ipl-logo

Our Town Play Analysis

821 Words4 Pages

OUR TOWN THORNTON W ILDER
I reviewed the theatrical performance Our Town which was first produced and published in 1983, by Thornton Wilder. Wilders prize winning drama has become an American classic and is his most renowned and most frequently performed play. Upon further reading I will introduce to you some insight on what I believe the artist was trying to accomplish throughout the three scenes of the play. I will introduce the main characters and the main story line along with some of the scenery and how this performance flowed.
When writing the dialect for the play, Wilder uses typical country vernacular and has the Stage Manager speak directly to the audience, which makes the reader feel like they are part of the story. The stage …show more content…

Wilder's sets, or lack thereof, allow the audience to use their imagination, but not focus so much on scenery that they miss the message. The story is equally simple. The first act introduces us to the town, Grover's Corners in New Hampshire, seen in the early years of the 20th Century--and most particularly to the Gibbs and Webb families, who live next door to each other. The families, children are friends. The second act which takes place three years later finds boy-next-door George and girl-next-door Emily with a friendship that has blossomed in to love and marrying, and a flash-black shows the audience how their romance began. It is a simple tale, full of details of small town life, church choir on Wednesday night, milk delivered fresh each morning, breakfast to be made, chickens to be fed--and slowly, as the action moves Wilder swirls a number of themes throughout the work, themes that are simple yet profound, details of the particular and the universal--and these gather suddenly, …show more content…

Despite warnings from her fellow death that it is a terrible idea. Emily soon realizes that they are correct. Death has brought a heightened awareness of life; it is too painful for Emily to watch living people who take their time for granted. Wilder is reminding the audience of how precious daily life is, because it determines our true reality…our enduring identity is not derived from the things and the events because they are familiar and repeated, but from our ever-new, ever-fresh relation to them. Wilder also demonstrates that these aspects of daily life and their constant renewal are universal to all generations and

Show More
Related
806 Words | 4 Pages

Through the use of dialogue, the author shows how Nancy is doubtful and unhappy about the situation. The descriptions of the house show the family react to it, developing their character in the beginning of the

Read More
1496 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout this piece the author’s frequent use of location descriptors such as “rural,” “town,” “community,” and “neighbor” play a vital role in the construction of this story. The use of these words nineteen times suggests that the author’s story will focus on small towns and the constant flow of gossip within, despite their neighborly feel. In one section of this piece, the author explained that large communities can not keep up with each other’s gossip, while small towns tend to thrive on it. The inclusion of this portion suggests that the author finds gossip and rumors to be a vital part of the small town experience, thus creating a traditional small

Read More
1001 Words | 5 Pages

The use of language, stage directions and dialogue.

Read More
1023 Words | 5 Pages

Narrative Rough Draft Billy Baker and his sister Taylor Baker daydreamed as they stared aimlessly out the car door window. Finally they were on the road heading east towards new beginnings. Mr. and Mrs. Baker had decided that it was in the family’s best interest that they move to a smaller town. The Baker kids grew more restless by the minute as they got closer and closer to their destination. Their new house in the small town of Clearfield, Iowa was far different from their former apartment flat in Seattle, Washington.

Read More
1068 Words | 5 Pages

Soames is still seen full of interest regarding the lives of those around her. She does not dwell on the misfortunes, but instead focuses on the positive aspects of life (“My, wasn’t life awful- and wonderful.” Act III). Mrs. Soames recalls Emily’s accomplishments, such as her wedding and graduation. When Emily insists on returning to the world of the living, Mrs. Soames advises her against it, as she knows that Emily will be disappointed and hurt.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

The dead start talking about everything relating to death in a very nonchalant way, and Emily wonders how long the sensation of feeling like she is alive will last, not wanting to become like the dead she is with, not wanting to

Read More
777 Words | 4 Pages

The play Our Town is about the people of a small town of Grover's Corners in New Hampshire. This play focuses mainly on two families, the Gibbs and the Webbs. The play portrays teenage years, love and marriage, and death throughout the three acts. Throughout the play, Emily Webb, Mrs. Gibbs, and Joe Crowell suddenly die suddenly when they had their whole lives ahead of them. Wilder conveys that death happens at any time so one should live every day like it will be their last.

