Thornton Wilder's Our Town

Minute by minute, day by day, people are running out of the time that they were given on this earth. Every step a person takes is a step closer to a time when he will be unable to walk, and yet he chooses to trudges instead of skip, rush instead of stroll. Millions of people walk blindly through life by following the same routine as the day before, taking for granted relationships that should be held dear, and wasting time as if it will go on forever. This lifestyle is a popular topic among philosophers and writers, and many have dedicated years of their life to convincing people of its negative effects. One of these writers was Thornton Wilder, author of Our Town. This play tells the story of sleepy Grover’s Corners, where the townspeople

They provide a human connection, which is more convincing than an abstract theme or a concept like time. The first of these characters is Stage Manager, who represents a God figure in the play–controlling the action of the play, deciding when to jump forward or backward in time–and he seems to be wiser than the average human being. Wilder made this character seem that way on purpose so that he could hint at some of the key points of his message through someone the audience could understand. Stage Manager made several statements that touched on the speed at which life goes by and how people should enjoy it, giving the audience a gentle reminder of Wilder’s argument. The character also remained composed and professional at all times, turning him into someone the audience could trust, and allowing them to see the true message. On the other hand, Simon Stimson was no where near as calm or collected as Stage Manager. Simon, the town drunk, seemed depressed while he was alive and ended up committing suicide. He was the representation of regret and despair, especially at the end of the novel. When the audience was introduced to all of the dead, he was the most frustrated with the living, and expressed that frustration by saying, “That's what it was to be alive. To move about in a cloud of ignorance… To spend and waste time as though you had a million years… Now you know–that's the happy existence you wanted to go back to. Ignorance and blindness” (Wilder 109). This quote goes to show exactly what a person who had wasted their life would think and feel when it was over and done. Simon Stimson, consumed by his regret for being content with living without a purpose, looked upon the rest of humanity as completely ignorant and blind. He knew exactly what would come out of living the way he did, and wanted