Do human beings take life for granted? In thinking about this question, it is fair to say that as a society we are gradually moving towards convenience, towards doing everything as quickly as possible. With this desire for speed, we seem to forget the value of life and appreciate it. We live in a world where everything is focused on efficiency and where human interactions are gradually becoming rarer. While this may seem like a very melodramatic description of our world, it's really not that far-fetched. The idea of ​​“slowing down” and the idea that all aspects of life have meaning are explored in the play Our Town by Thornton Wilder. Our Town is a play about a generic American town, Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, which seems mundane at first, but then begins to show that everything can have meaning in life, even the parts insignificant. The first act of the play focuses on American life in 1901, which can be extremely boring, to say the least. A romance blossoms between George Gibbs and Emily Webb in this act and develops further in Act II. This part of the play, "Love and Marriage", revolves around the marriage of George and Emily, undoubtedly a very important event in their lives. Then, the last act of the play deals with the inevitability of the end, of death, and the fact that humans only truly realize the gift of life once it is gone, once they They crossed in great haste. This idea is represented by Emily, who dies in childbirth and realizes that humans never realize life while they are living it. By intentionally offering microscopic and macroscopic perspectives, unorthodox theatrical elements, exploration and manipulation of time and space, investigating life after death and challenging our notions of what is meaningful Throughout the play, Wilder urges us to appreciate our lives more while recognizing the seemingly insignificant parts without losing sight of our long-term goals. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"? Get an original essay In Act I of his play, Wilder uses unorthodox theatrical elements such as the lack of a fourth wall, a stage manager who part of the game, and the lack of props to draw us into the room and make us feel part of it. Right off the bat, this piece begins in a surprisingly unusual way. “No curtains. No landscape. The audience, upon arriving, sees an empty stage in the darkness” (3). To the audience's great surprise, the stage manager begins to address him directly. Wilder does this in an effort to make the audience feel like they are not just watching but participating, which goes a long way to making the piece even more accessible and impactful. It goes even further when the manager begins to describe his city, or more precisely, our city. The description of the city seems so vague but so specific at the same time, with striking similarities to almost every other American city, even today. For example, during his short tour of the city, he describes: “Here is Main Street. At the far end, there is the train station [...] The public school is there. The Lycée is even further away” (6). Although this looks like a report on a city, including directional references and relative locations, it draws parallels with almost every small American city. This powerful technique of drawing the reader or viewer into the room makes them much more receptive to new ways ofthink. On top of that, Wilder also chooses to forgo the use of props almost entirely. Although, at first, this may seem like an unusual decision that would compromise the comprehensibility of the piece, it is executed in a way that leaves just enough sense to convey meaning. With the majority of the set reduced to just actors, tables and chairs, this rids the scene of distractions and allows the audience to fully understand the deeper meaning of the events and nothing else. Overall, these unconventional theatrical elements are put in place to draw the reader in and maximize the impact of the rest of the piece. After an unusual but effective start to the piece, Wilder begins referencing space and time and rushing through time to get the reader thinking about a macroscopic view of his life and the universe as a whole. It begins with the stage manager casually talking about events that will take place many years from now. The stage manager says, "Doc Gibbs died in 1930. The new hospital is named after him," even though the setting of the play is 1901 Grover's Corners. He then goes on to describe other deaths and events and ends with the following statement: "In our town we like to know the facts about everyone" (7). Wilder intentionally does this in a nonchalant manner to distinguish the stage manager from the other characters. Wilder establishes a means of exploring the myriad things he will discuss, a method of conveying meaning that conversation between "normal" characters could never accomplish effectively. In other words, the Stage Manager establishes himself as a bridge between the world of the living and that of the dead. The stage manager seems omniscient and omnipotent while also having a character role in the play, which makes his philosophical speeches all the more