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The Role Of Marriage In Thornton Wilder's Our Town

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What would you do if your father came to you and said you were getting married tomorrow? Thornton Wilder proved a perfect example of how marriage was in the 1900’s in his play, “Our Town.” He portrays it as a business deal to benefit the families rather than an act of love. Now, however, women’s independence is a common occurrence rather than being frowned upon. They can marry as they wish but also have the freedom to make it on their own. Ultimately, marriage and women have made a dramatic change over the last 100 years. Marriage 100 years ago was not the loving ceremony bonding two people as it is today. It was dictated more by economic and political standpoints. Marriage was more of a forced affair rather than optional for young men and …show more content…

Women in the early 1900’s didn’t have very much economic freedom. They were restricted on almost everything they did. They weren’t allowed in the workplace like their partners were so for women to make it, they had to be married. Now, however, women have economic equality with their partners. This can lead to a variety of failed marriages with both partners trying to reach success. Giving women this privilege provides new opportunities for success but also new opportunities for failure in a marriage. Each party tends to focus more on triumph rather than each other which results in divorce. Women equality can also have an effect on the children they have. One hundred years ago, women were to stay at home and care for the children. Since women now have a role like only the men used to, they invest time in their jobs just as much as the mean do. In turn, children can feel neglected from lack of attention from their parents because of the energy they put towards their money and economic goals. The assets that people thought would make marriage more fulfilling has actually made it more fragile. The partners in these relationships want the best of both worlds. These couples expect so much more from their partners but at the same time aspire to be successful. There is not enough time for both which in turn, leads to yet another failed

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Their rights were being matched to men. An example of this is the”Federal Divorce Act was changed in 1925 to permit women the same right to a divorce as a man - adultery” (Freeman 31). Women’s rights were changing, and their rights were similar to that of the men. This introduced an era where women were treated as equals to men. Lastly, women were getting involved with more significant work in society.

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In chapter 1, Banks claims that marriage has been changed in the most recent quite a few years, developing from a social contract intended to guarantee monetary strength (or upgrade) and reproduction to something that is more relationship-based. He analyzes why African Americans keep up the least marriage and most noteworthy separation rates in the country, concentrating most pointedly on the high probability a black lady will stay single, a result of the shortage of black men in the marriage showcase, their number exhausted by high detainment rates. This "man deficiency" leaves the individuals who are accessible sought after and with less force to focus on one lady. We progressively wed for individual satisfaction and frequently would like to accomplish some budgetary strength before we marry. Banks investigates the upsetting — and regularly implicit —

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Specifically, women gaining the right to vote, free education, right to work, to divorce, own property and wages, and the right to have custody over their children helped build America to be the country that it is today. Economically, women’s rights increased labor force participation and created “meaningful participation in economic decision making” (“Facts and Figures: Economic Empowerment”). This participation ensured economic progress. Women’s rights provided increased educational opportunities which benefited the economy in the same way child labor laws did. These opportunities gave women the skills people needed to become a significant part of the community, having a job and earning a reasonable amount of money.

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The theme in Our Town by Thornton Wilder is companionship. One example of why I think the theme in Our Town is companionship is when Emily and George first become friends on the balcony and Emily and George are talking and Emily says "in square yards of wallpaper" And George says wallpaper oh I see thanks Emily thanks . This is when they first start to become friends and even more than just friends a strong companionship .

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While family structure has changed dramatically since the 1950’s, what current changes are we seeing; and how is it affecting the roles to which we play in a compromising world. In the 1950’s families consisted of a head of household (the Father), the house wife (or mother); and their offspring (the children). The father’s duty was to bring home the bacon, while making end meets for his family, while the wife stayed home and cared for the children, the elderly; and took on the household duties. These families usually lived in the suburbs, where they raised their children; while teaching them the proper ways of life. During this time in history, young women were expected to find a mate through persuasion, then get hitched; and eventually produce an offspring.

