Our Town

A detailed Summary of Our Town

Charles Feidelson, Jr. once said, "Life is a series of little deaths out of which life always returns." Life, love, and death, are the main themes in Our Town, a play written by Thornton Wilder. The play begins with the joy of life, conveys stories of love, and concludes with the sorrow of death. The Stage Manager walks on stage during Act II, and refers to a Midwestern poet, who wrote, "You've got to love life to have life, and you've got to have life to love life..." Throughout the entire play, love and affection is evident between the intertwining lives and relationships of the Grover's Corners residents, particularly the Webb and Gibbs family members.

Julia Hersey Gibbs has a strong love for her family and life in general. She spends her day as a homemaker and her nights as a model wife and mother. Almost every line that she speaks during the play is optimistic. Seldom does Mrs. Gibbs think of herself, she wants only the best for her loved ones. This thoughtfulness is evident when George is about to run out of the house, she yells to him "George! You'll catch your death of cold and cough all through the service." (56) Julia tries to uplift everyone with her pleasant personality and make the best of every situat

The love between George and Emily is progressive. They begin as friends and neighbors, and attend school together. The two soon start to socialize and flirt. Soon, they share feelings and make plans for the future. George and Emily have strong love and affection for one another; it helps them overcome adversity in their relationship. Emily one day tells George her unhappiness over how he never has time for her or any of his friends. He replies " . . .I'm glad you said it, Emily. I never thought that such a thing was happening to me." (65) "...But you'll see: I'm going to change so quick - you bet I'm going to change." (69) Since he actually cares deeply for her, he takes the advice and makes a major decision that will change his life. He gave up an opportunity to go to college and meet new people so that he could stay in Grover's corners, and marry his childhood sweetheart Emily while he had the chance. Such behavior strongly shows their love for one another and how it helps them persevere through their relationship. Now, they "loved life", because they felt as though they "had life" together. They have true love because they are honest with each other and are willing to make significant sacrifices to allow their relationship to p

Some common words found in the essay are:
George Emily, Dr Gibbs, Act II, George You'll, Hersey Gibbs, Jr Life, Thornton Wilder, Gibbs Rebecca, Seldom Gibbs, dr gibbs, Stage Manager, love affection, george emily, life life, grover's corners, strong love, i'm change, life love, love life,

Approximate Word count = 837
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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Our Town

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