significant. The speech about the future may have ended with this specific phrase because facts about people are "little things", or in other words insignificant, but the people of Grover's Corners do not neglect them and don't ignore them. Moving away from the omnipotence of the steward, Wilder also references space and time in this act when Professor Willard states that Grover's Corners has "A plateau of Devonian basalt runs through it with remnants of Mesozoic shale and some sandstone outcrops; but all this is more recent: two hundred, three hundred million years” (21). At first glance, this may seem absurd, due to our naturally skewed view of time that revolves around humans. However, since these rocks are on a 4 billion year old planet in a 13 billion year old universe, it doesn't seem so wrong. Wilder does this to give the reader a very humbling perspective on the universe. In a way, this makes us, as humans, feel insignificant on a universal scale. While that may be the case, the intention of this part of the play was not to make us feel insignificant, but rather to give us a macroscopic perspective of what human existence really is. In the midst of this existential crisis that the reader may be experiencing, they can take comfort in Wilder's generic and relatable characters, which he uses to make the reader or audience feel like they are part of the play . By the end of Act I, the Webbs and the Gibbs are literally some of the most generic characters a story can have. The day begins with children rushing to get ready for school, squabbles between siblings, chatter between parents, flirtations and budding romances between two friends. Closer to the end of the act, there is even a conversation betweenEmily and her father who says this: “I can't sleep yet, Dad. The moonlight is so wonderful and the smell of Mrs. Gibbs' heliotrope. Can you feel it? (44). This conversation seems to have absolutely nothing to contribute to the story and seems as generic as possible. Well, this may seem like superficial writing, but it’s actually the opposite. Wilder does this deliberately to keep the characters in the play underdeveloped, allowing us to do this, perhaps even leading the reader to imagine themselves as the character himself. In this way, other events in the story have a much greater impact on how the reader perceives and appreciates life. It's the same idea as making the city relatable enough to be Our Town, but with characters, the technique leaves a lot of potential to become a driving force to really make the reader think. At the very beginning of Act II, Wilder uses the fast forwarding of time and emphasis on cycles to make us recognize the brevity of life. The manager’s opening remarks on this act state: “Three years have passed. Yes, the sun has risen more than a thousand times. The summers and winters dug the mountains a little deeper and the rains caused part of the earth to fall” (47). This deep openness to the act of “Love and Marriage” symbolizes two distinct ideas: the brevity of life and the idea that everything follows a cyclical path, including life. Based on the idea that life is short, the act of fast forwarding in time shows how human beings try to rush through life, or at least not take the time to appreciate the gift that has come to them. was offered. Fast forward three years shows three years where the same things happen over and over again, people don't care at all and the cycle just repeats itself. The stage manager talks about the number of times the sun rises or the cycle of the seasons, and this is again a macroscopic perspective of the world. Unlike the microscopic perspective, which would be our characters' daily lives, this planetary perspective gives us even more reason to think about our importance, significance, and meaning in this world. Wilder mentions how mountains were moved by the powerful but slow force of nature, while in Our Town, “millions of gallons of water were passed through the mill; and here and there a new house was set up under a roof” (46). The river, also a part of nature, fed the mill with more than a million gallons of water, but humans only managed to erect a few walls. If nothing else, this perspective will definitely change the way we look at life, and probably even lead us to lead an overall better and happier life, by considering the microscopic details and appreciating it. Later in Act II, Wilder uses examples from everyday life. in Grover's Corners and more unusual theatrical elements to effectively promote the idea that we sometimes let life become a series of cycling cycles. The manager reports: “This is Howie Newsome delivering the milk. And there is Si Crowell delivering the papers like his brother before him” (48). First, there is a distinct cyclical nature to the two events here, Howie Newsome's daily milk delivery and the larger cycle of Si Crowell taking his brother's place as the town's paperboy. The first example fits with the idea that people can, sometimes, ignore the fact that they are just sitting around, waiting for something big, while life passes them by. The way this relates to Howie Newsome's routine is not that he lives this