An Analysis of Our Town
It's the little things in life that count
An analysis of the representation of the daily life in Our Town
* Table of Contents
1 Introduction 3 2 Biographical Background 4 3 Our Town 5 3.1 General 5 3.2 Theme 5 3.3 Publication 5 4 Analysis 6 4.1 Act 1 6 4.2 Act 2 7 4.3 Act 3 8 5 Conclusion 10 6 Bibliography 12 6.1 Primary Literature 12 6.2 Secondary Literature 12 6.3 Webliography 12
Introduction
Needless to say, Our Town is one of the most popular plays by Thornton Wilder and not for nothing has it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1938. The most significant aspect in Our Town is the representation of the everyday life. Not only does the play explores American values of religion or family, it also addresses themes like mortality or as mentioned before, the value of the everyday life.
“Our Town is not offered as a picture of life in a New Hampshire village; or as a speculation about the conditions of life after death. It is an attempt to find a value above all price for the smallest events in our daily life.” [Online 1]
Life is often taken for granted although we are aware of the fact that life is short and that it can end at any time. Many people do not take heed of their life and they do not pay attention to all those little things which make life important. “That’s all human beings are! Just blind people.” (Wilder 1984: 93). Like Emily, a character of Our Town, mentioned, people are not aware of how precious life is. Therefore the main aim of this paper is to give an analysis of how Thornton Wilder tries to teach the audience through several messages implied in Our Town.
At first, the term paper will tell about Thornton Wilder’s life, because it is important to know about his personal life when taking his works into consideration. Wilder never stopped writing, even when he worked as a professor. Here we can clearly see a connection to his works, because especially in Our Town, as mentioned before, he
An analysis of the representation of the daily life in Our Town
* Table of Contents
1 Introduction 3 2 Biographical Background 4 3 Our Town 5 3.1 General 5 3.2 Theme 5 3.3 Publication 5 4 Analysis 6 4.1 Act 1 6 4.2 Act 2 7 4.3 Act 3 8 5 Conclusion 10 6 Bibliography 12 6.1 Primary Literature 12 6.2 Secondary Literature 12 6.3 Webliography 12
Introduction
Needless to say, Our Town is one of the most popular plays by Thornton Wilder and not for nothing has it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1938. The most significant aspect in Our Town is the representation of the everyday life. Not only does the play explores American values of religion or family, it also addresses themes like mortality or as mentioned before, the value of the everyday life.
“Our Town is not offered as a picture of life in a New Hampshire village; or as a speculation about the conditions of life after death. It is an attempt to find a value above all price for the smallest events in our daily life.” [Online 1]
Life is often taken for granted although we are aware of the fact that life is short and that it can end at any time. Many people do not take heed of their life and they do not pay attention to all those little things which make life important. “That’s all human beings are! Just blind people.” (Wilder 1984: 93). Like Emily, a character of Our Town, mentioned, people are not aware of how precious life is. Therefore the main aim of this paper is to give an analysis of how Thornton Wilder tries to teach the audience through several messages implied in Our Town.
At first, the term paper will tell about Thornton Wilder’s life, because it is important to know about his personal life when taking his works into consideration. Wilder never stopped writing, even when he worked as a professor. Here we can clearly see a connection to his works, because especially in Our Town, as mentioned before, he
Bibliography: Primary Literature Wilder, Thornton (1984) Secondary Literature Beckmann, Heinz (1966) Carnegie, Dale (1990). How to Stop Worrying and Start Living [1936]. New York: Simon and Schuster Adult Publishing Group. Harrison, Gilbert A. (1983). A Life of Thornton Wilder. New Haven: Ticknor & Fields. Nünning, Ansgar and Vera (2004). An Introduction to the Study of English and American Literature Wilder, Thornton (1979). In: Donald Gallup, ed. American Characteristics: And Other Essays 2.) “Thornton (Niven) Wilder (1897-1975)”. [Online]. http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/twilder.htm. [2009, January 30]. 3.) “Biography of Thornton Wilder (1897-1975)”