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Our Town, by Thornton Wilder, is an American classic, expressing with warmth and humor the eternal truths of human existence. It is a heartening, compassionate glimpse of that time before the Great Wars; before the innocence was lost forever. From the time of its first performances in 1938, it has continued to be regarded as one of the best representations of life in America and of the richness of our theatre world. For decades it has remained a landmark of theatrical craftsmanship and a loving picture of American life. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Our Town depicts pathos set against a background of centuries of time, social history, and religious ideas. As the Stage Manager (who functions as a Greek chorus in the drama) says: "This is the way we were in our growing-up and in our marrying and in our doctoring and in our living and in our dying." Our Town is set in 1901 in Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, where the Gibbses and the Webbs are neighbours. During their childhood George Gibbs and Emily Webb are playmates and their lives are inextricably woven together as neighbours' lives are likely to be. But as they grow older they pass into a state of romantic (and embarrassing) interest in one another. George proposes to Emily in the drug store over an ice cream soda, and they are married with all the good folks of Grover's Corners in attendance. But George and Emily's happiness is short-lived. Emily dies in childbirth and is buried in the town's cemetery on a rainy, dreary day. There she is reunited with those friends and neighbours who have died before her, and who help her acclimate herself to her new existence. In one of the most vital scenes in modern theatre, the peace and quiet of death, which can never be understood by the living, is portrayed. Our Town is not just about Emily and George and, indeed, is not just about a small town in northern New England a hundred years ago. Our Town is a play about what Thornton Wilder thought America and Americans were. As they are about to take a head-long leap into the next century they are forced, not only to look ahead to what they might become, but to turn and look back at what allowed them to arrive at this threshold of the new millennium. The characters in Our Town tell the readers what they knew of life, its pain and hope; its simplicity and truth. Thornton Wilder believed that life was meaningful only when lived with full awareness of the value of the present moment. For nearly 60 years, Our Town has demonstrated to its audiences the peril of not doing exactly that. Shortly before Wilder's death, The New York Times said: “Wilder's plays are now more than ever in rhythm with our changing habit of theatergoing...” He relates the moment to eternity, seeks the infinite in the immediate, finds the universe in each grain of wheat. His plays have not so much been 'revived' over and over again, as they have almost continuously stayed alive among us. Analysis In fact my town does not resemble the setting displayed in this play although I am sure the setting of our ancestors’ towns were much like this one. Back then everybody knew each other and they did not have to lock their doors and they had a strong fear of death and judgement. Wilder's passionate plea in the play is to appreciate every moment of every day, for life is a fleeting thing. With troubles rapidly expanding in Europe and war becoming a looming reality, people were inundated with the negative aspects of life. To see Our Town was to escape from the negative and rejoice in the ordinary; it reaffirmed faith in the unchanging moral values of small town living. It was obviously the balm that audiences needed in the midst of a pessimistic and changing world. Through his play, Wilder tries to teach the audience to seize the moment and enjoy living. There are no guarantees about a certain life span, as evidenced by the premature deaths of Emily Webb and her brother, Wally; tomorrow may be too late. By calling the drama Our Town and portraying ordinary people and events, the people in the audience and the readers of the play can identify with the theme and apply it to their own lives. Our Town is an unusual play in structure. It intentionally contains little action, in order to support the theme; nothing exciting or suspenseful happens in any of the three acts, just as nothing exciting happens in Grover's Corners. The play also ignores most dramatic conventions. In the beginning, the Stage Manager saunters on to an empty stage to talk directly to the audience; he tells them that the play is ready to begin. He then describes the appearance of Grover's Corners and its inhabitants. The play also ignores the unity of time and place. Between the first and second acts, three years pass. Then between the second and third acts, another nine years pass. In addition, the omniscient Stage Manager has repeated flashbacks to the past and flash-forwards to the future, further negating a unity of time. The play also has many locations. Although the entire play takes place in or around Grover's Corners, each act has a different and distinct key setting. In Act I, most of the action takes place in the homes of the Webb’s and the Gibbs; often the activity in both homes is seen on stage at once, in order to emphasize the sameness of things in this small town. The second act is set largely at the church, where Emily and George are married. The last act is set in the cemetery outside of town and in the home of Emily during her revisit to her twelfth birthday. Not surprisingly, these acts are entitled by the main concern of each. Act I is called "Daily Routine," Act II is ”Love and Marriage”, and the final act is called “Death.” In spite of the lack of unity provided by time and location in the play, character serves as a great unifier. The Stage Manager and Emily are seen throughout the drama.