Thornton Wilder's Life and How It Influenced His Writings
The life of a person can greatly be influenced by early life experiences. Such was the case of Thornton Wilder as his early childhood experiences and his college life greatly impacted the development of his writing techniques in many of his acclaimed novels and plays. It can be seen through his literary works, such as the play Our Town, that his exceptional style of writing truly reflects the influences he had during his lifetime. His experiences with his family and the inspiration built by the admiration of a professor helped Thornton Wilder to grow into a unique author with a distinct style that set him apart from many other notable authors. His exceptional style of writing definitely reflects the experiences of his early life and helped shape his unique writing style that no other person can replicate. Thornton Wilder lived a difficult childhood. As a child, Thornton became very independent and sensitive, which probably developed as a result of separation from his family during most of his childhood years. Thornton's mother, Isabella Niven Wilder, was a very religious lady and she spread her strong beliefs of religion down to her son. Amos Wilder, Thornton's father, was a very strict man and he often asked too much of
Thornton Wilder's early life experiences definitely had an impact in the outcome of his own writing style. From the experiences he encountered with his family to the inspiration he received from his teacher, they all added up to create one of the most phenomenal writing style the world will ever know. From careful analysis of his life and his work, it is apparent that the two factors have intertwined to create many of the acclaimed novels and plays known throughout the world. The result of such an extraordinary style of writing is the effectiveness in trying to help the audience realize the true importance of cherishing the special moments in life instead of taking many things for granted. Thornton. He expected Thornton to become very intelligent, athletic, and wanted him to have "the power of concentration and the ability to do uncongenial things" (Goldstone, 13). All these desires of his father led him to have a "psychologically damaging" effect on Thornton (Goldstone, 10). Thornton always "was aware of his father's disappointed judgment of his character and capacities" (Goldstone, 13). However, he could not help curb his desires of music, art, drama, and literature. He was turning out to be "precisely what Amos did not want"(Goldstone, 13). As a result, Thornton grew very sensitive and lived most of his high school years unhappily. After graduating from high school, Thornton's most influential moment probably came from his college experience. His father had enrolled him at Oberlin College in Ohio. While attending the college, Thornton Wilder was greatly inspired by the chairman of the English Department at Oberlin, Professor Charles H. A. Wager. The two became to be very close as a result of common interest and also because Wager revealed to Thornton a "kind of spiritual world" through his lectures and this "struck a responsive chord in Thornton who was at that time, and for many years after, profoundly religious or, at least, aesthetically drawn to spiritual matters" (Goldstone, 23). After attending Oberlin College, Thornton transferred to Yale University. Yet he was disappointed to find the teachings less inspirational as he had f
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Approximate Word count = 1466
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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