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Marriage is often much more complex than what people envision, as many factors play roles in ensuring it will last. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston portrays the story of a young African-American girl named Janie whose Grandma marries her off to Logan Killicks, a man she does not love. Yearning for real love, Janie runs away and marries a promising rich man named Joe Starks, only to discover that there is once again a lack of affection. After enduring almost twenty years of a hollow relationship, Janie’s second husband passes away, and by chance she meets the love of her life; a young man known as Tea Cake. However, this happiness is short-lived as she is ridiculed for being with a younger man, whom not too

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Our Town Quiz A community is a social group of any number whose members consist in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical age. The play Our Town by Thornton Wilder is about the fictional town of Grover's Corner, New Hampshire, that demonstrates how community plays a crucial role in minuscule societies. Wilder exhibited a few methods he used to show the significance of community in the play. One way Wilder displayed the importance of community throughout the play is by the dialogue between characters.

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Each day, babies are born and elders pass away; thus, all contribute to the never-ending cycle of life. Everything on Earth is eternal, for nothing entirely disappears. Eternity is a complex topic, yet it occurs several times in the play, Our Town by Thornton Wilder. The Stage Manager believes eternity is a bridge connecting the unappreciative to the humble, which concurs with the events of the play. Dictionaries define “eternal” as lasting or existing forever; consequently, it complements the Stage Manager’s definition of “eternal”.

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Make Life Count In a world full of constant distractions and an ever-increasing to-do list, it is easy to lose sight of what it means to truly live life mindfully. Oscar Wilde believes, “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people only exist, that is all.” Many of us just go through the motions of living instead of genuinely experiencing and cherishing each moment. Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town exposes the daily life of its characters to help the audience understand the importance of making every moment count.

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American Women in the Late 1800’s Were married American women in the late 1800’s expected to restrict their sphere of interest to the home and the family? In the late 1800’s women were second-class citizens. Women were expected to limit their interest to the home and family. Women were not encouraged to obtain a real education or pursue a professional career. After marriage, women did not have the right to own their own property, keep their own wages, or sign a contract.

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The relationship between husbands and wives in the emergent modern family with their relationship in the colonial United Stated has some differences. During the early colonial era, marriages were agreed upon based on social and economic purposes. Both husband and wife were not romantically in love, but their marriage was more of an agreement. Women played a valuable role in the colonial era; they worked in the family settings, outside of the home and wives were subordinate to their husbands. However, the emergent modern family felt romantic love and affection replaced the economic concerns in deciding on marital partners.

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Oscar Wilde’s Victorian melodramatic play The Importance of Being Earnest opened on February 14, 1895. Wilde used this play to criticize Victorian society through clever phrasing and satire. Throughout the play The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde displayed the themes of the nature of marriage, the constraints of morality, and the importance of not being earnest. One of the themes that Oscar Wilde includes in the play is the nature of marriage.

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Today’s women would say they would like an equal partnership in a marriage (something), but historically this was not always possible. In 1870’s Norway, Henrick Ibsen A Doll’s House takes place, woman where not allowed decision making privileges or any other equal freedom. Nora, the protagonist showed signs of being independent by taking out a lone, and having side jobs, but yet she cannot even enjoy a cookie without her husband’s approval. In the 1800’s women were considered property to the men in their lives.

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Is there really a need to be married anymore? Does marriage actually benefit your relationship, or is it an outdated institution that we’ll be better off without? In this speech, I’ll convince you that marriage is a thing of the past, and that society’s views on marriage have changed enough in the past decade that marriage really isn’t necessary anymore. One of the main purposes of marriage is to maintain a permanent relationship, but nowadays marriage doesn’t lead to a permanent relationship due to the increase of divorce rates.

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Bledsoe (1976:372) describes that men want to marry to improve their position by having access to women's production and reproduction. Women marry for male labor or wealth, which often goes to her family. From this perspective, it becomes immediately clear that women hold power that men need to improve their social position. Women do not simply marry because they have no capital and need a provider, but it is rather a mutually beneficial exchange that both parties need. Since women do the majority of agricultural work and domestic work, men gain power by marrying as many women as possible (Bledsoe, 1976:376).

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