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Critical essay on our town
Essay on our town
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Somewhere among the grassy hills of New Hampshire lies a very small town called Grover’s Corners. This village at least exists in a play, “Our Town”, written by Thornton Wilder. “Our Town” is a play that is divided into three acts, “Daily Life”, “Love and Marriage”, and “Life and Death”, accordingly. The play, by each act, describes the world of the very small town of Grover’s Corners and the people living and communicating in that secluded town. Unlike other plays, however, “Our Town” has no scenery when performed. There is only a trellis, table and chairs for those “who feel like they have to have scenery”, says the Stage Manager, who acts like a narrator. Everything else, including eating a meal, is pantomimed. Grover’s Corners is very much alike, but also different from the other small town called Newburgh, the space where this story is born, and the projected comparison of this essay. Surprising things can appear when comparing any two things, even a fictional town to an actual one.
Grover’s Corners and Newburgh surprisingly have several things in common, although it does not seem like it at first. The similarities emerge if one looks closely, like finding gold or gems under a mountain of rocks and debris. Geographically, Grover’s Corners and Newburgh are both rather diminutive settlements lost in a sea of larger cities and the broad, spacious fields of the United States of America. They are both surrounded by rolling hills and agricultural farms to some extent, and they are located in northern states. They each have a rich history, dating back to the Civil War, and they have a railroad and other important buildings that a town requires: a post office, the town hall, a jail, a school and so forth. Fossils dating before anth...
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...er’s Corners, New Hampshire. Grover’s Corners has everything that a rural community should have, like Newburgh, but it is less populated than said namesake. Newburgh is modern, but the Grover’s Corners people are considerate and thankful of the Earth (realized in Act III). “Our Town’s” setting sets the mood of the entire story and plays the role of symbolism in a certain sense. In pertinence to today, “Our Town” is considered a “true American play” and it is highly unique for the lack of scenery and props in its performances. A personal opinion would approve this, because it lets someone living today know what it was like to have lived in early 20th century America, and in a secluded community nonetheless. “Our Town”, however fictional it may be, is a touching play that still relates to and identifies with a similar town, despite the great distance in between.
The social, cultural and political history of America as it affects the life course of American citizens became very real to us as the Delany sisters, Sadie and Bessie, recounted their life course spanning a century of living in their book "Having Our Say." The Delany sisters’ lives covered the period of their childhood in Raleigh, North Carolina, after the "Surrender" to their adult lives in Harlem, New York City during the roaring twenties, to a quiet retirement in suburban, New York City, as self-styled "maiden ladies." At the ages of 102 and 104, these ladies have lived long enough to look back over a century of their existence and appreciate the value of a good family life and companionship, also to have the last laugh that in spite of all their struggles with racism, sexism, political and economic changes they triumphed (Having Our Say).
People has times that they are looking forward to. The times such as childhood, schooling help lead us through our life. While this way of thinking has many positive side, we forget the appreciation of all details of the moments. We see the moments in Thornton Wilder's play “Our Town”. This play takes us to a small town in New England and we see how simple it is, to the point where we may get bored to our lives. After looking through the events in the play we might have see as big and important described as relatively simple and straightforward, we begin to question how important that these events are in our life. Not like Emily realize how much of life was ignored until death. But after death, she can see how much everyone goes through life without noticing the events that are occurring all the time.
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate is the story of an African boy, Kek, who loses his father and a brother and flees, leaving his mother to secure his safety. Kek, now in Minnesota, is faced with difficulties of adapting to a new life and of finding his lost mother. He believes that his mother still lives and would soon join him in the new found family. Kek is taken from the airport by a caregiver who takes him to live with his aunt. It is here that Kek meets all that amazed him compared to his home in Sudan, Africa. Home of the brave shows conflicts that Kek faces. He is caught between two worlds, Africa and America. He feels guilty leaving behind his people to live in a distant land especially his mother, who he left in the midst of an attack.
film as well as similar to 'Stand By Me' We simply used our own ideas
the Home Guard for $5 each. Because of his choice to sell off Inman he
A. Title: The title of this poem suggests that it is about a small country town with one road, most likely in the middle of nowhere. Very few people and very few things around for a person to do with their free time.
