The theme of Our Town is universal; it is the tragic truth that human feeling and understanding are incomplete. People never truly understand and live their lives to their potential. They can only see from one point of view their whole lives. They can never see the complete picture and all that they are missing. They are blocked by their own ambition and limited to their own knowledge or lack there of. This blindness is an ordinary thing that all peop

These unfortunate events reinforce the idea that people don't live life, by presenting death. We later learn that only in death do these people understand how great life was. The Stage Manager said "you've got to love life to have life, and you've got to have life to love life." This is obviously a vicious circle; you can't have one with out getting the other first. It is suggested in the play that Simon Stimson might have understood that while he was still living, and perhaps that is why he took his own life. Emily is the character who learns this lesson on the stage. In the play she dies and learns how much she wasted her time in mortal life. The movie however is different. In the movie she does die and learn the truth, but then she is awoken from death and lives again.

Thornton Wilder would have found the movie unacceptable. It contradicts the theme of the play. People are not ordinarily giving a second chance. Thornton was trying to tell the audience to go out and live

Some common words found in the essay are:
Thornton Wilder, Gibbs Emily, Grover's Corners, Town Town, Simon Stimson, Stage Manager, town universal, own little, ordinary people, unfortunate events, love life, live lives, play town, town town,
Approximate Word count = 668
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)