Read More
907 Words | 4 Pages

The Long Christmas Ride Home by Paula Vogel is a play about a family of five, and their experience on Christmas day, as well as the future of the three children. I believe that this was meant to take place in the early-sixties to the late-seventies because of the mother’s housewife role in the play, and the way the grandfather would accept the mistreatment of his own daughter from her husband, but would stand up for the mistreatment of his grandson—a clearly sexist view that would not be accepted in today’s society. Another hint about the time period is that Stephen died from a disease contracted during sex, one that eventually killed him. This makes me think that this was before or during the AIDS epidemic. The children are Rebecca, age twelve,

Read More
442 Words | 2 Pages

As described by its author, Thornton Wilder, “[Our Town] is an attempt to find a value above all price for the smallest events in our daily life.” The play mainly focuses on the lives and deaths of two small town families, the Webbs and the Gibbs. The events that occur are presented and controlled by a mysterious Stage Manager. Thornton Wilder is indeed successful with his attempt to value the small things in life.

Read More
581 Words | 3 Pages

Wilder combines aspects of the time period, setting, and theme to relay his message of the importance of life to the audience. “Our Town” was written in the time period of the 1900’s. Wilder actually wrote this piece in the year 1938. He is writing as the drama was set in his past time around 1901-1913. Life during this time was slow and simple.

Read More
188 Words | 1 Pages

The play, “Our Town,” written by Thornton Wilder, talks about two people who live in a small town. There are many things where the town that I live in that are the same as the town in the play. For one, both towns are small are aren’t close to any large towns. Each town has a small population as well, when compared to city populations at least. Besides the population, there’s nature around the towns as well, giving it a natural feeling to the two towns.

Read More
603 Words | 3 Pages

With many different situations occurring within the college, our emphasizes will be towards student loans that cause students to become helpless when faced with massive debts. As debts accumulate during and after graduation, having loans can be detrimental to one’s well-being. As a leading cause to many student debts, colleges expect students to carry a vast amount of cash to pay for tuition. Despite these claims, students do not even have the proper living standards to afford school and paying off rents. From this information, we would like college students to reflect on relying on student loans for college.

Read More
760 Words | 4 Pages

On March 28th, I had the pleasure of attending the Broadway show called “The Play That Goes Wrong,” located at the Lycuem Theatre on 149 West 45th Street. On this particular Tuesday evening, I just had a vibe that something wrong was going to happen in this play – shockingly. I did believe this play will truly be memorable judging by the fun quirk of the show’s name. After watching the performance for about two hours, I can conclude that this play went beyond my expectation as its set disasters and characters amusingly caught the attention of me and the rest of the audience.

Read More
2048 Words | 9 Pages

In fiction, the narrator controls how the audience connects to and perceives the various characters in a story. A good author can manipulate the narration to connect the audience to certain characters and deepen the reader’s understanding of their conflicts. In “Previous Condition” and “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin illustrates themes of loneliness and isolation in the pursuit of finding a space that feels like home. Although this theme is clear in both stories, Baldwin is able to portray it very differently in each story through the relationship he allows the reader to the characters struggling with these feelings. While “Previous Condition” provides a more intimate relationship to the narrator, “Sonny’s Blues” is able to deliver an additional level of understanding by telling the story through Sonny’s brother, therefore disconnecting the reader in a way that forces him or her to share the characters’ feelings of isolation and confusion.

Read More
740 Words | 3 Pages

From her internal thoughts and observations, the reader is given knowledge of the exact extent to which Ellie’s own mortality affects her thoughts, actions, and enjoyment of her whole life. The impact of the knowledge is best demonstrated when the reader is told, “Yet

Read More

More about Our Town Play Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document