way, but in the sense thatMany people can make their entire life a routine, almost like a job. Wilder is trying to show us that this is not the way to live and that we should make the most of each day. The second example is a broader view of how we live our lives and, in a more positive light, shows how things change, while remaining the same. Things seem to be changing, but in reality they haven't changed at all. In addition to the allusion to cycles, Wilder uses the technique of not using props to focus on what is important. In this scene, as in most others, Wilder forgoes the use of props and scenery to focus the viewer's attention on the important events taking place and the commentary on our lives. Finally, it's time for George and Emily's wedding, the perfect example. microscopic and microscopic lenses, big things and small things. Of course, for George and Emily, this event is one of the most important days of their lives. However, for Mrs. Soames, it is (or should be) just another wedding ceremony. However, for Mrs Soames, it is the happiest day ever: “I don't know when I have seen such a beautiful wedding. But I still cry. I don't know why, but I always cry. I just like to see young people happy, don't you? Oh, I think it’s charming” (77). Mrs. Soames taking this marriage so seriously is another prime example of a micro versus macro perspective. From a macro perspective, the event is not very important to most guests. However, with a microscopic perspective, everyone sees things differently, so it's entirely possible for something to be boring to one and exciting to another. Continuing with Act III, arguably the most important and meaningful act, in which Wilder uses numerous techniques to conclude the delivery of his message about how we should live our lives. Time suddenly moved forward 9 years. The use of unorthodox theatrical elements is particularly important here, as not only can the dead speak, but they sit, emotionless, in rows of chairs. Perhaps Wilder wanted the “dead people” to be eerily reflective of what we are watching or reading the play for. Wilder probably made this connection between the dead characters and the reader to really make his point about "not knowing what you have until it's gone." The change in perspective also comes into play here. Another facet of the thesis reinforced in Act III concerns the two perspectives. From the beginning, we have been in the perspective of the living, interacting with and thinking about other living people. However, now that Emily has passed away, a whole new, invaluable perspective has become available. Emily now sees people as they are and sees through the metaphorical masks. She describes living people as “sort of locked in little boxes” (96). With everything that has happened throughout the story, she is absolutely right, and Wilder puts this at the end of the play for a specific reason. Wilder provided a sad irony in that Emily only discovers the truth about life after it is far too late to change anything. This serves as a warning to us to make the most of what we have and not take life for granted, because you never know when everything will end and you don't want to have regrets. The rush of time widely mentioned in this monologue reinforces the idea that people rush through their lives, falling into the same old boring routine. The monologueconsolidates this idea by confirming: “But you would be surprised: on the whole, things don't change much here” (86). Along with this statement, the superintendent also speaks specifically about how the events in the town have only led to more farmers moving into the town and, as always, more deaths. All of this is done by Wilder in an effort to show us how, unless we do something, our lives won't be much different. After this monologue, Wilder uses a conversation between Sam Craig and Joe Stoddard to emphasize the difference between the living and the living. the dead, and show how the living only truly miss and long for the dead once they are gone. During this conversation, the two speak very formally to each other and share almost no real emotion. For example, when Joe says, “Very sad, our journey today, Samuel,” Sam simply responds, “Yes” (89). The lack of authenticity and emotion is abundantly clear in this scene. Wilder shows us how "the living" don't share their feelings with each other and always seem to be in a hurry to end things, like this situation here. Not only does this conversation demonstrate the previous ideas, it also describes how people deal with attachment grief only after the dead have left them, and inevitably forget them as life goes on. When Sam arrives at Mrs. Gibbs' grave, he admits, "Well, that's my Aunt Julia...I forgot that she...of course, of course" (90). This realization shows that Sam's life cycle has evolved, but his attachment to his Aunt Julia remains. A sad warning to us readers that people need to take care and love each other while we are still together, without suffering afterwards. As the two finish their conversation, Emily is brought to the world of the dead, and Wilder uses this important event to introduce the deceased characters and clarify their