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2. Themes/ issues in play

In the play Our Town by Thornton Wilder there are three overriding themes; the Humanity of Human life, the importance of companionship and the Artificiality of the Theatre. The people (characters) in ‘Our town’ by Thornton Wilder are examples of the Humanity of Human life because they are influenced by time. An example of this is , For example at one point, having not looked at his watch for a while, the Stage Manager misjudges the time, which demonstrates that sometimes even the timekeeper himself falls victim to the passage of time. The second part of this theme is that Wilder ponders whether human beings treasure and appreciate life. The whole of Act 1 is an example of this secondary part of the theme. Even the name of the first act is “Daily life”. The name gives the scene an emphasis on the importance of routine and mundane activity. Daily activities in this town, like feeding the chickens or gardening become sources of dramatic entertainment, for the town’s people. This demonstrates the significance that Wilder sees in such events. Wilder then pairs the idea of the characters obliviousness to the details of their lives, with this. The Gibbs and Webb families rush through breakfast, and the children rush off to school, without much attention to one another. They, like most human beings, maintain the faulty assumption that they have an indefinite amount of time on Earth. Mrs. Gibbs refrains from insisting that her husband take her to Paris because she thinks there will always be time to convince him later. Wilder uses the grave yard scene in act three to accentuate the theme. The souls disapprove of and chastise the living for their ignorance. For example, the dead even view George’s grief and prostr...

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...nal but formal way. INSERT EXAMPLE. Even the play’s title demonstrates the town’s strong sense of companionship. Rather than ‘the town or Grover’s Corners’ the title is our town. The title implies that the town is inclusive and that everyone knows everyone. Also it demonstrates further, humanities desire for community and companionship. The blocking/staging of the play also enables the theme of community and companionship to be shown. For example; having various charters like the stage manger and the belligerent man sitting in the audience and then interacting with the actors on stage. The script itself calls for numerous group scenes, the choir, the wedding and the graveyard scene all included. Also the character of DR.Gibbs is a perfect representation of this community that is portrayed. Dr Gibbs whenever he sees someone, he always asks how they are INSERT EXAMPLE