Our Town


“Do any human beings realize life while they live it?”. This is a quote from Our Town


written by Thornton Wilder. The theme of the play is to really enjoy life while you are on Earth.


Taking place in the fictional town of Grover’s Corners in the early 1900’s, Our Town depicts the


everyday life of Americans. A 3 act play, Our Town is fairly simple to understand. Although it may


not be the most interesting play, it teaches a good lesson and has a lot to discuss in class


discussions. I think Maine South High School juniors should read Our Town because it teaches


students about life and is a good play to have a discussion about.


In English classes at Maine South for juniors, when we get assigned a book, we read


chapters for homework, and then we come to class the next day and discuss the content of our


read. For the play Our Town, if Maine South juniors had to read this play, it would give the class a


good discussion to talk about in class. The play is 3 acts long, and there a lot of characters to


talk about. The play revolves around mainly 2 families: The Webb family and the Gibbs family.


They are both simple families from the early 1900’s. The 2 families are connected by the love


affair between Emily Webb and George Gibbs. The 3 acts in the play go in order, starting with


how daily life is in Grover’s Corners, then Emily and George falling in love, then explains death


and the deaths that occurred between Act 2 and Act 3. There are also some important quotes


that can be discussed. “Wherever you come near the human race there’s layers and layers of


nonsense (Act 3)”. Like this quote, there are a lot of different quotes about life and humanity that


can be discussed in an English seminar for Our Town.


Students don’t want to be bored to death when they are required to read something. If the


piece is enjoyable, then the students will want to read it and discuss it. The one downfall of


making Maine South juniors read Our Town is that the play can get kind of boring and pointless. A


lot of the play has good quotes and good meaning, but the play is really just about life back in the


early 1900’s. There are no crazy plot twists or surprises in the play. It is still a good, simple play


with life lessons that appeal to readers. Jay Handelman of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune says


after a remake in 2013 that the play “reminds the audience of the power of this simple, yet


profound play”. Most parts of the play are really interesting, powerful, and teach lessons to


people, but sometimes, the play can be dull.


Plays and books that we are required to read at Maine South are hard to read, as in the


dialogue that the author gives the characters is hard to understand. Like in plays that we read by


William Shakespeare and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the characters dialogue is hard


to comprehend. In Our Town, Wilder makes the characters easy to understand and you know


what is going on because you can understand what they are saying. It is easy English, enjoyable,


and less stressful to read than other pieces we have been assigned at Maine South. Wilder


gives you time to understand and learn all the lessons that Our Town brings. He does not rush


the Acts and that makes it easier to dissect the concepts of the play.


The theme of Our Town is a good lesson for people all around the world. Maine South


juniors should be spread this lesson to them by being required to read the play. The theme is to


really enjoy life while you are alive. All good plays need a theme, and the theme of Our Town is


relatable to all of our lives.


I think Maine South High School juniors should read Our Town because it teaches


students about life and is a good play to have a discussion about. Our Town has a theme that


would be easy for whoever at Maine South decides what students read to choose this play. The


discussions would be good to have seminars for, and it is easy to understand the content


presented by Thornton Wilder. Maybe someday this will be used in English 3 classes at Maine


South, and that would be a good choice.