differences and wisdom. Even before Emily arrives, Mrs. Gibbs and Mrs. Soames talk about Emily's death. When Mrs. Gibbs mentions that the cause of death is childbirth, Mrs. Soames responds, “Childbirth—almost laughing” (93). Here, the irony of Emily's death while giving birth is explored. Wilder intentionally puts this in the story to be a sad reminder that life can sometimes be out of our control and things can happen that are impossible to predict or prepare for. Especially in Emily's case, when one life was given, another was taken. It’s yet another reminder that Wilder reminds us that we need to make the most of the time we have. Then, when Emily is initially brought into the alternate reality of the dead, she immediately feels out of place among them. His attitude in no way corresponds to that of the rest of the people present, and his enthusiasm is met with responses that are quite the opposite, boring. His enthusiasm to return to the world of the living. At first, Emily doesn't understand why everyone is advising against the return trip. Then the steward, in his wisdom, said to Emily, “You don’t just live it; but watch yourself live it. [...] And as you look at it, you see the thing that they -- over there -- never know. You see the future. You see what’s going to happen” (99). The reason, the stage manager explains, that it always hurts so much is that Emily will overflow with regret when she sees how her past ignores all of life's little important moments. Knowing the end makes it all the more painful to see “the good old days” wasted. Later in Act III, Wilder uses a "revisit", or return to the world of the living, to show us that weWe need to be more critical of the world of the living. quality of our life, otherwise we might come back to it and regret our decisions. Emily, in her naive desire to revisit the world of the living, unaware of the pain this will cause, refuses to listen to anyone's advice. She doesn't know that knowing the future, knowing what's going to happen next and seeing how impersonal people are with each other, she doesn't know how much it's going to hurt. As readers, this sad truth is long before she returns to the world of the living. An important detail here is that everyone else urges Emily to choose the least important day, telling her that it will be "pretty important" (100). Emily doesn't yet fully understand the idea that all things have value, but she recognizes the way people live their lives: in boxes. Wilder incorporated this little detail to remind readers that small, seemingly insignificant things can mean everything once they're gone, so cherish them while they're still here. After her “entrance,” she is overcome with wonder and excitement. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long before the grief takes over... Emily realizes that back then, people didn't even look at each other. She remembered an illusion, not reality. The way she remembered it was the best way possible, and going back and seeing it again shattered it all into a million pieces. She ignored all warnings and painfully discovered why it is best not to return to the world of the living. The most powerful message of the play is delivered to the reader here in this scene, when Emily has a great realization here. We must appreciate life, every minute of it. After the visit and through her tears, Emily goes out and asks the manager to take her back; Wilder uses this event to specifically highlight the little things in life. Before heading out, Emily says she would like to say goodbye to all the things she will miss in the afterlife. She goes back one last time and says: “Goodbye, goodbye world. Goodbye, Grover's Corners. . . Mom and Dad. Goodbye to ticking clocks. . . and mom's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And made-up dresses and hot baths. . . and sleep and wake up. O earth, you are too wonderful for anyone to realize you” (108). It is at this moment that Emily realizes the importance of the "little things", as shown by the fact that she lists things more and more precisely. It begins with an overview, saying goodbye to the world, and ends on a very personal note, coffee, hot baths and waking up. At the end of Act III and the end of the revisitation, Wilder uses explicit evidence to give us more warning to learn from Emily's mistakes. Immediately after Emily returns from her trip to the world of the dead, she is absolutely devastated by how it happened. When asked if she was happy or not, Emily replied, "No, I should have listened to you." That’s what human beings are all about! Just blind people” (109). Emily realizing that humans act almost like blind people when out in the real world will warn and teach the reader to be critical of times in their own life where this could have been accurate. At some point in the reader's life, he or she might be guilty of having “[moved] in a cloud of ignorance; for [having] walked up and down, trampling on the feelings of those…of those around them” (109). So ultimately Wilder uses this regret on Emily's part to reach out to the reader and connect to a point where he was guilty of being cold or impersonal towards someone who..