It's the little things in life that count
An analysis of the representation of the daily life in Our Town

* Table of Contents

1 Introduction 3 2 Biographical Background 4 3 Our Town 5 3.1 General 5 3.2 Theme 5 3.3 Publication 5 4 Analysis 6 4.1 Act 1 6 4.2 Act 2 7 4.3 Act 3 8 5 Conclusion 10 6 Bibliography 12 6.1 Primary Literature 12 6.2 Secondary Literature 12 6.3 Webliography 12

Introduction

Needless to say, Our Town is one of the most popular plays by Thornton Wilder and not for nothing has it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1938. The most significant aspect in Our Town is the representation of the everyday life. Not only does the play explores American values of religion or
The play was first shown in 1938, in the big immigration year, when Europeans came to the US because of the second world war.
At this time, the people were confronted with all those negative aspects of life and in some way we can assume that the play Our Town was shown at a perfect time: a time, when everyone wanted to escape reality to see something totally different. Or better said, to see how life can be and that’s the little things in life that counts. For Wilder it was important to teach the audience to enjoy every small thing in life and not to take life for granted.
It was the time of the American Renaissance and the notion of experimenting with the audience was getting more and more important. This time was characterised by extensive experimentation and originality. We can assume that the aspect of experimenting in Our Town is shown through the stage manager. Usually a narrator takes place in short stories and novels, but not in plays, but this is the case in Our Town.

Analysis

In the following analysis, the term paper will concentrate on the theme of play and it will show how the daily life in Our Town is represented. It will point out how the play teaches the audience to take heed of the small events in our ordinary lives. The term paper will analyse each act with the main focus on the third and last act. The last act is the most