Literature Analysis #2

Our Town by Thorton Wilder

1.       Our Town by Thorton Wilder is a three act play that consists of many characters and shares a part of their daily lives. The play is narrated by the Stage Manager who welcomes the audience to the fictional town of Grover’s Corner, New Hampshire in 1901. The story/ play are about the Webb and Gibbs family (their last names are so similar that I get them confused sometimes!). Anyway, George Gibbs and Emily Webb have affection for each other and they get married near the beginning of the play. Act I is basically an introduction—an exposition in other words but the story picks up its pace in the Act II.  Act II takes place three years later on George’s and Emily’s wedding day. George was very excited to see his bride-to-be but Mr. and Mrs. Webb cues him to leave because they believe that a groom should not see his bride unless he wants bad luck. After Mrs. Webb leaves the conversation, Mr. Webb and George has a very deep conversation about marriage and discusses how to be a virtuous husband. George is feeling a bit awkward and an outcast when they talk together. In Act III, Emily dies of childbirth and the scene opens up with a cemetery scene on a hilltop overlooking the town. Mrs. Soames, Wally Webb, Simon Stimson and Mrs. Gibbs already left the Earth at this time and the dead speaks. Unfortunately, Emily misses her life and decides to go back. She realizes at the end of the story that she should appreciate every part of life and not regret anything.

2.       The theme wasn’t expressed very clearly (well, intentions of many authors…). However, I believe that Wilder wanted to convey to the audiences that time a-wasting and we can’t let our busy lives ignore time. Emily’s family and George’s family were always very rushed and busy; the mother and father and daughters were so busy in the mornings that they wouldn’t even talk to each other. Some busily headed to school while the others hurried to work. Mr. Gibbs- also known as Dr. Frank Gibbs is a surgeon and is predictably busy with his life. Anyway, when Emily dies, she realizes how important to cherish every part of the daily life because eventually, everyone will lose it all.

3.       The author’s tone was very calm and reserved. Even though there were certain rush hours in the play, things still seemed very realistic and a slice of OUR lives itself. For example, from Act II; ‘they brought up two children apiece, washed and cleaned the house, -- and never a nervous breakdown.

4.       Diction, syntax, mood, imagery, motifs. Those five literary elements stood out the most while reading the play. Diction and syntax might go together because both are very similar but have a distinct difference. Wilder’s word usage is a bit banal but nevertheless it is quite easy for the audience to understand. Because it is a play, some parts can be confusing (like Hamlet) but the Stage Manager seemed to take care of it well. Anyway, the introduction sets the mood for the exposition; a childbirth. This clearly signifies “new” and “exciting life” which Wilder successfully conveys through tone and mood. Imagery wasn’t a very large part of the play however some scenes were very clear in our minds like how the play was set up. An example of this would be the opening of Act III when it introduces a cemetery on a hill top. Not only is this an example of imagery but these accounts for both tone and mood.

Stage directions: ‘The dead do not turn their heads or eyes to right or left, but they sit in a quiet without stiffness. When they speak their tone is matter-of-fact, with sentimentality and, above all, without lugubriousness.’

‘We all know that something is eternal. And it ain’t houses and it ain’t names, and it ain’t earth, and it ain’t even the starts…everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal, and that something and to do with human beings.’

Stage directions: the stage at no time in this act has been very dark; but now the left half of the stage gradually becomes very bright – the brightness of a crisp winter morning. EMILY walks towards Main Street.