“Wild Geese” is very different from many poems written. Oliver’s personal life, the free form of the poem along with the first line, “You do not have to be good,” and the imagery of nature contributes to Oliver’s intent to convince the audience that to be part of the world, a person does not need to aspire to civilization’s standards.
The men of Reserve Police Battalion 101 were just ordinary men, from a variety of backgrounds, education, and age. It would appear that they were not selected by any force other than random chance. Their backgrounds and upbringing, however, did little to prepare these men for the horrors they were to witness and participate in.
The theme of Our Town is that people do not truly appreciate the little things in daily life. This theme is displayed throughout the entire play. It starts in the beginning with everybody just going through their daily life, occasionally just brushing stuff off or entirely not doing or appreciating most things. But as you progress through the story you begin to notice and squander on the thought that the people in the play do not care enough about what is truly important. By the end of this play you realize that almost everybody does not care enough for the little things as they should, instead they only worry about the future, incessantly worrying about things to come.
The book “A Long Way From Chicago” is an adventurous and funny story. The story takes place at Joey Dowdel’s Grandmothers farm house in the country. Joey and his sister Mary Alice were sent to their Grandma’s house during the summer because their parents had to go to Canada for their work. At first, Joey felt uncomfortable with his Grandmother because he had never met her before but eventually he got to know her and they became close friends.
In act one when the stage manager pulls Mr. Webb out of the play to talk with him on page 528, the lady in the box asks "Oh Mr. Webb? Mr. Webb is there any culture or love of beauty in Grover's Corners?". Mr. Webb her, there isn't much culture the way she might think, but "... we've got a lot of pleasures of a kind here: We like the sun comin' up over the mountain in the morning, and we all notice a good deal about the birds. We pay a lot of attention to them. And we watch the change of the seasons..." These are the things that the people of Grover's Corners appreciate, the things we take for granted.
In the story "So Much Water So Close To Home" a young girl is raped, killed and found in a river where four men are fishing. What makes this story interesting is that after discovering the body they did not report it until after they left, three days later. When one of the men who discovered her, the husband of the narrator, Stuart returns home he doesn't tell his wife about the incident until the following morning. Because of this, Claire believes that all men are responsible for the murder of the girl. Due to these facts she acts irrationally, suspiciously, and with distrust not only towards her husband, but also to all men in general.
At first glance the characters Connie from “Where are you going? Where have you been?” and Little Red Riding Hood from the classic fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” may seem to have nothing in common. However, from the start one can compare how much they actually have in common. Though these two characters are very different they are the same in many ways. Their story, from beginning to end, is similar. It is easy to see how alike and different they are with the description of Connie and Little Red Riding Hood’s lives, the relationship with their wolves, and their tragic endings.
The book, Into the wild, takes us into the world of a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless. He travelled across the western United States from 1990 to 1992, and on April 28, 1992, he started his last adventure and walked into the wilds of Alaska. About 112 days later, he died of starvation. Unsurprisingly, public opinion polarized on his behavior. Some may admire his courage and noble ideals, though some regard him as an idiotic and arrogant narcissist. Although he died on his way to find the truth and back to nature, I believe that Chris McCandless should be considered as a hero, but I cannot completely approve of all his behaviors.
An ironic ending is also foretold by the town’s setting being described as one of normalcy. The town square is described as being “between the post office and the bank;” every normal town has these buildings, which are essential for day-to-day functioning. The townspeople also establish a normal, comfortable setting for the story. The children are doing what all typical kids do, playing boisterously and gathering rocks. The woman of the town are doing what all stereotypical females do, “exchang[ing] bits of gossip.” The men are being average males by chatting about boring day-to-day tasks like “planting and rain, tractors and taxes.”