is not houses and it is not names, and it is not the earth, and it is not even the stars” (Wilder 15). He further says, “Everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal and that something has to do with human beings.

All the greatest people ever lived have been telling us that for five thousand years and yet you would be surprised how people are always losing hold of it” (Wilder 15). This excerpt describes how the narrator of the play gives a clear picture of the theme that even the many years, Mother Nature is still eternal, but human perception of it will never change. Wilder, in another quote, says “do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?”(Wilder 23), which also describes the main theme of the play. This act portrays the daily lives of the people, in this society, where each day is a recreation of the people's normal daily routine.

The theme of non-appreciative human beings is also aptly depicted through the style of the writer showing that nothing is permanent through transient time. The narrator, at the beginning of every act, begins by describing these aspects of change. The population of the town Grover’s corners has immensely grown. The number of cars has also increased, and the use of horses for travel has been affected by the use of cars. The transition of the adolescent characters from the first act to their married counterparts in the second act also shows how society has changed. In the second act, the aspect of “instead of grieving the dead” is captured since people believe that the living should enjoy the time they have on earth. This gives the impression of the popular coined phrase, “you only live once”.

This act also focuses on marriage and love. It also continues to reveal the ordinary things in life. The statement, “Only seems to me that once in your life before you die you ought to see a country where they don’t talk in English and don’t even want to.” (Wilder 46), explains how the people do not face the realities of life and accept that even them one day would die. The quote, “on earth you are too wonderful for anybody to realize you” (Wilder 46) also gives a clear picture of the lives of the people in the small town. This agrees with the theme that most people never or at a very minimal realize the worth of fellow individuals.

The third act centers on death in juxtaposition to life, and it is to this that Wilder captures the theme extensively. Emily has a realization, after her death, and returns to earth as a spirit. She notes that human beings fail to appreciate the beauty of life. She says that they do not cherish family ties, warm breakfasts, joys of birth, flowers, education, and millions of many other things that are ignored. This is evident when she says, “Goodbye, goodbye world, goodbye Grover’s corner…mama and papa goodbye to the clock ticking…and mama’s sunflower, food and coffee, new-ironed dresses and hot baths…and sleeping and waking up.

Oh, earth, you are too wonderful for anybody to realise you.” (Wilder 91). Wilder also depicts the theme of “Simon Stimson…that is what it was to be alive” (Wilder 94). Wilder creates a theme of unappreciative human beings, in this humble society of the small town when he says, “To move about, in a cloud of ignorance, go up and down trampling on the feelings of those around you. To spend and waste time as though you had a million years. To be always at the mercy of one self-centered passion or another” (Wilder 106). Finally, the writer has exhaustively adapted different patterns to deliver the various themes, but majorly focusing on how human beings are unappreciative. Read More